Ethiopian Airlines to Fly from Manila in July

Ethiopian Airlines, a Star Alliance member, announced last February that it was planning an expansion of its Asian network in an effort at expanding development and investment opportunities between Asia and Africa. As part of the expansion, Manila was named as one of the airline's new destinations along with Seoul Incheon and Ho Chi Minh City.

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Flights to Manila via Ethiopian's Asian hub in Hong Kong were set to begin on June 18, 2013. But setbacks with the Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet and the failure to secure landing slots at the highly congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport during its preferred departure and arrival times pushed the date back to July 2, 2013. 

The Manila route will be served three times weekly utilizing a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. It will connect the Philippines to Ethiopian's main hub in Addis Ababa via Hong Kong. From Addis Ababa, Filipinos can connect to  44 destinations across Africa. 

Ethiopian is seeking to tap into the strong Philippine economy to help expand development and investment opportunities while growing its Addis Ababa hub. Africa is eager to learn from the agricultural production expertise in Asia in exchange for investment partnerships to develop Africa's vast untapped mineral resources. 

In addition, the Philippines is a major exporter of consumer goods including electronics, apparel, and oil. Although present trade between the Philippines and Africa is limited and largely focused in South Africa, Ethiopian hopes to tap into existing trade and help to expand those relationships throughout its African network. 

According to Statistics South Africa, the Philippines is ranked 89th among South Africa's export nations with total exports valued at US$55.6 million in 2011. South Africa is ranked 55th on the list of Philippine import partners with South Africa importing an estimated US$139 million from the Philippines in 2011. 

Ethiopian Airlines is due to touch down in Manila on July 2, 2013 from Hong Kong. Flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays with the Boeing 767 touching down at 6:00pm and departing again for Addis Ababa via Hong Kong at 10:00pm.