Africa's Star Airline Ethiopian Lands in Hollywood Star straddled City of Los Angeles!
(Aigaforum) June 20, 2015 - For the first time Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 504 landed at LAX airport On June 20th 2015. The inaugural flight with a full load of passengers was late to arrive due to weather condition in Ireland but was warmly welcomed by Ambassadors and invited guests at the LAX Airport. Ambassador Girma Birru, Amb Zerihun, Solomon Tadesse from Ethiopian Tourism Organization as well as officials from the city of Los Angels and Ireland tourism officials were present to receive the inaugural flight which was carrying CEO Tewelde Gebremariam accompanied by former Ethiopian Consulate General Amb Taye.
With this inaugural flight, Ethiopian airlines has truly covered the whole globe. It now flys to Tokyo and Los Angeles the two most distant big cities east and west of Addis Ababa. What is left in between Los Angeles and Tokyo is the huge pacific ocean with small islands in between.
The success of Ethiopian Airlines is truly amazing! For the airline to achieve such milestone despite the hard and difficult times most Airlines are facing is indeed an amazing achievement. According to CEO Tewolde there is yet more to come in full swing with the 2025 strategic plan.
The inaugural flight was colorfully celebrated with Irish dancers and Ethiopian musicians. When the huge modern Boeing 787 pulled to gate 134 there was no one left sitting or standing in the middle of the isle, every one was glued and squeezed to the huge glass window to snap a photo and witness the first flight.
CEO Tewolde told invited guests that the LA route will serve the huge Irish as well as African community in the greater Los Angeles area. He hopes the route will be successful in connecting the huge African community to their mother continent. Judging from the booking already for the return flight of June 20, 2015 it surely will be a very successful flight. The flight came with over 200 passengers and will fly back with more than 200 passengers.
Flight 504 will fly via Dublin, Ireland. The Irish government is keenly aware of its potential impact to Ireland tourism industry since Los Angeles is home to the who is who of Hollywood stars and Ethiopia's unique culture.
LAX is a world known Airport and the fifth busy Airport in the world. Mr Samson Mengistu who is an Ethiopian by birth and deputy director of Los Angeles World Airport(LAWA) welcome CEO Tewelde and Ethiopian Airline to the newly built Tom Bradely International Terminal.
The success of Ethiopian Airlines over the years can only be attributed to the highly motivated and professional works force of its employees. One of its star employee is Seble Degefa. Seble is a hands on professional employee of Ethiopian Airlines who was able to establish the LA office and to organize the event in a very short period. Thank You Seble and thanks Ethiopian Airlines for playing a leading role in this competitive environment of the airline industry. We would like to congratulate Ethiopia, Ethiopian Airlines staff and employees for their innovative and market driven business savvy. Thank you Ethiopian Airlines. You have certainly made us proud and we definitely know you will move with same resilience and capacity into the future!