Ethiopian Airlines (ET) became the third airline in the world after ANA and JAL to take delivery of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The gleaming new airplane landed at Washington Dulles (IAD) today on its way to Addis Ababa.
The airline announced Washington Dulles (IAD) as its first destination for the B787. Starting October 20, 2012, the airline will start regularly scheduled flights to Dulles. ET currently operates its daily ADD-IAD service with a B777 – 200. Ethiopian will alternate between B787 and B777 on the route.
Ethiopian attaches great importance to its Washington Dulles flights as it provides important link to one of the largest Ethiopian community outside Ethiopia. The route also provides important opportunity for cargo revenue. Ethiopian, being one of the newest member of Star Alliance, leverages United Airlines’ hub at Dulles for connections.
With 10 B787s in order, Ethiopian announced Guangzhou (CAN), its second destination for the Dreamliner.
I am not sure why ET chose to introduce the B787 to Washington Dulles route. My Ethiopian friend, who flies often on ET’s business class says, the Dulles flight is always packed. I thought B787 product caters to Medium Capacity Long Range sectors where traffic demand is not great but enough to break even. I assume ADD-IAD route is Large Capacity and Long Range.
I was fortunate enough to get a video of that landing. You can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oszRNq1RFQ