By Sade Williams
Ethiopian Airlines Group, a Star Alliance member, has colourfully marked the 20th anniversary of Star Alliance, the largest global airline network, while also inaugurating its maiden flight to Kaduna, Nigeria at a reception held at Ethiopian main hub Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on August 1st, 2017.
Ethiopian Group CEO, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam and Star Alliance CEO, Mr. Jeffrey Goh have graced the event; discussing on-going developments and the Alliance’s strategy for the next decade with Ethiopian employees.
While addressing attendees of the celebration, Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam remarked,” We are glad to celebrate this momentous occasion at Ethiopian and wish all members of the Alliance a Happy 20th Anniversary. We are sincerely honoured and are very thankful for Mr. Jeffrey for joining us here today. Dedicated to innovation for a thriving customer experience across the Alliance’s network, Star Alliance has benefited member airlines and customers with its worldwide reach and seamless connectivity. In a historic coincidence, the inaugural ceremony of our fifth destination in Nigeria, Kaduna has matched with the 20th anniversary celebration. As a Pan-African airline and a proud member of Star Alliance, we are pleased to avail seamless connectivity to 55 African cities. I strongly believe that the future holds better collaboration and growth for all of us in the Alliance.”
Also speaking, Mr. Jeffrey Goh, CEO of Star Alliance on his part said: “One of the founding pillars of Star Alliance is our global network, which strengthens continuously as our 28 member airlines grow their individual networks. Ethiopian Airlines’ new flight to Kaduna in Nigeria adds a further destination to over 1,300 already on offer to our customers. As we move into our third decade, our strategic focus is shifting from adding new member airlines to digitalization.
“We are steadily enhancing our product offering to include the complementary digital services today’s customers expect”, he said.
Created in 1997 by five airlines as the first global aviation alliance, Star Alliance delivers the world’s finest Alliance network experience and Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa joined Star Alliance on December 13, 2011 being the Alliance’s third carrier based on the African continent.