Ethiopian Airlines has signed a proposal with the aircraft manufacturer, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited, for the purchase of two Dash 8-400 Freighter – Large Cargo Door (F-LCD) conversion kits.

Ethiopian said in its announcement that the proposal provides an option for an additional two F-LCD conversion kits.

The parties are working to finalize a definitive and binding agreement.

Increased cargo business

"Cargo has played a pivotal role in Ethiopian Airlines' operations over the past couple of years, and will remain a key growth pillar of our business over the coming years," said Mesfin Tasew, chief executive officer, Ethiopian Airlines Group.

"The pandemic and subsequent recovery efforts have given rise to significant opportunities in the cargo space and we see great value in converting our older Dash 8-400 fleet to freighters to capitalize on these growing opportunities," he added.

For his part, Philippe Poutissou, vice president, Customer Experience, De Havilland Canada, noted that the deal with Ethiopian Airlines proves the versatility of the Dash 8-400.

"Ethiopian's proposal with De Havilland Canada is a superb testament to the versatility of the Dash 8-400 aircraft to satisfy a wide variety of operational requirements and we thank Ethiopian for this confidence in the aircraft's capability," said Poutissou.

He added that the Dash 8-400 aircraft's operating costs and environmental footprint, as well as its performance and large cabin volume have facilitated the plane maker's introduction of a series of freighter options including Quick Change, Package Freighter, and LCD Freighters to better serve the expanding cargo market.

"We are also excited to announce our partnership with Ethiopian to offer Dash 8 freighter conversions through their experienced MRO – already a De Haviland Canada Authorized Service Facility," Poutissou added.

"This conversion capability will support Ethiopian's fleet needs and can be offered to other Dash 8 aircraft operators in Africa and neighbouring regions as an additional choice to the conversions De Havilland Canada can perform in Canada or through our Mobile Repair Team."

The Dash 8-400 aircraft has logged over 11 million flight hours and transported more than 570 million passengers.

Ethiopian Airlines noted that worldwide, the aircraft is in the fleets of more than 70 owners and operators.