Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) has signed a tentative order with De Havilland Aircraft of Canada for two DHC-8-Q400 freighter conversion kits with options for a further two as it looks to strengthen its regional cargo operations.
"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. 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," Chief Executive Mesfin Tasew said during the Farnborough Air Show.
Subject to the finalisation of the agreement, the turboprops will be converted into Freighter-Large Cargo Door (F-LCD) variants. The parties did not disclose any timelines in their announcement.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Ethiopian Airlines currently operates twenty-eight DHC-8-Q400s which range from 0.3 to 12.5 years of age. Its existing dedicated freighter fleet comprises only jet aircraft, namely one B737-800(BCF), three B737-800(SF)s, and nine B777-200Fs. During the pandemic, it also operated A350-900s, B777-300(ER)s, and DHC-8-Q400s as makeshift freighters without removing their seats.
Bluebird Aviation (Kenya) is currently the world's only operator of converted DHC-8-Q400(PF)s. Besides Ethiopian Airlines, the only other carrier using the De Havilland Aircraft of Canada turboprops as makeshift freighters is India's SpiceJet.
