Ethiopian Airlines Launches Rare One-stop Dreamliner Route To Hanoi – Discover Your Next Dream Destination Now!

Monday, July 14, 2025

Ethiopian Airlines erstwhile again dared to deliberation retired of nan container of world aviation industry! The bearer connected July 10 inaugurated an wholly caller formation from Addis Ababa to Hanoi, Vietnam pinch a extremity complete successful Dhaka, Bangladesh. The four-times-weekly work operated by nan Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner connects a way ne'er earlier commercially flown successful this configuration. It is opening up greater connectivity b/w Africa and South East Asia, but it’s an absorbing instrumentality action from each of nan strategic, sum footprint and commercialized aspects. Let’s research this unsocial caller route, and what it intends for location and world aviation.

A One-Stop, Mold-Breaking Dreamliner Route

The airline’s caller work to Hanoi, however, is 1 of nan very fewer Africa-Southeast Asia flights that makes a one-stop detour via Dhaka without 5th state rights. This besides intends that passengers aren’t capable to recreation exclusively betwixt Bangladesh and Vietnam, which is simply a regularisation to flexibility, but besides 1 that makes nan formation fundamentally portion of Ethiopian’s longhaul network.

The Addis Ababa–Dhaka–Hanoi relationship is not conscionable an odd-ball logistics arrangement; it is historic. Only erstwhile earlier has Africa ever had a formation pinch rider work to Hanoi. The first came via Kenya Airways’ short-lived nonstop work from Nairobi, which operated betwixt 2015 and 2017. Ethiopian’s exemplary is much sprawling but besides much cumbersome — particularly for passengers successful different African cities who will now person to strengthen a two-stop journey.

Why Dhaka? Leverage successful Maturing Market.

Service to Dhaka was launched successful November 2024 by Ethiopian Airlines pinch nan 737 MAX 8. Five frequencies per week was added capacity to a caller destination. But pinch nan tacking-on of Hanoi, nan level type turned to nan 787-8 – starring to nan magnitude of flights to Dhaka falling to four-weekly.

This change, whilst it enables much passengers and a amended onboard experience, whitethorn bespeak that only Dhaka didn’t create capable request onsite for standalone widebody service. The Hanoi tag-on makes nan long-haul cognition much sustainable for a request dispersed betwixt 2 accelerated emerging Asian destinations.

Why Hanoi? A Niche but Growing Demand

Hanoi whitethorn not beryllium nan astir evident destination for African carriers — but location is untapped demand. In nan past year, only astir 165 regular round-trip passengers flew betwixt Vietnam and sub-Saharan Africa. Most flew present on, say, Middle Eastern heavyweights for illustration Qatar Airways aliases Emirates, which supply one-stop entree to Doha aliases Dubai, arsenic good arsenic overmuch quicker itineraries.

Yet metropolises from Luanda, Johannesburg and Lagos to Dar es Salaam and Nairobi person been increasing arsenic captious sources of postulation to Vietnam. (Angola unsocial hosts nan largest organization of Vietnamese successful Africa. Ethiopian’s timetable gives beardown onward connections to each those cities isolated from Cape Town and Luanda, for which you would now request longer transportation times successful Addis Ababa.

Scheduling Is Important: A System Designed for Connections

Ethiopian’s Hanoi flights time off Addis Ababa astatine 22:30, an hr convenient for accelerated connections from cardinal cities crossed Africa. The return limb gets backmost to Addis astatine 21:35, giving clip for same-day connections to Lagos, Nairobi, etc. But not each recreation destinations are winning. When sold successful isolation to Cape Town aliases Luanda, for example, nan same-day connectivity is mislaid and nan work becomes little charismatic for passengers, nary matter nan price.

Ethiopian’s double-daily Lagos work (some time off aft 11pm) bestows strategical heft to nan Hanoi route, particularly successful West Africa markets showing expanding request for Asia.

Global Reach Hanoi, With Over 140 Cities

Ethiopian Airlines now serves adjacent to 140 world destinations pinch nan summation of Hanoi. The maturation spurt is not unsocial to Hanoi. In nan past fewer months, nan hose has added nan UAE cities of Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi, which joined its long-standing beingness successful Dubai, making it nan only world bearer serving 3 Emirati gateways.

Ethiopian has besides made forays into Hyderabad, which is its 5th Indian destination to bespeak its expanding submission successful South Asia. And successful Europe, nan hose began work to Porto, marking its Portuguese debut. Lisbon was really nan first choice, but slot restrictions forced them to take Porto instead. Whether Ethiopian switches aliases adds work to some cities remains to beryllium seen.

A balancing act: Innovation vs. competition

Yet Ethiopian Airlines keeps mounting its ain course, often serving under-served cities aliases linking markets that others bypass. The Hanoi relationship is conscionable different superb move: innovative yet dangerous. It won’t beryllium easy to return connected Middle Eastern carriers which connection faster one-stop journeys. Ethiopian will person to reconcile way economics and output guidance and connectivity to make this work.

But pinch nan correct pricing strategy, a provender of beardown intra-Africa postulation and an oculus connected underserved markets, Ethiopian whitethorn pave nan measurement successful opening a caller corridor of recreation betwixt Africa and Southeast Asia which is simply a win-win for some business and migrant traffic.

Conclusion: A Bold and Farsighted Gamble

The caller Addis Ababa–Dhaka–Hanoi Dreamliner work by Ethiopian Airlines – location is nary 1 other rather for illustration this successful world aviation. The number of passengers from Africa to Vietnam is still comparatively low, but nan hose is intelligibly successful it for nan agelong tally — counting connected a increasing market, diaspora request and bully timing. Ethiopian’s dedication to being first successful nan aerial – including establishing caller markets wherever nary antecedently existed and blow-torching immoderate ideas astir what an hose should beryllium – makes it 1 of Africa’s boldest airlines. Whether this research ends successful nan aerial aliases pinch a whimper, it is simply a fascinating section successful nan history of intercontinental aerial travel.