Ethiopian Airlines (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ (Yäitəyop̣əya äyärə mänəgädə); የኢትዮጵያ (Yäitəyop̣əya)^? in short), formerly Ethiopian Air Lines (EAL) and often referred to as simply Ethiopian, is Ethiopia's flag carrier and is wholly owned by the country's government. EAL was founded on 21 December 1945 and commenced operations on 8 April 1946, expanding to international flights in 1951. The firm became a share company in 1965, and changed its name from Ethiopian Air Lines to Ethiopian Airlines. The airline has been a member of the International Air Transport Association since 1959, and of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) since 1968. Ethiopian is a Star Alliance member, having joined in December 2011 (2011-12).

Its hub and headquarters are at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, from where it serves a network of 113 passenger destinations —19 of them domestic— and 35 freighter destinations. Ethiopian flies to more destinations in Africa than any other carrier. It is one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry, and is the largest on the African continent. It is also one of the few profitable airlines in the Sub-Saharan region.

After the liberation of Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie I asked the United States, the United Kingdom, and France to help him to establish an airline as part of his modernisation effort. According to the BBC News it is possible that the Emperor intended the creation of a quality national airline to help dispel impressions of Ethiopian poverty. In 1945, the Ethiopian government began negotiations with both Transcontinental Air Transport and Western Air Express (later merged into TWA). On 8 September 1945, TWA signed an agreement with the American historian and foreign affairs advisor to Ethiopia John H. Spencer to establish a commercial aviation company in Ethiopia.

...
Wikipedia