en.Wedoany.com Reported - Ethiopian Airlines operates 14% of all flights to, from, and within sub-Saharan Africa for the remainder of this year, and with higher-capacity equipment, its seats account for 21% of all available seats, making it the largest carrier in the region by capacity. This analysis is based on Ethiopian Airlines' schedule submitted to OAG from June 2026 to March 2027, covering both direct flights and one-stop services. Block time, as a metric, reflects the complete gate-to-gate period from chocks-off to chocks-on, balancing the demands of competitive scheduling, high aircraft utilization, and reliability.
The longest block time recorded is 18 hours and 30 minutes, achieved on the route from Addis Ababa (ADD) via Lomé (LFW) to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). This route operates three times weekly using the 270-seat Boeing 787-8. The airline also serves IAD via a stop at Rome Fiumicino (FCO), but that route does not have the longest block time. The stop in Lomé is intended to feed passengers to partner ASKY, allowing travelers from multiple cities in West Africa and Central Africa to connect to IAD via LFW without detouring through Addis Ababa, with data showing that most passengers travel between IAD and Accra or Lagos.
Several Ethiopian Airlines routes have block times of up to 18 hours, all using the Boeing 787-8 and flying to the United States, with most stopping at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO). This is due to the high altitude of Addis Ababa Airport, which prevents aircraft from operating ultra-long-haul routes at high payloads; the stopover addresses this issue, while a new airport will enable nonstop flights in both directions. Among the routes, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) route was suspended from early February to May 22, then resumed earlier than originally planned. U.S. Department of Transportation data shows that between March 2025 and February 2026, this route filled only 58.4% of seats, making it the airline's worst-performing market in the U.S.
The ADD via LFW to New York JFK route, with a block time of 17 hours and 55 minutes, ranks sixth, operating four times weekly since December, supplementing the existing route via Côte d'Ivoire. Nominally, the airline will operate eight weekly flights to JFK, but the ADD-LFW-Newark (EWR) route does not operate in winter, shifting instead to JFK. Ranked seventh is the ADD via São Paulo to Buenos Aires route, operating daily with fifth-freedom rights, alternating between the Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-200LR, with a significant number of passengers connecting via ADD to China, Israel, India, Japan, and Thailand. Other long block time routes include ADD via FCO to IAD (up to 17 hours 10 minutes, daily, primarily using the A350-1000, occasionally the A350-900), ADD via FCO to Toronto (up to 17 hours 5 minutes, primarily using the A350-900), and Tokyo Narita via Seoul Incheon back to ADD (up to 16 hours 55 minutes, four times weekly on the A350-900).
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