Boeing 720-024B ET-AFK (c/n 18417) was acquired by EA in November 1974, originally having served with Continental Airlines as N57202, and is seen here at Heathrow in February 1981. The 1970s proved to be hard-going for EA, obstacles including a military coup in Ethiopia in 1974, which led to initial meddling from the new regime, plus the effects of the global oil crisis. The airline struggled on through the decade, but was in severe financial trouble by 1980.

Douglas C-47 ET-ABX disembarks passengers at Addis Ababa in 1969; EA used the type for more than 40 years

Ethiopian operated a total of four Boeing 727-200s, the first two - ET-AHL (as illustrated here) and ’AHM - being delivered in late 1979, the third (ET-AHK) in December 1981 and the final example, ET-AJU, in December 1989. All had been retired from EA service by 1994.

One of the more unusual types in EA service was the Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules, a pair of which were acquired for cargo duties in 1988. Here ET-AJK is seen at Dubai International on January 31, 1996. Like the entire EA fleet, the two Hercules were painted in the airline’s distinctive green, gold and red colours, with the Lion of Judah symbol featuring prominently on the forward fuselage.

Originally built as an AT-11, Beech C18S ET-ABM (c/n 3333) was acquired by EA in March 1965, presumably for training and hack transport duties. It was damaged at Gondar in March 1967 and was noted as abandoned at Addis Ababa by 1981.

Seen here in May 1988, 767-200 ET-AIF was one of the first two to join the EA fleet in 1984. The airline ultimately operated a total of 18 examples of the type - three 767-200s and 15 767-300s - one of the -200s, ET-AIZ, being lost in a hijacking incident in 1996. At least two -300s remain nominally in service in 2022, although their days of regular service are drawing to close.

Boeing 767-200 ET-AIF on approach to Heathrow in July 1993. The airline was the first African operator to acquire the 767.

As it was with the 767, Ethiopian was the first African airline to receive the Boeing 787, this 787-8, ET-AOU, being delivered in May 2014. The airline ultimately acquired 27 Dreamliners - 19 x 246-passenger 787-8s and eight stretched 285-passenger 787-9s. Note the simplified white livery with enlarged titles and stylised tail motif.

One of Africa’s most successful national carriers since its establishment in 1945, Ethiopian Airlines always kept pace with the latest equipment - including the acquisition of Boeing 737s in the late 1980s, including ET-AJA, as seen here

During 1996-97 EA took delivery of its five Fokker 50s, which were acquired to replace its pair of ATR 42s for the airline’s domestic services. On June 9, 2002, a Fokker 50 was hijacked on a flight from Bahir Dar to Addis Ababa, although the two hijackers were shot dead by onboard security officers and the Fokker landed safely.

In its endeavours to “Ethiopianise” every aspect of its activities, EA invested in training facilities from its early years, establishing a world-class flying school to train its own pilots (and other Africans) in 1964. Painted in the airline’s distinctive colour scheme, training machine Cessna 182 ET-ADP is seen here at Addis Ababa in 2005.

Ethiopian operated a total of 12 Pratt & Whitney PW2040 turbofan-powered Boeing 757-200 and -200PFs (Package Freighters), including this example of the latter, seen in June 1995. The type was introduced into EA service in August 1990, the last example in the airline’s inventory being retired from service in January 2019.

In 2017 EA placed an order for 16 Airbus A350-900s, this example, ET-ATY, named Ertale after a volcano in north-eastern Ethiopia, joining the airline at the end of January 2017. The A350s continue to serve in 2022, although political turmoil in the country could place potential obstacles in the way of the airline’s smooth running into the future.

On March 10, 2019, Boeing 737MAX ET-AVJ crashed six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa, owing to a malfunction in the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), killing all aboard and grounding the entire 737MAX fleet worldwide. The aircraft is seen here taking off from Tel Aviv on February 8 that year, a month before the tragedy.