Boeing 787 Dreamliner accorded warm welcome at Bole Int'l Airport in Ethiopia

 ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner of the Ethiopian Airlines on Friday landed at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which makes the Ethiopian the first African airliner¹ to operate the B787 Dreamliner.

The Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing airliner in Africa, has become the first airline outside Japan to operate the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The Ethiopian will be flying the plane for sightseeing flight to Kilimanjaro on Saturday with a batch² of about 270 people consisting of ministers, ambassadors, other VIPs, Ethiopian ShebaMiles Gold Members, and the media among others.

Receiving the Ethiopian crew and officials, Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, said as Addis Ababa is the political capital of Africa, the Ethiopian Airlines represents Africa and its deserves to have the B787 Dreamliner.

He also congratulated community of the Ethiopian Airlines, especially the leadership for the success of having the B787 Dreamliner.

Stating that the Ethiopian is the fastest growing airliners³ in Africa, the minister expressed his firm belief that it sustains the progress and growth in the future.

He said the government of Ethiopia would provide unreserved support to the airliner.

The airplane made the flight from Seattle to Ethiopia after a brief stop in Washington D.C.

Driba Kuma, Ethiopian Minister of Transport, noted⁴ on the occasion that the arrival of the B787 is a major milestone⁵ not only for the Ethiopian Airlines but also for African aviation industry.

Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ethiopian Airlines said, "I would like to congratulate Ethiopians residing in Ethiopia and outside Ethiopia, all over the world; this is the Ethiopian pride."

He revealed that there were many ups and downs till the Ethiopian receives the plane.

The CEO was speaking to the press last week and said that the Ethiopian had waited long to receive it.

"It is very interesting plane. We have waited long; but, having seen the airplane we think that it is worth waiting; it is a very good airplane, technologically⁶ advanced, quite different from the existing jet technology; and the entire population of the Ethiopian Airlines, the entire population of Ethiopia, and the people of Africa, all of us are excited to receive the first 787 next week here at the Bole Airport to be followed by a Dream Tour to Kilimanjaro," said Tewolde.

According to the Ethiopian Airlines, starting from Aug 19 the first Ethiopian Dreamliner will be operating on rotation⁷ basis to African destinations as well as international ones such as Dubai, Mumbai, Rome, London and Frankfurt.

Having made its maiden⁸ international flight to Cairo, Egypt, in 1946, the Ethiopian Airlines flies to 69 international destinations spanning four continents.

1 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

2 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

3 airliners   

n.客机，班机( airliner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fog grounded the airliners. 大雾迫使班机停飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They placed very stable and accurate atomic clocks on regularly scheduled jet airliners. 他们将非常稳定、准确的原子钟装在定期飞行的喷气式班机上。 来自辞典例句

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

6 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

7 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

8 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。