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Ethiopian Airlines expects to make a decision next year on an order for a 100-seater type and is carefully watching Boeing’s plans for a Mid-Market Aircraft (MMA), the airline’s group CE Tewolde Gebremariam said. The decision on the 100-seater was originally planned for 2016, with several contenders in the frame for an order. “It’s an issue that needs deep analysis,” Gebremariam said. Bombardier’s CSeries and Embraer’s E2 family are among those being considered, Gebremariam said, but the airline is also looking at Boeing’s 737 MAX 7. At between 138-152 seats in typical 2-class configurations, the MAX 7 is substantially larger than the Canadian and Brazilian aircraft, but Ethiopian has to consider whether the benefits of fleet commonality should take priority. <br/>

Austrian Airlines is looking for 96 future pilots as it begins a new training course for ab initio pilots. Twenty-four students are learning to become fully qualified pilots; the first courses at Lufthansa Aviation Training in Goodyear, Arizona will take place in the near future. Austrian is looking for about 100 new pilots and is making special offers to trained pilots at the insolvent Airberlin to work at the Austrian’s hub in Vienna. The offer targets pilots who have been actively employed with Airberlin over the last 6 months and have undergone revalidation of their licenses within the last 12 months. Austrian has 6,700 employees, including 1,140 pilots. In 2017, Austrian hired 95 ab initio and around 50 ready-entry pilots. At present, Austrian has 83 aircraft in its fleet. <br/>