1982:

The airline bought a third Boeing 727 and two de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo short-field transports for use on domestic services.

1984:

Ethiopian Airlines attracted worldwide attention on 1st June when its first Boeing 767 landed at Bole after a thirteen-and-a-half hour delivery flight from New York - setting a new world distance record for commercial twin-jets. The airline, which was a launch customer for the new aircraft, brought two of the advanced, wide bodied B-767 aircraft to replace the ageing Boeing 720s. In addition to their 190-seat passenger capacity the aircraft could carry 12 tones of cargo in the hold.

At the end of 1985, when the DC-3/Skytrains started to be withdrawn, the airline still had nine of these in service, all of them at least 40 years old. The last of these aircraft remained in service until October 1991. The main replacements were six 18-seater DHC-6 Twin Otters, and - for the busier domestic routes - two ATR-42sL fast and modern 46-seater aircraft.

1989:

The Cargo Management Department was established to afford special attention to the development of the airline's cargo services. Hitherto the airline had regarded its cargo operations more as a public service commitment that as a secondary source of income.

1995:

The airline's Engineering Division opened a new purpose-built jet engine test facility, allowing engines of up to 45,000 kg (100,000lbs) thrust to be ground tested.

April 1996:

As the airlines celebrated 50th anniversary the route network stretched from Europe (London, Frankfurt, and Rome) to China (Beijing) and Thailand (Bangkok). The Middle East and Indian sub-continent were well represented, and the airline's African routes reached Senegal and Ivory Coast in the west, Cairo in the north, and Johannesburg and Durban in the south. The fleet consisted of two ATR-42 and four DHC-6 Twin Otters for the domestic passenger services, one Boeing 737 and four Boeing 757 aircraft for the medium range passenger services and three Boeing 767s for long-range services. For its cargo and non-scheduled services the airline had one Boeing 707 freighter, one Boeing 757 Freighter, two Lockheed L-100 commercial Hercules and one DHC-5 Buffalo.

The pilot training school was equipped with a state-of-the-art flight simulator, replicating the flight deck of the Boeing 767. The simulator was also used to train crews on the Boeing 757, whose flight deck is similar.

In October 1996 the first of five Fokker 50s was acquired to enhance the domestic services.

1998:

Another giant leap was made with the launch of a twice-weekly service to Washington - the Airline's first destination in the America - and New York followed shortly after.

1999:

In February the ShebaMiles frequent flyer program was launched. Construction started on a new, ultra-modern terminal building at Bole International Airport to upgrade passenger services and cater for an anticipated increase in traffic. In November Scandinavia was brought into the route network for the first time with a new service to Copenhagen, Denmark, along with anew route to Maputo, Mozambique.

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