Ethiopian Airlines

Customer Reviews

4 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 591 reviews
5/10
4 star Skytrax Rating
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9/10

"express my heartfelt appreciation"

(India)

Trip Verified | I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for the outstanding service provided by the cabin crews Netsanet and Selamaulif of Ethiopian Airlines. Their dedication and professionalism were truly remarkable. The experience exceeded my expectations. The service, efficiency, and overall experience were commendable. Upon my return to India, I informed the cabin crew about my fasting, and I was touched by their caring and attentive service.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLagos to Addis Ababa
Date FlownMarch 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
10/10

"Lovely meal"

(United Kingdom)

Not Verified |   Feb 28 Addis to Windhoek.8.35. No need to get to Bole before 060.00. Quiet period for international departures. Nice breakfast in departures. No security check at gate, does ET trust Namibian bound folk? Max 737 but ok. Windhoek airport very small and quiet. Return to Addis from Cape Town March 13th. Superb 30 mins early., Boeing 787. Lovely meal. Addis arrivals very efficient. Only snag is Screens in these now 10yr old Boeing 787s, 2 of 3 in our row not working
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteCape Town to Addis Ababa
Date FlownMarch 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

“my worst Business class ticket ever”

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | Bought my worst Business class ticket ever. Over the last 30 years flew with many airlines business class, mainly Lufthansa or British Airways (over 1 million airmiles combined with all airlines) This Boeing 777-200 was put in service around 2004 to 2006, nothing was refurbished. Dated seat cover. The seats control was not working, the TV screen over 2 meter away, need binoculars to read the text. Remote control 20 years old and dated can not read what the function means and so small, you need a microscope to find he buttons. The LED screen dated all colour lost and poor picture quality. On top when choosing a film only the advert came on was not able to watch a film. Asked to get moved, but further 2 seats where broken only one middle seat, which I declined. Food was low quality, service nice but not what you expect, asking to get a complaint form, NO, you can only fill in a customer review on the screen, which you can not read and they only ask how great they are. Quality of drinks, worst ever, juice concentrate stabilised with citric acid and lot of sugar, asked for sparkling mineral water, received a poor tasting soda water, Paid Euro 3000 for this experience, my verdict, will avoid to book again I paid 100% of the fare and received maybe 80% I paid, Over the last, I was so lucky, that I had the same experience on my RETURN flight, looks they only use this aircraft Brussels - Vienna - Addis Ababa.
AircraftBoeing 777-200
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteVienna to Kilimanjaro via Addis Ababa
Date FlownFebruary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

“zero customer service”

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | I was flying from CAI to JNB through ADD. 16th February 2024. As I arrived at the gate and was scanning my ticket to board the aircraft to JNB which was at 8:05 am, I noticed that I left my watch at the X-ray in ADD Terminal 2. I informed the ground agent and asked him that (I have to go back to get my watch as it is a branded original watch and it is not a cheap one that I can leave behind, at the same time I know which X-ray lane I was at so that won't take time) but he refused he was so careless and he just wanted to push me into the aircraft, so I spoke to his female colleague and she took my details to contact the security but she also was pushing me onboard. I boarded the aircraft, and nobody informed me anything, I spoke with the CM who was assisting with boarding she also seemed so sleepy and careless however she asked me to wait next to her as she would ask the ground agent to take me to the X-ray to get my watch as I shouldn't leave without the ground agent. when he came to the aircraft the CM asked him to assist me, but he shouted at me rudely and said (I will miss my flight and we are late) and all I needed to do is to go to the lost and found in JNB to assist me and he snapped at me in a very rude manner saying (easy isn't it?). The aircraft door was closed late around 8:50 so from 8:05 to 8:50 that was a very long time that I could have gone back to pick up my watch, so that was all a matter of rudeness and carelessness as even he should consider that it can be stolen, and I need to run back to grab it. Everyone cared only about pushing passengers onboard and closing the aircraft doors as we are objects, not humans. Honestly, zero customer service it is not a cargo flight it is a commercial flight where you deal with human beings, not parcels. When I arrived at JNB I reported to the lost and found for Ethiopian Airways as the ground agent in ADD, mentioned but they replied that they deal only with lost and found bags, however, they tried to assist by again taking my details. (and I’m sure the agent in ADD knew this information that they deal only with lost bags). Honestly speaking that was careless and rude and one of my worst experiences in any airline, I used to fly with your airline but never anymore. This story will go viral on social media as our lives and valuables should be your responsibility until our final destinations. And you should know that the competition is so high and offering a cheap ticket only is not what attracts passengers, what attracts passengers is good care and good customer service. As in my case, I saved one thousand rands to book for your airline over Egypt Air for example, but I lost a watch worth more than 10K. It would have been nice if he tried even if we couldn’t find it, but the attitude was terrible.
AircraftBoeing 777
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteCairo to Johannesburg via Addis Ababa
Date FlownFebruary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

“told we cannot board our flight”

(China)

Trip Verified | Autistic son and I were told we cannot board our flight. On 31 January 2024, my son and I were travelling from Nanjing to Cape Town. Coincidentally, it was also 04th birthday and we were blissfully excited about our journey. Unfortunately, the experience soon turned into what could be described as a nightmare. As I had not opted to check in my luggage, Ethiopian Airlines had already emailed the boarding passes for my son and me. So upon arrival in Hong Kong, we were asked for the boarding passes and allowed to enter Terminal 1, go through all the checks and searches and eventually arrive early at the Ethiopian Airline boarding gate. I approached the counter and spoke with a male representative (I’ll call him Kay). He informed me that I was meant to collect my luggage and check in before entering Terminal 1 etc. He spoke kindly and said that although I wouldn’t be able to get the luggage at that point, I could continue my journey to South Africa and on arrival at Cape Town International Airport, I would need to go to the baggage claim office, explain the situation that the baggage was not collected in Hong Kong, show them my baggage passes and ask them to write a report which would be sent to Hong Kong airport and then arrangements could be made to have the luggage sent to Cape Town. I was very grateful that this employee was solution-driven and offered such kind service that would not impact me severely as a customer. He then printed our boarding passes and asked me to have a seat. About 30 minutes later, passengers were boarding the plane and my son and I stood up. Again, the male representative who had spoken with me earlier said that I should have a seat, which we did. This was the last time I engaged with this representative. After there were only a few passengers left we went to wait in line. During this time, I witnessed two other passengers who had flown from the USA with United Airlines, whose luggage had not been accounted for. They were asked to stay behind, as I was, but they were soon allowed to board the flight. When my son and I got to the front, we were told that there was a problem, but the airline representatives could not tell me what the problem was. At this point, my son was stimming, as those with ASD sometimes do in stressful situations. He was sitting on the floor repeating letters of the alphabet and opposite words. A different male representative (I’ll call him Ray), then stood staring at my son. I explained to him that my son is autistic and that he sometimes stims in that way, but not to worry as he would soon stop. The same representative who was staring said nothing in response and continued to stare. After some minutes, this person then approached me with our boarding passes in hand and said that it was not the airline’s problem that our luggage was not collected and that unfortunately we would not be allowed to board the flight. At first, I thought he was joking, because he had a smirk on his face and his tone was condescending. He said that I would need to cancel the flight with the agent and see if I could rebook the flight. I told him that I didn’t fully understand the reason and asked if he could explain this. He then asked for a moment and walked away without offering any explanation or customer-centred behaviour. He was cold and unwilling to even speak to my husband who was on the phone with me at the time trying to help me.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHong Kong to Cape Town via Addis Ababa
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

“its a pretty decent product”

(Sweden)

Trip Verified | Family of 6 flying to Zanzibar for holiday. Ethiopian are (currently) our airline of choice for flying out of Stockholm to Africa. They have a daily overnight flight to Addis Ababa leaving at 9:50pm connecting with the rest of Africa which means that unlike the ME carriers you do not waste time flying too far east only to fly back. As three of our party of Star Alliance Gold we can bring the whole family to the lounges for free at all three points (Arlanda (7/10), Addis Ababa (5/10) and Zanzibar (3/10). We checked in at Star Alliance Gold and also managed to get advance boarding. This will all change for the worse when SAS leaves Star Alliance and goes for Flying Blue. Their App is well designed, clear, but maybe a tad slow to load but is probably most useful for retention of boarding passes. I recommend both their web based booking engine and check-in process. Biggest plus was on booking we were permitted to reserve all seats for the four legs on a basic economy ticket. This is a game changer when travelling in Africa (and Arlanda) when the differences of deplaning from as few as 10 rows can results in an hour difference in the queues for immigration. As for the flight its a pretty decent product. The aircraft are not the most modern. The FA service was professional including free unlimited drinks service and full food even on a 2.5 hour leg. Value for money wasn't bad considering we were flying around Christmas. Luggage allowance is super generous and checked lugagge arrived at its final destination on time.
AircraftBoeing 787
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteStockholm to Zanzibar via Addis Ababa
Date FlownDecember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
2/10

“the worst customer service”

(United States)

Not Verified | This has been the worst experience I've had with Ethiopian. Remember that Ethiopian 5-10 years ago was a delightful company to fly with as the service provided was stellar and the logistical side of the business was fluid. Ethiopian Airlines has seen a major decline in the quality of the service it once provided. On my last flight, the air hostesses were mean and had a dirty attitude, I have been flying regularly since I was 10 years old; this is the worst customer service I have ever experienced. When I got home from my flight I noticed that my suitcases had been severely damaged (They attempted to open my suitcase by ripping the zipper from the lock and broke both). When I contacted the airline by phone I was met with a very nasty voice and was not assisted. It's sad to see a company decline to such a state, safe to say I will never travel with Ethiopian if I can avoid it.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteKigali to Chicago via Rome/Addis Ababa
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"an absolute nightmare"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | Flight was ok but had to transfer in Addis Ababa where we missed our flight because lay over was 35 minutes and then was rerouted via Dubai. Had to land at 2 am in Doha and then only happened at 9 am. Then had to go and find our luggage. Was an absolute nightmare. Have to fly back with them and dreading it. Will be our last with them.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteCape town to Doha via Addis Ababa
Date FlownDecember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"disappointing overall experience"

(Zimbabwe)

Trip Verified | Delayed both flights we were on, reprinted our boarding passes and made our kindergarten aged son to sit alone. Refused to pay for the delivery of three delayed suitcases (out of four) Minor aspects of the screens on board not working play a subordinate role but match the disappointing overall experience.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHarare to Frankfurt via Addis Ababa
Date FlownDecember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"the worst flight experience"

(South Africa)

Not Verified | This was the worst flight experience I have ever had the displeasure of being a part of. We were late to board, then sat on the tarmac for more than an hour without AC, nor any excuse nor apology. The plane was dated, no screens for an international flight, little leg room, uncomfortable and limited space. We were late for our connection to Johannesburg, and had to run through the airport in Ethiopia, which was crowded, fought to get bins for the scanners, forced to take our shoes off (all for a transfer) When we landed in Jhb, only 1 of our bags showed up. The counters for baggage couldn't tell us where our bags were, as there systems were offline.
AircraftBoeing 737
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBahrain to Johannesburg via Addis Ababa
Date FlownDecember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no