Ethiopian Airlines Passenger Reviews and Ethiopian Airlines Customer Trip Reports

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Traveled From Washington D.C. to Addis Ababa Ethiopia on May 2, 2013. This was my second flight with this airline. I also used this airline in February 2013. The staff, food and entertainment were all excellent. I initially booked economy class for each flight but upgraded to first class because it was very affordable and really worth it. The flight it self was smooth.

Flew LHR-ADD-ZNZ and return (via DAR). Unable to check in online for every flight as they changed the type of plane for every sector at the last minute. Flight to ADD was fine but we sat near the back of the plane, be warned that the crew use the overhead bins for storage of snacks/breakfast items. Towards the end of the flight they closed one of the 4 toilets and had to use that as storage due to the lack of space on the 757. ADD-ZNZ (via DAR) departs from T1 where there is absolutely nothing to do or see. ET do not hand out arrival cards so they have to be filled out once at the airport. By far the worst flight was ZNZ-ADD where they brought out a smaller plane (737-700 instead of 800) which meant the plane was felt extremely cramped as there was a 100% load. Finally, ADD-LHR was fine apart from they insisted on serving a full meal at 03.30am and then a small muffin and juice just before landing. From what I saw 60% of the flight didn't take the main meal and slept through. In my opinion it would have been better for them to serve the muffin at 3 am and the main meal for breakfast when everyone was awake.

I took a flight from Frankfurt to Kilimanjaro Airport via Addis Ababa. Flight departed at 9.35pm and dinner was served at 00.30 am, so one had to decide either to sleep and be hungry or the other way round. In Addis Ababa the connecting flight did not exist anymore and nobody knew anything about it. Half an hour before departure we were informed that we have to take the flight to Dar Es Salaam which stops at Kilimanjaro Airport. On this second flight carry-on luggage which was fine on the first flight had to be checked in.

Flew Lusaka-Addis Dubai on December 12th and return on Jan 4th. While going, was expecting a Dreamliner, on both sectors, but was disappointed they were 77L's. Was impressed, though, with the 77L's, new aircraft, lots of leg room, had PTV's, but feel that there should be more variety in the in-flight entertainment. Nevertheless, it is a big improvement in in-flight entertainment from their 763's/752's. Dreamliner on return leg was excellent. Staff service and meals have always been excellent. Been flying this route for about 7 years, and the airline just keeps getting better and better.

Flight from London to Zanzibar with stops in Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam. There was no inflight entertainment, the ground staff were unhelpful, and the air hostesses seemed to resent serving passengers. Flights were good in terms that they were smooth, good landings and take offs. We had a nightmare situation when leaving Zanzibar- they told us our ticket home had been cancelled and we were unable to get on our flight home. We still have no idea as to how this happened, luckily we were able to get on the next flight 12 hours later.

Frankfurt to Douala. Flight fair from Frankfurt to Addis, but from Addis to Douala, it became a nightmare. We made a stopover for more than 1 hour 15 mins in Malabo which was not stated in the flight itinerary. The crew were rude when I asked why they mention in the itinerary that we were going to have a stopover. The plane was over crowded, people kept boarding and boarding until a few didn't have a seat. The seats were very uncomfortable with no air conditioning. I will never fly this airline again.

Bangkok via Addis Ababa to Harare and back, in business class (if this can be called a business class). Out of the 4 legs, 3 were flown on old aircraft's, with outdated business class seats (no entertainment, malfunctioning antiquated seats, reasonable food and friendly service. Return flight from Harare to Addis was late, whereby this seems to be a constant feature. All in all, considering that the prices are low, a reasonable alternative, but not to be repeated too often.

LHR-ADD-HRE and HRE-ADD-LHR. I was pleasantly surprised with the efficiency of operations of this airline. All flights left on time or within 10 minutes of it. Comfortable flights but food from ADD seems to include very spicy main meals. Other legs had very good food. One criticism - the ADD-LHR flight only leaves ADD at 01.35 and they then insist on serving dinner (at 03.00). We then got a muffin and tea before landing at LHR. It would have been better to let us go straight to sleep after take off and then give us something more substantial for breakfast. No individual IFE screen on that early morning flight but it did not bother us.

Outbound: YYZ-JNB via ADD. Inbound: JNB-YYZ via ADD and FCO. On YYZ-ADD flight, the flight was operated by a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Window seat was nice. Flight delayed 45 mins. Flight attendants were great, food average, PTVs were average size and decent. Overall this flight arrived on-time. Addis Ababa airport was nice and clean but not much service. On ADD-JNB flight, it was operating with an old Boeing 767. Cabin was dirty, tray tables were broken, seats were torn apart, and PTVs weren't functional. Flight was delayed 30 mins. Cabin crew were nice, and food was average again. Flight arrived late. On the return flight, on JNB-ADD, flight was operated by a Boeing 757. Cabin was fairly clean, no PTVs, no leg room and food was ok. Surprisingly, we were only 5 mins behind schedule. Cabin crew were unresponsive, and unwilling to bring extra water. At Addis Ababa airport, it was the same experience I had when headed to Johannesburg. On the flight ADD-YYZ via FCO, the plane was a Boeing 777. PTVs were the same as the Boeing 787, food seemed better than the YYZ-ADD flight, delayed at both ADD and FCO for about 15-30min. Cabin crew was nice, but seemed to be purposely ignoring the passenger next to me. Overall, my experience with Ethiopian Airlines was mixed up, but great. Sure hope to fly them again, but not on those Boeing 757 or 767 aircraft.

Montreal to Lomé via Toronto and Addis Ababa. Besides the fact that Ethiopian Airlines flights always leave late, I have nothing much to complain about. Took the B787 and the B777 for the long trips, food is okay, and flight attendants nice. Would be nice if people could use credit cards at restaurants at Bole airport. But that's not up to Ethiopian Airlines.

10 December, MXP-ADD-JNB with 1hr stopover in Rome. Return leg on 31 December. MXP-ADD, 767. Flight on- time, food ok but nothing special. PTVs but didn't try them. ADD-JNB, 767 similar experience but no IFE. Addis airport is ok with reasonable seating although smoking seemed to be permitted all over. Return leg JNB-ADD was 787 so different experience. Good IFE. ADD-MXP, 757. Old aircraft and 1hr delay. Limited leg room. Baggage arrived ok. Generally staff were pleasant. Overall experience was good.

Various trips from KL to Niamey, recently from Bamako to Addis Ababa. Flight attendants overall not very friendly and should learn to smile more. On ground staff could be more organized. ET planes are generally old, making long hauls very long as inflight entertainment takes you back in time. There are not many options for airlines within/from West Africa, there is definitely room for improvement for ET.

Flew 22 December from Bangkok to Addis Ababa, Business class - plane 2 hours delayed. Entering the plane, papers on the floor, carpets torn, the trays of both our seats were broken. A 10 hour flight and no onboard entertainment. The inside was dirty with marks all over, and everything was rattling. The hostesses were very unprofessional. At Addis Ababa another delay of 5 hours. The credit card machines didn't work nor the ATM. Came back on 11 January. Same problems but no delay this time. Will never fly with Ethiopian again and will not recommend it to anyone.

From Johannesburg to Addis Ababa and then to Frankfurt. Delayed 3 hours, then more and more. Very little information as if they were afraid to tell us. Only one bottle of water during the 6 hours wait in the terrible airport of Addis. The inflight experience was a joke. Slow if any service and simply not a nice trip when finally in the air! Dreamliner it may be, but quite like a nightmare!

Flew LHR-ADD-LLW and had a generally better experience than reviews had led me to expect. Firstly, cabin crew are excellent, as friendly as BA on a good day, although a bit less attentive. The first plane, the 767, was as old as 767s tend to be. My IFE wasn't working but it was a night flight and I wasn't fussed. Plane was fine overall, had the newer style overhead lockers. ADD was a bit basic. Bizarre duty free, mostly very small shops. 3 flights went from the same gate but when they announced over the intercom, it was impossible to hear and they seemed to send me to the wrong gate. I was the last person on the flight for the last leg! This was a 737. Brand new, seats are more basic than Ryanair but otherwise it came with the interior pack and was pleasant enough for 3 hours. Would be getting tetchy after that though! Food was good throughout.

Flew a 737 from JNB to Addis - (5hrs). Not a pleasant experience given the size of the aircraft and duration of the flight. No inflight entertainment I might add. Addis to Guangzhou was a much larger aircraft - 777. IFE was poor. Food was again average.

FRA-ADD-LLW on 26/11 and LLW-FBM-ADD-FRA on 5/12. FRA routes now undertaken with Boeing 787, a very pleasant experience especially as load factor was < 50% on each leg. LLW-FBM-ADD - the plane developed a technical fault at LLW which delayed us by an hour. On arrival at FBM, it took at least 20 minutes for passengers to alight, but none boarded for a very long time. All in all, we were kept in the plane and on the ground at FBM for 4 hours. By far the worst part of the experience was the lack of info from the flight deck. We landed in FBM in atrocious weather, which lightened up soon afterwards. On one of the captain's rare PA's, we were told that the delay was weather-related. More likely, the plane developed the same/another technical fault. We finally arrived in ADD some 6 hours late at 3am.

KUL-BKK in economy because it was less than 3 hours. Plane was a 767, and showing its age somewhat. Ashtrays, some of which were missing leaving gaping holes in the arm rests, non-working smoking and seatbelt lights, and to be fair, the plane didn't smell particularly nice. One of the TV's was broken, and displayed a distorted safety briefing. No headphones provided. Plane had only around 50 people on. Meal was edible and staff seemed friendly to me. Served drinks 3 times on the 2 hour flight, without any prompting from myself (Beer was nearly at its expiry date). I would fly Ethiopian again at a push, although only as a last minute alternative to being shoehorned into an Air Asia seat.

At one time, I was a gold member with Ethiopian Air and left due to the poor plane quality, treatment of business class customers and staff. This was more before their Star Alliance designation and new fleet. Unfortunately, it does not seem much has changed. On the 6 hour flight from Johannesburg to Addis, the business class seats barely recline, meal service takes most of the flight and there is no personal entertainment system which is standard on most economy flights let alone business. Lounge in Addis which should be their flagship is still overcrowded with slow internet and no priority boarding for business passengers. On the plane from Addis to Nairobi, my original seat was taken when I boarded. I asked the flight attendant and simply redirected me to another seat even though I was originally seated next to my wife. Very little room for overhead luggage so the stewardess said she would take care of it. I asked her not to put my bags in the back and she agreed. I look behind and she is already halfway down the plane. I hope the Star Alliance designation will eventually force a higher standard. Until then, Ethiopian remains a carrier of last resort.

NBO-ADD-BKK-HKG in business class on old 767 planes. While I am fully aware that this airline has both 777 and new 787 planes, these old 767s are in very poor condition. Broken seats, poor leg rest (really no leg rest unless you are very short) and very worn fabric. I travel in Africa and thought that I should start using Ethiopian as a Star Alliance member, but this will be my last trip unless I see that I will be on one of the newer planes. I travel over 100K miles each year, and this has to rank as my poorest experience.

ADD-GDQ-LLI-ADD on Bombardier Dash 8, one class service. All three flights were on time and full. Inedible sandwiches and the usual drinks were provided. Despite the lack of competition, Ethiopian tries hard and does a good job.

IAD-ADD on B777, ADD-FCO-IAD on B787, both in "Cloud Nine" (business class). Service, meals and snacks excellent, flights on time (despite a two - instead of a one-hour stop in FCO). The main interest in these flights was the return on a B787 "Dreamliner." The plane did not seem quieter than the B777 and it was no more comfortable. There was no window in Row 4 on other side of the business class cabin. All 30 seats IAD- ADD were occupied, 22 of 24 ADD-IAD.

Frankfurt to Dar Es Salaam via Adis Ababa. The staff was friendly. I got a vegetarian meal without any problems, although I didn't order it in advance. The entertainment was okay, we had an individual screen for the long flight. I was able to get some sleep, as we we're flying overnight. On our way back, one of our bags didn't arrive in Frankfurt, but it was sent to us directly the next day. I would travel with Air Ethiopia again.

Flying on a 737-700 for 5 hours to SA was not a pleasant experience, 118 people crammed in an air taxi does not resemble a "Spirit of Africa". The worst is however that you have a captive market as there is no other alternative to Addis Ababa - a pity.

Paris to Zanzibar with a connection in Addis Abada (Economy). Nights flights both ways. Average experience: flights on time, flight attendants quite friendly and helpful, lounge at T1 in Addis doesn't really deserve its name, but free wifi everywhere, T2 is much better, but very crowded. Food onboard was average - nothing special. Equipment onboard quite old and should be renovated. Zanzibar-Addis, had a stop at Dar El Salam for 1hr, the temperature was like being in a sauna. TV screens and the choice of movies very poor.

We were booked on a flight that never existed, flights were up to 1.5 hours earlier than times provided by ET, luggage delivered to wrong terminal but nobody would go outside to collect it because it was raining - everything was soaked through. ET and other reps could not say if planes had landed or not at T1 and was laughed at when asked for help. Flight attendants never address people out of their seats, kept shaking me awake on overnight flights for food service even after I put my sleep mask on. Honestly, when issues are brought to the attention of an ET rep, they genuinely don't seem to care. And they really don't care about competition. I will never fly them again.

Sheba miles redemption Business Class ticket Guangzhou-Bangkok. At the airport told flight was going direct from to Addis to Guangzhou, and I would have to travel 4 days later. I explained this was not acceptable - I had a connecting flight from BKK the following day, and a hotel booking in BKK. After some time, and genuine effort from ground staff, was rebooked on China Southern flight the next morning (in business class). Agree with other comments that ET has no place in Star Alliance. Only worth considering if your plans are very flexible.

FRA-ADD-MBA return in economy. Mixed experience. FRA-ADD not too bad. Lounge at T1 in ADD barely deserves it name. T2 better, but crowded. Bad Internet access. Flight attendants not very friendly. The tapes that fixed some overhead compartments, curtains etc on 767 were already faded. All flights pretty much on time.

Flew on points from Hong Kong to Bangkok (first leg of their flight to Addis) in business class. The upholstery was threadbare, the console in the armrest was broken, the footrest fell off when I adjusted it and the video monitor was unwatchable. The plane was half empty so there were plenty of flight attendants but after the meal was served they disappeared. How they obtained Star Alliance status is a mystery.

London to Addis and internal flight to Dire Dawa. A mixed experience. The London to Addis return flight was ok. It flew near enough on time. The 767's are a little old and tired, but no worse than on BA. Not much recline on the seats. The staff were good and the food looked reasonable. The local flight was on a fairly modern Bombadier Q400. Both outbound and return flights were delayed.

I flew from Accra to Addis Ababa and on to Brussels. The food wasn't special, but the service was friendly. Overall not bad quality for the price paid. I will fly them again.

Mombasa-Addis-Heathrow. Like two separate airlines, one excellent, the other best avoided. MBA-ADD in a 737, offered great seats, average snack, charming crew. In ADD, separate van as promised took J class pax to terminal. Cloud 9 lounge is huge but stuffy and overcrowded. Worst boarding procedure I've experienced, all pax at gate before time but staff created chaos. Awful old 767 to London - like stepping back into the 80s. Two seats I tried were broken, no proper IFE, ancient central TV monitor, woken for identical snack as on local Mombasa flight, refused it, unable to understand FA's English. Crew charming but looked slightly embarrassed by it all.

DC to Addis return. Also took some domestic flights as well. Inflight entertainment was good and leg room not bad given to my height. Food was edible and we had several meals. Crew members were very nice and quick to answer call lights. Our domestic flights were very good compared to domestic flights in the US. Food was good and price very reasonable. ET needs lots of improvements when it comes to customer service.

Dubai-Addis Ababa-Johannesburg return. Flights on time. Planes from and to Dubai were modern 777 with excellent inflight entertainment on individual screens. Plane from Addis to Joburg return were old 767 with no AVOD. Food good from Dubai and Johannesburg and poor quality for flights originating in Addis.

This past week, flying Addis to Washington DC, our 17 hour scheduled flight turned into a 30-hour nightmare. Communication from the cockpit was nearly non-existent. They ran out of drinks and the toilets were filthy. Our delay included 3 hours on the tarmac in Naples (with no exit) and 9 hours on the tarmac in Rome waiting for fuel. At no time during the excessive delay were we offered a chance to exit the plane. We missed our connecting flight(s) home.

Flew Business Class from Kinshasa to Addis Ababa and onto Bangkok. I have had better quality entertainment and food on Economy Flights of other airlines. The inflight entertainment was a shared TV and showed one awful movie. On my flight to Bangkok, which was an 8 hour flight, we had one awful meal in total and even though we arrived at 8 in the morning we got no breakfast, not even a cup of tea/coffee! It's very unfortunate that I have to return back using the same airline as the ticket has already been purchased, but I will never use them again.

Johannesburg to Rome. Cabin staff were friendly. Had a 30 minute transfer time and Ethiopian had procedures in place to make sure passengers made it to the next flight. The seats were comfortable and the food good.

PNR-ADD-BOM. Pointe noire to Mumbai via Addis. Wrote to reservations for a special meal request, the reply was prompt and helpful. At Pointe Noire airport requested a window seat, was given aisle seats on both sectors instead. Leg room from PNR-ADD was terrible. I was given a fruit meal which was nothing but an apple and a few slices of watermelon. Some of the cabin crew on this sector was polite but some of them were rude and disinterested. 45-50 mins before landing in ADD, I went to ask for a glass of water. While one of the crew was about to hand over a small bottle of mineral water, she was told off by a colleague and asked to give a glass of water from one of the taps. The inflight magazine was missing from the seat pocket. The flight from ADD-BOM was better. Again I got the requested fruit meal and was identical to the earlier one. This time the aircraft and legroom was much better. Each seat had an inflight magazine, headphones etc. Entertainment was from overhead screens. All flights were more or less on time. I am a frequent flier on ET and their service has remained the same over the years. You can never be sure of consistency, it depends on the cabin crew.

Nairobi-Addis-Delhi. The planes are old and dirty. There was no personal inflight entertainment system on the seats and the common TV had nothing better to show but some boring documentary. Food was terrible but the cabin crew were attentive and polite. Our return flight Delhi to Nairobi was a prop aircraft, very uncomfortable, terrible food.

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