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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6/10

"clean cabin with a pleasant feeling"

(India)

Verified Review | Traveled in business class with Ethiopian Airlines as fares were so affordable I could not resist buying that. Checked in at Nairobi at the business class counters which was a pleasant experience. Flight from NBO-ADD was on time on a brand new A380. Clean cabin with a pleasant feeling. Food pre-ordered with one hot dish served. On reaching Addis disembarkation was without any hassles. ADD Airport was crowded with many transit passengers. Lounge was located on the other side of the boarding hall, whole lounge to ourselves like three persons. Special arrangements for serving Ethiopian Coffee in traditional way was another good experience. But food choice was not up to the mark in the lounge. Boarding experience on ADD-BOM leg was not so pleasant, complete havoc and looked like they merged two planes together / adjusted on delayed connecting passengers from different aircraft. Inflight services good but the way the drinks and juices are served is a little immature. Food served was great, a salmon steak. Seating quality was good in comparison to other aircrafts. Disembarkation at BOM was with out any big hassles and baggage services also needs to be addressed as baggage arrived after 35 minutes (Priority baggage).
AircraftA380
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteNBO to BOM via ADD
Date FlownSeptember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
3/10

"inattentiveness of the staff"

(Sweden)

Verified Review | Nairobi to Stockholm via Addis Ababa. Quite a pleasant flight in economy on Boeing 787, I was impressed with the meals - first time I've had Salmon as dinner. Quite the opposite in the older Boeing 767 used in Africa. One thing that struck me was the inattentiveness of the staff. Several passengers requested assistance by pressing the button during the flight but I never saw a single being attended to. I requested assistance but after ten minutes decided to walk into the galley myself to get something to drink. The thing that really is bad with Ethiopian is the transfer in Addis Ababa. This is one of the worst Airports I have been to and it really needs an upgraded terminal. A delayed flight by two hours in Addis Ababa with no information, quoted by pilot as being caused by Aircraft rotation, is also one reason I'm probably not using Ethiopian again.
AircraftBoeing 767 / 787
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNBO to ARN via ADD
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"decades behind its competitors"

(France)

Verified Review | Kuala Lumpur to Nairobi via Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines looks like it's stuck between a no-frills and a full service airline model. Boeing 787s which already look worn (broken seat parts) even though they're modern with unresponsive IFE touch screens and a limited amount of entertainment. I heard that Ethiopian Airlines opened a brand new catering facility but they still serve the same awful tomato chicken and rice and industrial breakfasts with bright pink sausages. Such a shame for an airline that could represent Ethiopia's incredible culinary tradition. No inflight magazine available on any flight and night kits randomly distributed to a few passengers only - same goes for pillows and blankets. Boarding disorganized and chaotic with no separate line for Star Gold/Business class passengers. Bole airport is worse than ever with filthy toilets, overcrowded boarding areas and no wifi. The only nice thing is that both flights were on time, which is good enough. I have flown Ethiopian Airlines at least once a month in the past 3 years and despite its aggressive marketing campaigns, it provides a subpar service and is still decades behind its competitors in Africa such as Qatar Airways, Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines.
AircraftBoeing 787 / 737
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteKUL to NBO via ADD
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
10/10

"exceeded my expectations"

(United States)

Verified Review | Lagos to Los Angeles via Addis Ababa and Dublin with Ethiopian Airlines. I am a frequent flyer with Platinum Medaliion status with the Skyteam. So I am in a position to judge which service is good. I have never flown Ethiopian before 2017. My recent 25 hours plus flight was exceptional. They exceeded my expectations in every aspect. Equipment is modern and the B787 from ADD to DUB to LAX was fantastic. Food was great; courteous staff on the plane. Touch screen entertainment was superior to many other airlines I have flown. Only complaint I can say is the ground staff at the airport, maybe need a little more training on that end.
AircraftBoeing 777-300 / 787
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLOS to LAX via ADD
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
3/10

"older planes, no individual screens"

(South Africa)

Verified Review | Durban to Delhi via Addis Abba. Great and pleasant cabin crew. However, flight schedule was changed several times before I even went to the airport. Even at airport, gates frequently changed and transport to plane was by delayed buses. Cheap prices, average food, but older planes with no individual seat screens. Addis Abba airport badly in need of upgrade. First to have sleeper seats but old and crowded. A few shops selling Chinese goods in US dollars. Wanted to shower and change in washrooms after several overnight flights - too crowded to do so. Basement was pitch dark and freezing cold (exposed to the elements). Toilet was a temporary trailer with porta-potties. Strong smell and windows open so everyone in lounge can see and hear you. Supposedly loading by zones but first zone called and no other - everyone just queued up to get on helter-skelter. One problem was that they did not load the disabled first - one women had to get out of her wheelchair and queue up with regular passengers at plane entrance to get to her seat. Naturally, this was difficult for her and slow. Why they did not follow other airline's policies and load the disabled and families with small kids first is beyond me. They certainly saved no time in doing so and caused great stress to the disabled as many had limited mobility.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDUR to DEL via ADD
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"incompetent, rude and unhelpful"

(United Arab Emirates)

Verified Review | Dubai to Durban via Addis Ababa. This was the worst experience I have ever had on an airline. The flight from Dubai to Addis Ababa was set to arrive in Addis at 07h55. The boarding time was 07h45 and the plane departed at 08h30. Based on these times alone, it was an impossibility that we would catch the connecting flight - they could not give us a reason for the late departure. My husband and I (and many other passengers) expressed their concern to cabin crew that we would not make our connecting flights. We were assured that the captain had communicated with ground staff and that our plane was waiting for us. We arrived in Addis and were escorted to a bus. We were then told to stand in a queue. When we asked why we were in a queue and not boarding our plane we were stared at blankly. We (and about 30 other people) soon realised that the planes that were "waiting for us" had all departed. We finally got to the front of the queue after waiting for about 50 minutes and were told we would just have to wait until the flight the next day. This was Christmas Eve. After much argument, my husband turned on his roaming and found a flight that day. The people behind us piped up and said they also wanted that flight. The staff grabbed all our passports into a bundle and came back with two tickets for the people who had pushed in front of us and said they only had two tickets so we would have to wait until the next day! The staff were incompetent, rude and unhelpful. We stood there for about 2 hours trying to get them to help us. They would go and hide in the corner so they didn't have to help us. When the manager finally arrived he was unapologetic and incompetent. When we complained that we couldn't only get to Durban late on Christmas eve instead of on 23rd they said "well then you can fly on Christmas day". We asked about compensation for our car hire and hotel in Durban that we were missing and were laughed at. The gentleman in front of us was offered another flight on 26 December. We ended up having to stay in Addis overnight and take 2 connecting flights to get to Durban on the evening of Christmas Eve. They took another hour to find our luggage for the "hotel". The hotel they put us in was dirty, had power cuts, the elevator didn't work and hotel staff walked into our room 3 times without so much as a knock saying "oh, I thought you had left" or "oh, someone is in here". The bathroom had cockroaches and we were given no monetary compensation. The way that Ethiopian Airlines staff treated us was the worst part, as if it was a joke that we were missing precious time with our families. I tried to call Ethiopian Airlines in South Africa on about 8 different numbers to cancel our return flight and get a refund. The numbers either cut out or just rang. I eventually had to turn on roaming and called the Ethiopia office. I was put on hold for 30 minutes and then told he couldn't help me and I should call South Africa. I told him that no one answers and he said he didn't know then. We physically went into the office in Cape Town and canceled our return flights on 28 December 2016. We are still waiting for the refund! Addis Ababa airport is dirty and disgusting. The toilets are worse than festival toilets and their duty free doesn't have working card machines. I complained at first that Emirates were too expensive but now realise that you get what you pay for. You couldn't pay me to fly Ethiopian airlines again, the worst airline.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDXB to DUR via ADD
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

"we were pampered"

(Singapore)

Verified Review | Compared to my outbound flight I had a pleasant inbound flight back to Bangkok. NSI-ADD leg was in economy class and ADD-BKK in business. The economy service was decent even though the junior FA (sticker attached on their uniform) had a hard time smiling, I assumed the stress must be the cause but no complaints, the service was fine. The free seating out of NSI went without issue. In business class, great service. Very attentive FA. Only about 6 pax in the whole cabin so we were pampered. I slept all the way after the meal until landing. I had my best ever 2 glasses of orange juice, I wonder if it was the altitude but the juice was so fresh that I asked for 2 servings.
AircraftBoeing 788
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteNSI to BKK via ADD
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
10/10

"lie flat seats, helpful staff"

(South Africa)

Verified Review | Dubai to Cape Town via Addis Ababa. Another successful flight from Ethiopian. Cloud Nine business classis great, with ie flat seats, helpful staff and lovely food. On the leg to Cape Town they did a trolley service with a selection of Ethiopian dishes - delicious. They are obviously so proud of their nation - that comes across in their service. I had a very tight connection in Addis - just 35mins. We landed and I was on the connecting plane in 15 mins! That is because they want it to happen. As the plane land came to a stop the stairs pulled up, the coach arrived and someone asked where you were connecting to. Whisked away on the coach to be met in the terminal by someone else asking where we were going. She asked me to wait to one side and then took me directly to the Cape Town plane in seconds - everyone else had already boarded and I took my seat. Both planes left on time and arrived either on time or a little early. I had booked in economy but chose their option to choose a price to upgrade. I chose the lowest offered and was successful. It was a wonderful start to 2017 - thank you Ethiopian.
AircraftBoeing 777
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteDXB to CPT via ADD
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
5/10

"travelling thru Addis Ababa is a challenge"

(Sweden)

Verified Review | Juba to Stockholm via Addis Ababa. I choose Ethiopian Airlines when I get a reasonable ticket price, as I find travelling via Addia Ababa can be a bit of a challenge. This trip started in Juba, South Sudan that is an airport of itself, not an easy one to travel through. I checked in day before and got for the first leg the seat 27C, only to find out on board there was only 25 rows. However there was empty seats so no big deal. The catering on the flight tough was a real disappointment, before we used to get a decent sandwich and a dink service. This time it was a box containing a napkin, a small bottle of water and a minimal piece of bread. No drink trolley was seen. To their advantage we departed 30 minutes early tough. Next leg Juba to Stockholm as at 2355 and i had a good 4 hours in Addis to spend the time. Gate on my boarding pass was shown as number 9 but on the airport screens I could read number 12. Closer to the departure I went towards gate 12 but me and a number of fellow passengers for the flight was shown to gate 10. So after security check I went to gate 10 but was told to proceed to gate 12 via a locked glass door 'somebody will open it later'. After some time we were some 50+ people waiting for the door to be opened when a ground staff came and directed us to gate 1 in the other end of the terminal in the basement. The basement area was almost pitch black (no power), and gate 1 was already full of people, but I heard a voice in the darkness calling Rome and Stockholm passengers to go to gate 6. The confusion was close to a Jacque Tati movie but at the same time I found it quite amusing. Others did not. Eventually we boarded and the flight departed only some 30 minutes late to Stockholm via Rome. Flight was close to full on both sectors, service good and food acceptable. And to my surprise we arrived Stockholm 30 minutes early so I guess there is some margin in the schedule. Generally I find their cabin crew quite good and accommodating, Food between bad and average but travelling thru Addis Ababa is really a challenge at times. The company should have improved Bole transit and departure areas long time ago, as it can be a real struggle passing thru. I can recommend Ethiopian Airlines to experienced and somewhat hardened travelers that do not expect what the commercials are telling you. It can be really okay, but also be quite of a roller coaster. If the price is right I may go for ET again, but if I get a better competitor for a similar price the option is obvious. If you are a first time traveler to Africa you may think twice about the flight options.
AircraftQ400 / Boeing 787
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteJUB to ARN via ADD
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
10/10

"extremely good value for money"

(United Kingdom)

Verified Review | Mumbai to Sao Paulo via Addis Ababa, with a stop in Lome. I was very pleasantly surprised at the excellent quality of service, the cabin service and extremely good value for money. The ADD to GRU leg was very good, with three full service meals provided in Economy class. The food quality was excellent and with real portions of real food, all well prepared. The flight crew were very efficient and pleasant without being over-smiling. The Boeing 787 is an excellent aircraft, the lighting ambience and polarised windows are a first class innovation. The transfer in ADD was exceptional given the limited facilities at the airport. There must have been 25 planes working at an airport quarter the size of a small regional airport, somehow they coordinated the whole thing without the drama so frequently encountered at European and N American airports. Well done Ethiopian!
AircraftBoeing 787-8
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBOM to GRU via ADD
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes