Ethiopian Airlines

I was on flight ET 701 scheduled to depart Heathrow for Addis on Oct 6 with immediate connection to Entebbe. In the boarding lounge before 8pm. We remained there for 6 hours until the flight was finally cancelled long after the airport had effectively closed for the night and all other flights had long since departed. Initially we received the 30-minute updates that ET promises. The almost-new Boeing 787 Dreamliner needed a spare computer part which arrived after 4 hours and then apparently it needed another part. I can accept that this was not the fault of ET but staff management of passengers and information was extremely poor - information updates had stopped after 2-3 hours rumours flew around because the one valiant ET staff member dealing with PAX was apparently instructed not to make further general announcements "for fear of a passenger revolt" - indeed they sent for the police and 4 officers remained with us for several hours! After a short night in a hotel arranged by ET we boarded the flight at midday next day - and then spent 2 hours sitting on plane apparently because they had forgotten to order a fresh supply of meals for the flight. So we reached Addis at midnight and spent another short night in a hotel there awaiting next day's connection. Summary - almost 48 hours from check-in at LHR to EBB with inadequate information. ET ground staff in London and the local agents clearly need training in handling unexpected problems and in communication passengers would be much less angry if adequate announcements are made and attempts at rebooking on alternative flights are handled in an orderly manner rather than priority being given to those who push hardest or make the most noise - I felt especially sorry for the 2 women carrying small children who received no attention at all in London.

Flew from Nairobi to Addis and then from Addis to Paris. The first leg of the flight was operated on a 767 with no inflight entertainment but legroom and comfort was average. Upon arrival in Addis I as well as other passengers were completely lost no info about connections and moreover staff at Bole international airport are very rude. No cell phone reception in the airport no wifi except in the business class lounge. On the second leg the extremely old 767 had no entertainment on a 7.5 hour flight seats were so cramped my knees pushed against the seat in front of me. I will not talk about the service because there was no service crew disappeared during the whole flight. On my way return I had to pay 500€ to get an upgrade to business class because I could not fly in economy. Business class seats were not even lie flat they just had a footrest.

Flew Addis to London yesterday on the Dreamliner. Superb experience throughout. Check in at Addis no queue Check in person could not have been more helpful. Plenty of loungers to pass the time in Terminal 2 departure areas. Reasonably priced cafes. Boarding was very civilized and politely controlled with the colour priority system. We left about 10 minutes late but arrived at Heathrow right on time. Cabin staff were courteous and helpful. Meal was excellent. Then we arrive at the super new Heathrow terminal 2. It took an hour to get to our bags only 3 staff on immigration at 9 in the morning. Bags were waiting for us. Ethiopian Airlines excellent Terminal 2 Heathrow - looks great service poor.

EBB-ADD 14 Sep ET332. ADD-BLZ 14 Sep ET877. BLZ-ADD 20 Sep ET877. ADD-EBB 20 Sep ET332. As a Star Alliance Gold member I often enjoy flying Star Alliance Partners and because I work often in Africa I fly Ethiopian regularly. However I do not look forward to flying the airline. In fact I dread it. The actual service of the airline staff is below average. It's very hard to get the attention of service crew and English or French is not widely spoken. My comments below refer mainly to the fact that Ethiopian consistently does not offer benefits to Star Alliance Gold members that it should. Priority Boarding: The airline consistently does not board Gold or Business Class members first when boarding flights. If they do have a priority boarding lane staff let anyone and everyone into it and do not verify their Gold or Business class status. So I must wait just as long in either lane. Lounge: The internet service food and sanitary conditions in the Gold lounge are horrendous. In the airport things are worse with men and women bathing in the restroom sinks.

I have been using ET regularly 3-4 times a year from Entebbe to Bangkok for 2 years now here are my opinions: 1) Check in counter: always crowded with tons of baggage especially BKK-ADD. You will spend at least 30-45 minutes in queue. 2) Baggage : So far I have never had any problems. 3) Staff: Friendly but not attentive. 4) Inflight entertainment: Very poor one big screen for whole of economy. Very poor quality earphones. 5) Seat Comfort: Well what can I say its ok for economy better than a low-cost carrier. 6) Food and Beverages: Food was great most of the time Beverages? You have to ask to be satisfied they do not provide food or drink menu so most of their expenses will be on juice water and wine. 7) Value for Money: For a moment they still the best although if their competitors were offering the same price I would definitely move. 8) Transit: No free internet crowded toilet crowded passengers at the security gate limited choice of restaurants one smoking room for whole transit passengers the less transit time in Addis the better.

I made the flight BRU-CDG-ADD followed by the flight ADD-KGL-BJM. The first step was made onboard the B787 ET- AOO. Very quiet flight with a very friendly and sympathetic cabin crew. The flight was almost full at Paris but I managed to stay alone at row 29 abc there were a lot of good seats available at the rear part of the B787. The seats were ok but a little 'tired' if I can say that! The dinner was simple overcooked and too salty - it was much better on my previous trip. For the breakfast just 3 small cookies and a madeleine nothing else! Long transit time at ADD and a quiet flight on a B737 to BJM. Excellent sandwich.

IAD-ADD-LLW in Cloud Nine (Business) in July 2014. All flights on time and service was just fine. Good in flight entertainment on 777-300 ER with pitched lie flat seating on the IAD-ADD segment. ADD-LLW segment on 737NG had comfortable reclining seats with leg rests and no IFE. Food was plentiful and of good quality with a selection of Ethiopian dishes accompanied by injera as an additional course to the three mains on both segments. Crew was uniformly lovely. ADD is ok by developing world standards - a little confusing sort of dirty and not particularly enticing food or shopping options. Cloud Nine/Premium lounge crowded and unattractive with ok food and beverage options passable bathrooms and ok internet. The less time spent in ADD the better I think. Overall I was impressed with ET onboard product less so with the ADD hub (which I understand is due for an overhaul in the next few years).

Travelled from IAD to ADD then to LSK on July 1 - absolutely the worst flight segments ever taken. The flight from IAD to ADD was 90 minutes late with no explanation given. Once onboard the plane (777-300ER) smelt foul and it was evident the plane had not had a good cleaning in ages. Being a Star Gold Member you would think preference would be given for upgrades however the lead cabin staff informed me that was not Ethiopians policy. Once airborne the inflight entertainment system was below average. The food and snacks were awful had the airline stated their food was below par I would have bought something at the airport. Finally the communication skills of the cabin crew and even the captain was below average. My return journey was equal if not worse than the first leg. Plane smelt windows in the plane had not been cleaned in ages it took a cabin crew member 1 hour 45 mins to realize my call light was on. I could not move due to the miserable 3-3-3 configuration. Overall I will never use Ethiopian again.

I recently flew from Luanda to Paris and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and service received on Ethiopian Airways. In most cases it was superior to it's more illustrious competitors in Europe.

This airline is one of two major airlines in East Africa. While they never lost my luggage that is about the only good thing I can say about this airline on which I flew over 30 segments due to my work. The airline attendants are chosen for their looks not their helpfulness or intelligence. The food is awful and the airplanes particularly the DSH-8 are old and noisy. They have obtuse rules - such as not allowing you to store your purse under the seat in front of you in an exit row. They do not prioritize luggage upon arrival and the gate agents don't seem to know what to do. Definitely not up to Western standards!