Ethiopian Airlines

While we did get to and from our destinations mostly on time it is difficult to understand how Ethiopian Airlines is a member of Star Alliance. Both on the ground and in the air this airline needs significant improvement. Our trip began with a chaotic boarding process that lacked any organization. Multiple lines and pushing your way onboard seemed to be standard procedure. Once onboard the flight attendants did the absolute minimum required of them performing meal and drink services and then disappearing. While they did their job it was done without any warmth or hospitality. On the ground in Addis Ababa you are met with more chaos and disorganization. Flights are cancelled or changed without any notice (the flight is simply removed from the display in the terminal as if it did not exist) security lines extend the entire length of the terminal and there is one representative at an information desk to provide assistance for all passengers in the terminal. This was our overall experience on all the Ethiopian Airlines flights we took. While they may fly new equipment such as the 787 that cannot hide their failures in service and organization. Even for a little extra money choosing an alternate carrier would be well worth your consideration.

4 flights on Ethiopian Airlines. My flights were Washington to Nairobi thru Addis Ababa and returned the same way. The flight over appeared to be a fairly new plane and quite comfortable. I am 6' 4" and found the legroom adequate. It helped that the seat next to me was empty. The food was typical airline food (rather nondescript). I found the cabin staff fairly attentive. The plane to Nairobi and was much older and the consensus among my travelling companions that had the flight been longer than the two hours it would have been unbearable as the seats were old and uncomfortable. The return flight was comparable to trip going over. Once again the seat next to me was empty for the 15 or 16 hr flight. I agree with other reviewers about the lack of cleanliness in the bathrooms. This appears to be a shortcoming of the staff. I was underwhelmed by the counter staff both going and coming - it was apparent that they could care less about customer service. Overall my experience with the airline was good and I would fly them again. I did not find the airport in Addis Ababa to be a problem as other reviewers have.

Heathrow - Lusaka Via Addis Ababa Economy. It was the only flight I could get to and from Lusaka. I wasn't expecting much but they're not as bad as they seem not bad but not great. Flight from Heathrow boarded on time I struggled to find my seat as the seat numbers on the luggage compartments were unreadable as they were so worn down. Upon finding my seat there was somebody sat there kindly asked them to move which they did. Left 10 mins late but arrived at Addis early. The cabin crew on our flight to Addis were very ignorant all the flight attendant calls were ignored however they did leave drinks out in the galley and I was told to 'serve myself whatever I wanted'. The Toilet was filthy wet and covered in tissue same went for the other toilets windows very dirty and greasy. Addis airport is terrible no signs or information except 3 flight information screens. Three toilets for the whole terminal long queues. The queue for security before boarding your flight was long and unbelievably slow. Shops are ridiculously expensive as normal. The flight to Lusaka was brilliant the crew were much more attentive food on both flights was very tasty (beef curry with rice). Both flights were on the new 787's. Both seats on both flights were hard and uncomfortable quite narrow. Inflight entertainment on both flights was somewhat acceptable. Aircraft was very clean. Lusaka to Addis was on an old 767 which on the exterior showed its age. The interior was clean and tidy however lacked inflight entertainment. Service was good as was the food fish curry and rice. Addis to Heathrow on the new 777 flight left at 1am boarding was chaos annoyingly we were served a meal at 2am chicken curry and rice which was tasty but didn't go down well. Flight arrived in London on time all flights were smooth. The 777 and 767 was a lot more comfortable than the 787 we found the seats on the Dreamliner too narrow.

On October 28 2014 I flew from Bole Airport to Frankfurt Germany via flight 706 enroute to Geneva Switzerland. This was the worst experience in my 26 years of flying overseas. Incredibly rude and unfriendly service. During breakfast wake-up right before landing in Frankfurt one side received breakfast and the other side didn't! No professional skills non-whatsoever.

I have been extremely disappointed with the last 4 flights that I have taken with Ethiopian Airlines. On Sept 11 I flew ADD - MOI via Kilimanjaro. There was no soap in either bathrooms in economy class. The bathrooms were also generally dirty and not cleaned well. When I alerted the flight attendant she nonchalantly told me to use the other bathroom. I was shocked then to find the same problem when I returned to ADD from MOI on September 14. This time I asked 2 flight attendants for soap and they poured a bit into my hand from a small bottle that they had in the galley. The bathroom was again generally dirty and unpleasant smelling. On September 25 I flew from ADD to BKK. Again no soap in the bathroom. I now feel that planes that are serviced in Addis Ababa are done so to a very low standard. The plane itself a 767-300 was in generally poor condition with loose armrest covers worn fabric and trash in seat pockets. The temperature in the plane was also uncomfortable warm for the entire flight and only one movie was shown during an 8.5 hour flight. Check-in for the return flight from BKK to ADD was the most disorganized debacle I have seen in 20 years of flying. The manager was ineffective lines were disorderly and the process took far too long. No one seemed to care about the dirtiness of the bathrooms which was particularly troubling. Overall I have been disappointed by the overall poor organization and quality of Ethiopian Airline flights and wonder how the airline maintains its status as a Star Alliance member. Perhaps if I were a gold member I would have had better experiences for I have enjoyed 1 or 2 business class trips on Ethiopian. Although I lack Gold status I am nonetheless a paying customer who travels frequently and believe that I deserve to have a clean comfortable flight no matter which cabin I choose for a particular flight. I have not found that to be on Ethiopian Airlines. I live in Addis Ababa so often Ethiopian Airlines is the only option that I have for certain routes. I can't and won't pretend that I'll never fly Ethiopian again. But given a choice on a particular route I will choose to fly other airlines from here on out. For friends visiting Ethiopia from the US and other places I will also recommend that they choose Turkish Airlines or Emirates for a better quality experience.

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.