Ethiopian Airlines

I flew to and from Nairobi and Addis and made two internal flights within Ethiopia. I was extremely disappointed with the airline: while it feels safe and the in-air experience is reasonable the ground experience at Addis Bole Airport is atrocious: was supposedly the international hub yet they had a single counter open for all ET flights (even after checking in at a kiosk I had to wait an hour in the heat with crying babies) seemingly under-trained staff and/or technical issues at check in completely chaotic baggage reclaim in Terminal 1; poor information and confusing signs. I also received SMS from the airline telling me my domestic flight had been delayed 3 hours and then that it had been cancelled - I therefore arrived 10hours late in Bahar Dar and missed my tour of the city. As it turned out the morning flight had run on schedule all along and with spare seats- yet another sign of the incompetence of the airline. I think the airline is very strong at marketing themselves as a serious international airline ('Proud member of Star Alliance' etc) when in fact it should work at sorting out basic logistics in its operations. Addis faces significant infrastructure problems at presents (including constant electrical interruptions) so no wonder this is a factor holding the airline back.

I recently flew IAD-ABB / ABB-IAD en route to Entebbe on a 777-200LR each way. The seats on both planes were worn out. There was zero cushion left and you could see the indentions where the padding had worn away. This made both flights agonizingly uncomfortable especially on the 17-hr return flight. Additionally my seat back entertainment screen did not work nor did the USB port. All plane interiors were dirty especially on the ADD-EBB route. I would not fly this airline again on a long haul flight.

New spirit of Africa. A great slogan but one that the airline needs to earn if it is to mean anything. I took the flight from Addis to London on 2 May and as the time approached at which we should have been boarding there was an announcement that there would be a 2 hour delay; as a frequent business traveller I have no problem when this happens for mechanical or weather related reasons but I cannot find it in myself to be understanding when the reason turns out to be that no crew had been programmed and that we had to wait while the standby crew was activated. To add insult to injury I wrote to Ethiopian Airlines to complain and did not receive the courtesy of an acknowledgement.

Very bad service. I flew on route KUL-BKK. The cabin crew were not warm or welcoming whilst guiding me to my seat it seemed like they would rather be gossiping with their colleagues. During the meal service they offered two meal choices - fish and chicken. The cabin crew lacked service.

JNB-ADD-DXB. Check-in: Average experience obviously not ET staff hence it lacks a bit as the lady servicing the queue seemed at odds at what was going on. Flight: Crew were fairly attentive. Again seat failed to work and I wasn't offered an alternative even though they mentioned that they were aware of the problem. Overall a good service made up by their great ability to just make your day. Transit: Efficient though the bus to and from the aircraft needs to be sorted out especially if you offer an exclusive coach for your J class customers. DXB sector: Standard affair though for a late night flight like this it would be better if you offered dinner with the lights dimmed or off.

DXB-ADD-JNB. Check-in in Dubai: Horrendous. Disorganized and truly unfriendly check in agent. Airport Lounge: Staff friendly and helpful at best though choice of meals needs a spruce. Flight: Fantastic crew onboard. Only gripe though is that menus etc shouldn't be collected while we still on our seats? ADD-JNB: My seat failed to work - this was known to the crew hence alternatives should've been offered ASAP not to wait until the customer discovers it.

I flew IAD to ADD then from ADD to JIB. When I was at the airport in IAD I noticed many people had overly large bags and in large numbers and I had my one bag. The flight from ADD to IAD was nice and my luggage was with me. However the flight from IAD to ADD was not as nice. The flight attendants were not very attentive the second time around in the slightest and the movie selection was poor. Also when moving from ADD to JIB I noticed they were packing a great deal of peoples luggage and it looked like it all wasn't going to fit. I was right. When I arrived at my final destination I found they had not loaded my bag on my flight. I am military and I was supposed to return to my duty station upon my return. I am now being charged extra leave days due to this Airlines inability to keep track of luggage.

A new fifth freedom (operating between two points outside an airlines home country) carrier on the trunk route from Singapore to Bangkok served by Boeing 767-300ER - an interesting and exotic way to get between these two cities. Cannot be booked on ET’s own site but codeshares with SQ and others and pops up on travel aggregator sites. Perhaps the difficulty in booking explained why there was only 40 people onboard despite the kind hospitality of the Ethiopian crew the tasty meal and the excellent flight times (BKK to SIN is 1425-1815 and SIN-BKK is 2245-0005+1). No entertainment to speak of although loud and diverse (military techno ethnic one after another!) played loudly during boarding taxi takeoff and climb (endearing rather than annoying). We arrived twenty minutes early into Suvunabhumi and my bags were on the carousel before I got there despite no lines at immigration. Will look out for this flight again.

Economy class LHR to ADD. I flew in economy class simply because of the direct flight convenience. I had very low expectation and it helped a lot. The airline is simply not up to international standard. The check-in at the LHR airport was a mess. Why they offer online check in which is not working is beyond me. At the end everybody had to check-in at the counter. The plane B777 is quite new so the seat and video are still in good condition. The food were abysmal that's all I can say. The IFE was average with pathetic earphone. The return flight was not much better.

TLV to JNB via Addis Ababa. Both legs on time. First flight on a very old 767/300 but comfortable seats and good food as very good service. Second leg on a new 787 Dreamliner but seats not as comfortable as on old 767/300. Service very good food average. This airline gives you the max for the price they charge I will fly them again soon.