Ethiopian Airlines

Travel in December 2013 in Nairobi via Addis Abba to Zanzibar route the first full flight a 767 old narrow seats but friendly staff and good food service. The transit in Addis Abba was fast. Flight Nairobi to Zanzibar via Dar es Salaam: left on time good food and friendly assistance. A good experience.

Washington to Addis and back in January 2014. This was my second time on Ethiopian and I thought it was significantly worse than my previous trip 2 years ago. In both directions my headset worked in only one ear so it was almost impossible to watch movies. In both directions by my arrival the cabin and restrooms were absolutely filthy I assume there weren't enough flight attendants to keep up with the trash. On the way back in addition to the headset being broken my touch screen didn't work and the pocket on the front of the seat broke. The food is mediocre. The Addis airport is chaos as always the check-in wait was extremely long and seemed very disorganized with people randomly jumping in and out of line and staff abruptly leaving their posts. In addition it seems ridiculous in this day and age to make a stop in Rome for refuelling since many airlines fly such long routes without any stops. Combined with the fact that this itinerary was no cheaper (in fact it was priced slightly higher) than a comparable trip on Emirates which I expect to have premium service I won't be taking Ethiopian again.

FRA-ADD-JNB. Planes were 787 and 777 with new seats. USB power plug and personal TV were useful. All flights were on time. Cabin crews were helpful and friendly. Improving points were reservation center staffs and ground handling. I contacted reservation centers in Addis Ababa several times by e-mail with a quick answer. Addis Ababa airport is chaos. I really felt that ground staff tried to take care of passengers but absolutely too many passengers for the number of staff. Security control line at gates was so long. more than 30min waiting. After security control nothing at gates except WC.

Rome-Addis-Maputo and back. I can say that it is a good rtip considering the price differential. The flights left near the schedule (not greater than 15 minutes late) the food was great (truly Ethiopian I thought it great) and staff polite. What I really disliked was the space between the seats tighter than usual with a poor maintenance service and poor entertainment options not user friendly at all. Long story short my impression was positive. The company can improve a lot its service but it is an interesting alternative for those who want to save money flying. Do not expect luxury great movies or French food on the menu.

Harare - London via Addis with a 10 hour stop over with 2 children 5 and 7 years. The plane went through Lusaka and on 2 occasions my children were turned away from the toilets as the plane was fuelling in the end I just had to barge into the loo with my youngest. On arrival in Addis we waited for over an hour before we were given vouchers for Beshale hotel. The next days flight on the London leg didn't leave on time and the sticker system was pointless as those of us at the back did not hear or understand what the crew were saying.

Johannesburg to Bangkok via Addis and back. Check in: Slow and farcical - both in Johannesburg and Bangkok. Slow system. Automatically change seats booked on internet. No system in Addis. You queue for about an hour to get a sticker of a certain colour according to which you board but when you board everyone boards. Planes: Ethiopian brags hugely about its new fleet. The plane from Johannesburg to Addis may have been newish but the floors were dirty the trays had old food on them the individual TV screens scratched and its sound appalling. The flight from Addis to Bangkok was on a very old plane. No individual TV screens massively uncomfortable seats. I was shocked that such a plane is still used. Hub: The Bole International Airport in Addis is supposed to be a hub but it is a mere shell. Three restrooms serve it there are no lounges (just Ethiopian Airlines related) not enough seats. Staff: Some rude. Verdict: it is an insult to Star Alliance. Avoid it at all costs.

We flew Ethiopian on our honeymoon. When I booked the flight I noticed the short connection time in Addis Ababa and queried this with Ethiopian. I was assured that it would not be a problem. On flight day our flight leaving Johannesburg was late and therefore we missed out connection. When we arrived we were told to join a mob of about 80 other people that had also missed connections. Our flight only flew once a day so we were put in a hotel and given a transit visa. Not ideal for first night of honeymoon. As a result of the 24 hour delay we missed another flight that we had to rebook out of our own pocket. All those that were delayed in Addis were promised a USD300 compensation voucher. There was about 30 of us waiting for compensation as we were boarding the airplane to Mumbai. The Ethiopian staff disappeared and came back with vouchers for some customers. They then left and returned with some more vouchers. We were then boarded and again more customers received vouchers. At this point I was personally promised that they were coming back with a voucher for myself. They didn't come back before the plane took off. At the time I was just relieved to be on our way to our destination but you can understand that I'm not happy about some customers receiving compensation and me and my wife not receiving. When we arrived in Mumbai that had also lost our bags. We are back home and don't intend to fly Ethiopian ever again. Overall the worst flying experience I've ever had.

Flew from ADD to BKK no inflight entertainment not even headphones. Seat cushion was totally detached with upholstery torn. Aircraft was tattered and filthy. The flight back was cancelled due to mechanical failure on the aircraft NO Ethiopian Airline representatives on Bangkok airport. No communication or explanation from the airline for hours. More than twelve hours have passed with no status update. Avoid this airline at all costs.

Toronto - Addis - Nairobi and back. Flights were good. Food was also good. Entertainment was poor as there was no change on flight back (2014). The outbound flights were in 2013 (Dec) - I expected a completely new set of movies etc.. One word of caution the flight from Addis to Nairobi was on a very old 777 (broken trays and seat backs).

I travelled Kenya to India. Flight from Nairobi to Addi Abbas was behind schedule. Onboard the flight it was very warm and uncomfortable people were using papers to fan themselves. No good food or entertainment. Flight from Addi Abbas to Mumbai had similar problems. When coming back from Mumbai to Addi Abbas everything was excellent.