Ethiopian Airlines, the national airline of Ethiopia, was established in 1945, and commenced operations in 1946. It began its journey with a modest fleet of five aircrafts, initially servicing routes between Addis Ababa and Cairo. Over the decades, Ethiopian Airlines has evolved into Africa's largest airline, now serving 136 international destinations across five continents.
In December 2011, Ethiopian Airlines joined the Star Alliance. It has received numerous accolades for its service quality, including being named the "Best Airline in Africa" multiple times and achieving a Four-Star Airline Certification from Skytrax.
Addis Ababa Airport
Scroll down for my personal experience
Ethiopian Airlines has gathered a mixed bag of reviews from passengers, reflecting a wide range of experiences, both positive and negative. Here is a summary of the key points derived from various reviews.
Meal on Ethiopian Airlines
I first flew Ethiopian Airlines in the early 2000’s. I was apprehensive at the time but when I boarded the plane, and saw South Africa’s Minister of Transport at the time, Dullah Omar, on the plane, I was somewhat relieved. Although he was in business class, and we were in Economy, we felt that If it was good enough for the Transport Minister, it was good enough for us. The journey was uneventful, apart from some turbulence.
More recently, I flew on Ethiopian Airlines from Johannesburg to Seychelles, as they had the best prices. A few days before the flights, they began emailing us, asking us to make offers for upgrades, however we did not take them up on it.
Take your chance and make us an offer for an upgrade to Cloud Nine Business Class at a price you decide.
Flying over Ethiopia at night
Although it didn’t come close to airlines like Qatar Airways in terms of comfort, food and entertainment – the seating was a bit cramped, the entertainment was outdated and the food was average – none of these were dealbreakers considering how much we were saving by flying with them. We didn’t have any serious complaints. although I do know people whose luggage went missing with them on another flight.
We spent some time on layovers at the Addis Ababa airport, and there was sufficient seating space, restrooms and restaurants at the airport. Free wi-fi was available.
See my review of Qatar Airways.
See how to make long flights with children easier.
Sara Essop is a travel blogger and writer based in South Africa. She writes about family travel and experiences around the world. Although she has been to 50 countries thus far, she especially loves showcasing her beautiful country and is a certified South Africa Specialist.
I remember flying to Seychelles about 5-6 years back. The overall experience was fine, considering the convenience of direct flights. However, I was not very happy with the food quality, may be because I am a vegetarian.
I flew Ethiopian from DC to South Africa and back in November. The shorter flights from Addis to Johannesburg were fine but the long haul between Addis and DC was not. The food was terrible. I asked them to bring me water and had to wait an entire hour before they finally brought it over. And the service was just generally bad. I'm in no hurry to fly with them again.
Ethiopian airlines losing luggage of passengers who have landed in Saudi on Friday.
They are nor offering any assistance to the passengers to try and help them.