Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - IAD-ADD Direct on ET on the new 777?- experiences?

Am thinking about using ET to fly into Tanzania from east coast US, and saw that Ethiopian has a new non-stop from Washington IAD into Addis Ababa.

I would be flying business class - it is a long flight, and wondering if anyone has any experiences with this new plane, in this class of service?

I was looking at the some information about this aircraft on the Ethiopian website yesterday. The B777-200LR is in a 2x3x2 configuration, so you could potentially end up with a center seat in business class on this long flight. Also, it appears that the seats are lie-flat at an angle and not 180 degrees. The flight is nonstop from IAD to ADD, but the return flight from ADD to IAD stops in FCO for refueling, due to the high altitude of the ADD airport and the inability for this aircraft to operate nonstop on the westbound sector.

As an alternative, you may want to check-out SAA from JFK to JNB and onto DAR. It is a 15 hours flight nonstop from JFK to JNB, with about 1.5 hour connection and then an additional 4 hours to DAR. SAA business class is quite nice with 2x2x2 seating in a completely lie-flat configuration.

The flight is nonstop from IAD to ADD, but the return flight from ADD to IAD stops in FCO for refueling, due to the high altitude of the ADD airport and the inability for this aircraft to operate nonstop on the westbound sector.

Really? :eek: It's 7,200 miles between IAD and ADD and 8,500 miles between ATL and JNB, also a high altitude airport. DL flies a 77L and doesn't stop on the way back. Does the jet stream make things that much worse for ET?

The JNB sits at about 5,500 feet and I understand that ADD is at approx. 8,800 feet. Despite the shorter distance from ADD to IAD, the altitude at the airport makes that difference in them being able to take off and fly nonstop back to the U.S.

The JNB sits at about 5,500 feet and I understand that ADD is at approx. 8,800 feet. Despite the shorter distance from ADD to IAD, the altitude at the airport makes that difference in them being able to take off and fly nonstop back to the U.S.

8800 ft! :eek: That's high! I thought JNB was high already!

I guess the runway at ADD is not long enough for the 77L to reach the the required take-off speed (VR) at that altitude with the weight of the fuel required for a non-stop. I bet the air is REALLY thin! The runway is already 15,000 ft!!!

I did the Dulles to Addis flight in biz last month and wasn't that impressed. The angled flat is much less comfortable than the flat bed of SAA, also they don't have the delicious food they serve on the intra africa flights when you cross the atlantic. It was nice getting all the way to ADD direct though...

Just a crazy idea: Could it be the situation in Libya affecting the outbound sector in addition to the jetstream, which translates into having a tech s/o in FCO?

Am thinking about using ET to fly into Tanzania from east coast US, and saw that Ethiopian has a new non-stop from Washington IAD into Addis Ababa.

I would be flying business class - it is a long flight, and wondering if anyone has any experiences with this new plane, in this class of service?

Even though the seats are horrible I like US-AMS --> Africa. KLM flies all over and the connection times are good and the on board service is great. They fly AMS-JRO-DAR-AMS. Stopover in JRO is about 30 minutes to an hour depending on How many disembark and how many new PAX get on. DAR is at least a 45 min stop for fuel, sometimes an hour. Really convenient though and you don't have to connect at an African airport.

Just a crazy idea: Could it be the situation in Libya affecting the outbound sector in addition to the jetstream, which translates into having a tech s/o in FCO?

They've stopped in FCO for a long time, well before the Libya uprising.

Flew in business class on one of the new planes in December from DXB to ADD on my way to Europe. Need to do a write up at some point.

The seat was fine. Not up to the latest business class, however. The entertainment system was great, but hardly any content. The Cloud 9 lounge @ ADD was a disaster as is the airport.

Took the IAD-ADD flight in Cloud Nine last month. It was fine enough, but if I were to head to the same destinations (JRO, ultimately), I'd explore the other options.

As noted, the seats aren't really lie-flat. While the plane felt new-ish, the seats were what I imagine are the bare-bones/cheapest option from Boeing for outfitting business. The armrest? Hard plastic. And half of the seat controls didn't actually do anything.

Food was okay. Ordered veg ahead of time. Wasn't inspired, but wasn't as bad as some of the other segments on this trip.

Service was . . . slow (good prep for the rest of the trip, in retrospect). Only 5 people in the business cabin, so it wasn't like they were overloaded.

Connecting in ADD was hilariously inefficient. Deplane to tarmac (in front of empty gates in int'l terminal). Bus to old domestic terminal, where we waited for a couple of hours in a place with no food/water available, unless you could convince them to let you exit security. Then back on the bus, back in front of the int'l terminal, and climb back up the stairs to the next flight. Coming back through (from ZNZ) I did get to experience the horror show that was the Cloud Nine lounge in the int'l terminal.

As compared to other African airlines I've taken, Ethiopian is good. But I didn't come away from this trip with the feeling that it really had a place in the Star Alliance, esp. when it comes to the business class product.

does anyone know if they are putting NEW business class seats on the 787 or using the crummy ones from the 777?

Any new feedback on this? Considering SEZ as a honeymoon destination and the only *A route I can seem to find is IAD-ADD-SEZ. Seems like the only way to get to Seychelles is through Addis Ababa on ET. The flight (in Business/First) is as important as the vacation to me, so I definitely don't want to have a poor experience. Seems as though the IAD-ADD segment is 787, but the return is 777.

Thanks!