DELYOW

This was my first flight on Ethiopian in almost 20 years. I was unsure what to expect and was apprehensive about transfers at DXB. To my pleasant surprise all went very well.

On Ground Service
I connected at DXB off EK 511 from Delhi. Picked up my ET boarding card without any hassles at the transfer desk. Having arrived into DXB in the afternoon, an obvious lean period, the transfer counters were deserted.

ET use the DNATA lounge next to Gate 108 in Terminal 1. The lounge was almost empty and quite comfortable. The spread of food and drinks was quite sumptuous. I helped myself to some rice and butter chicken....quite yummy! The stewards on hand were very attentive and efficient. The lounge has both Wi-Fi and a bank of four computer terminals. I decided to settle into one of the computer terminals for the remainder of my transit.

Boarding
ET J-Class passengers were the last to be called to board almost 10 minutes prior to departure. Since the gate was right next door, it was no hassle at all. Boarding was most efficient and judging by the pile of hand luggage being tagged at the gate, it seems that ET is rather strict with its carry-on policy.

Aircraft
Our aircraft for the flight was ET-AMK, apparently an ex-ATA 757-200. Boarding was via Door 2L. A photo of the interior can be found here:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Ethio...28A/1407530/M/

The J-class cabin has 4 rows in a 2x2 arrangement. The tan leather seats make for a very pleasant looking interior. My seat 2K was most comfortable. Seat controls are all mechanical, but the seats do recline quite a bit. The seats and aircraft do unfortunately show quite a bit of wear and tear.

The load in J for this flight was 12/16.

Service Onboard
Within moments of arriving at my seat an attentive and attractive stewardess offered to take my coat and promptly brought back a tray with welcome drinks - I opted for the MOET Champagne. We had 3 senior (as in experience) ladies serving the forward cabin that afternoon, and they came back in short order with reading materials, menus, headphones, and amenity kits (very attractive green fabric boxes!).

Entertainment was all via overhead monitors - Fawlty Towers, Mr Bean and other such assorted programmes kept me sufficiently entertained for the next three and a half hours. Not having flown a 757 in a while, I had forgotten how noisy these aircraft are.....it was unfortunate in this sense that the headphones weren't noise canceling.

A hot meal and bar service were offered just after take-off. Ethiopian put on a lavish spread, even though service was preplated. For starters we were offered:
Green salad with a choice of dressing
Soup of the day (I skipped this but recall it being Pumpkin)

Main course selection:
Grilled Nile Perch
Tenderloin of Beef
Roasted Leg of Lamb
Vegetable Biriyani
Vegetarian Pasta

I went for the lamb and wasn't disappointed. The food was excellent, as was the service. The stewardess made sure that we were kept amply supplied with both food and drink for the duration of the flight. An after dinner service of Port and Cheeses and fruit was offered, together with desert (which I skipped).

We arrived in ADD on time, and with the usual efficiency that ET and the staff at the Visa on Arrival counter display at the airport, I was on my way to the hotel within 20 minutes of landing.

All in all....two thumbs up.....the only thing that would keep me flying ET long haul is their outdated cabins...other than that they are great value for money!

roadwarriorafrica

Great to see a report on an airline that is not commonly used.

camsean

Thanks for trip report. Sounds very different from my domestic ET Y experience. Definitely one of the best airlines in Africa, however.

Karl

Thanks for the detailed update on DXB.

I will be arriving at 2000 with UA-976 and am sked out at 0500 on ET-60? for ADD on Nov 14th and connecting with another ET flight to Brazzaville.

How long were you waiting in DXB for the ET flight? Since I have a 9 hour layover I was thinking of a day room but can't get a STPC from UA as I am on a D fare. Does the main DXB business class lounge have rooms or sleeper lounge chairs and showers? I have been in this lounge about 5 years ago and remember that it was very nice with a nice buffet.

I have been in and out of ADD several times over the past 2 years and always have had good luck connecting or over nighting. On my return on Nov 21 I am flying BZV-ADD-FRA(LH).

Thank you.

ELITEGOLDTRAVELLER

My friend needs some help so pls advise.

He is flying EK in J to DXB and then connecting on SQ within 4 hours also in F to IST. Both the flights reach and depart from T1.

He is carrying 1 peice of check in baggage. Does he need to go through immigration in DXB and collect baggage and then check in again with SQ or can he arrive at the transfer desk in DXB terminal and get his baggage forwarded to IST on SQ and get the SQ boarding pass??? Also does he need to point aything out during the check in with EK in DEL that he wants his luggage tranferred to IST on SQ???

Thanks in advance for your help.

DELYOW

Hi Karl
I was in the lounge for about 3.5 hours. They do have shower facilities, but no slumber chairs or rooms that I am aware of. On overnight layovers in DXB, I usually book myself in the transit hotel, which though relatively expensive, makes for a more comfortable transit. If you plan on using the transit hotel, I strongly recommend booking in advance.

Hope you find this useful.

DELYOW

ELITEGOLDTRAVELLER:

There's should be no need for your friend to go through immigration in DXB. Make sure that they tag the bag through to IST in DEL. They may be able to provide you a boarding card as well in Delhi, if not simply pick this up at any transfer desk in T1.

My own experiences are based on VS->EK, LX->EK, EK->ET transfers.

ELITEGOLDTRAVELLER

DELYOW many thanks for your info.

Just 2 small clarifications.

1) EK can book the baggage through to IST although the sector is on SQ and the E-TKT is seprate and has nothing to do with the EK booking. Correct???

2) EK can issue the SQ boarding pass as well in DEL. Correct???

Thanks

MatthewLAX

Nice report. Thanks.

DELYOW

1) EK should be able to interline the lugguge to final destination..ask your friend to show then the SQ ticket.
2) In this case he will have to get his boarding pass at the DXB transfer desk.