A bit of a chaotic boarding at the gate due to security screening with one scanner for all passengers and an operator who seemed to be doing two jobs. He was watching the screen as luggage passed through and dealing with those items that needed further inspection. I innocently asked a woman in Ethiopian uniform if it was the queue for London and she whisked me to the front of the queue which I found rather embarrassing as there was no designated fast track. The aeroplane was a A 350 with flat seats


I was in seat 2L which is a single seat on the window side. Seats in row 1 and 3 are single but next to the aisle. They alternate. The overall arrangement is 1-2-1. The foot space was adequate:


When the bed was flat there was enough room for my feet which is not always the case in the foot coffin arrangement.



Champagne was served.


Amenity kits were handed out. The one from BKK was red but as you can see this one is yellow. I've not opened either so not sure what they contain.
We took off at 11.10, with the scheduled time of 10.50 so everything was running on time. There was drinks trolley service shortly after take off.



This time we got a snack with the drink. And a top up shortly after!
I didn't photograph the menu on this flight and unfortunately it was collected just before landing. I suspected this would happen, although it wasn't done on the first flight, and hid it in the magazine pocket. Alas, the stewardess understood the wiles of the menu thief and plucked it out when I feigned ignorance as to its whereabouts.
Starter:


This is prawns. pepper chicken and a pea and potato salad. The pea and potato salad tasted of neither! The green salad was much better and featured a balsamic dressing. More champagne with this course.

The next course, not listed as a main of which there were three to choose from, was the Ethiopian National Dish. This was five cooked servings, mostly looking like thick stew plus a chicken leg coated in sauce. The stewardess told me it was spicy which, as I had spent 10 days in Thailand picking chillis out of food, worried me a little. However, it was only mildly spiced and very tasty. It was served with that pancake type rolled bread and I asked whether I should eat it with my fingers. She said Ethiopians did eat with their fingers and it added a tactile element to the experience. So I did. It was a great dish and fun to eat. Alas, I forgot to photograph it! Possible due to too much wine but I pressed ahead with an accompanying Ethiopian red I had enjoyed on the first flight.

This national dish was fairly substantial and although it appears as an extra course with a main to follow I declined a main.

Dessert arrived:


Chocolatey thing, neither wonderful or unpleasant. The red wine on the table cloth was done by the stewardess topping up and the food stain on the right was the only (small) mistake I made using hands to eat.

A bit later on the flight we flew over the entrance to the Suez Canal:


I also got a photo of the next bit on the canal where two parallel branches with what looks like a lake. However, it was a bit hazy so I'm not posting it.

I slept for about four hours much much comfortably than on the angle flat seat on the B787. I awoke and came active after the light meal service but was nonetheless provided with it.


This was described as hot canapés. Grilled chicken on a skewer, meat balls and a samosa filled with something I could not identify. The sauce was tasteless.

The aeroplane landed in LHR at 7.20pm Ethiopian time (5.20pm UK), immigration was quick and I caught a bus to Reading and then the train home.

This flight was great! The general comfort of the seat was good, the food and wine fine and the service from the smiling stewardess excellent. Based on this experience I would certain fly Ethiopian again.

But what of the other two elements? No problem at all with the lounge which even when crowded was pleasant. However, that BKK-ADD flight was not up to scratch in a number of ways. As I said above, it is a very late (d 01.50) and a bucket and spade route which might explain some of the deficiencies. The ADD-LHR flight would have more business people on it who could fly TK, LH, OS or Emirates and not just people almost all on their hols; a more prestigious route, similar to the European flights to New York. It is not the worst J I've experienced, an accolade that belongs to Avianca who think a narrow bodied aeroplane with no drinks and only a pre-packed brie roll and a cup of tea in a plastic cup is what J passengers want on a six hour flight. Or OS who put narrow bodied aeroplanes with six across seating on intercontinental routes!

I would fly ET again for sure but would look very carefully at the price as I think I would happily pay a couple of hundred pound more for QR or TK.

I hope this series of accounts is interesting and helps you with Ethiopian, The New Spirit of Africa.