the810

Hi,
I plan to take Ethiopian fifth freedom flights from Vienna to Stockholm and back.

I understand that I'll need to clear passport check in both Vienna and Stockholm, even though I'm flying within Schengen, which is OK.

But do I need my passport or is EU national ID sufficient? In Vienna, immigration officers don't even care where you travel to or from (they don't check BP) as long as you have valid ID to enter/exit Schengen, but I'm not sure about airline - will they require passport as this is flight originating/ending outside EU?

And one more thing - how reliable are Ethiopian Airlines? I'm mostly concerned about baggage as I've read some negative reviews.

Thank you

Arnur

I've been flying them for years (most recently last week), it is a bit of a mixed bag - they are fairly often delayed and seem to stretch their fleet to the limit, so airplane changes are fairly common. Having said that, it has been years since they lost any of my bags. In essence, you get what you are paying for.

Sabasi

Not sure what "stretch their fleet to the limit" means. What ET DOES do is match its aircraft and routes to the demand.

ETStar

Can you be specific on the delays? Specific routes and scenarios? That's a broad statement to make.

What I have noticed as of late is that flights out of Addis Ababa (their hub) are sometimes delayed on departure but make up for it in flight and arrive on time. ET has also adjusted some schedules to account for such delays.

There are noticeable delays due to geopolitical issues such as the Yemen airspace closure which sees Middle East bound flights detouring, compounded by the permanent closure of Eritrean airspace to Ethiopian flights which sees service to places like Doha and Kuwait flying over Sudan before crossing the Red Sea and into Saudi Arabia (check flight radar for some cool detours.) Flights to Tel Aviv are also now required to make a technical stop in Cairo both ways since the previous route of flying over Djibouti before heading North over the Red Sea is affected by Yemen airspace closure.

Sabasi

Middle East airlines have been avoiding Yemeni airspace for years.

Flights to IAD (or LAX) via DUB are almost always seriously delayed. The time is only occasionally made up in flight.

Cheetah_SA

QR only started doing that recently; it wasn't allowed for in their schedules when I booked in March this year to fly in April. The times were changed after I made the booking.

Fredrik74

Technically you need only your national ID card. Until 1st of July this year Swedish citizens needed their passport to travel outside of Schengen. You should be fine with the ID card but don't be surprised if you're questioned on departure from Stockholm. This came up in a trip report that was posted on FT a few months ago.

ETStar

Care to back up your response?

EK, QR GF have been using Yemeni airspace to their East and Southern African routes since the airspace was recently closed. QR are now detouring via Sudan to/from East African destinations using A319/A320 aircraft. Their southern flights tend to trek up the eastern coast of Africa avoiding said airspace.

As far as Ethiopian's flights to IAD and LAX, the stats speak for themselves. Look for yourself and explain to me how it is "almost always seriously delayed."

IAD: http://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/et500
LAX: http://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/et504

Sabasi

That is simply a false statement. For years, their routes that would have used that airspace as the shortest route have detoured off the coast


Try looking further back in time than 4 or 5 days.

Sabasi

According to Expert Flyer (all international flights worldwide except those with a destination of Addis Ababa):

ET 33 arriving in Blantyre (no arrival statistics available).

ET 56 arriving in Blantyre (no arrival statistics available).

ET 302 during its last 59 flights has arrived in Nairobi on time 95 percent of the time, with an average delay of 7 minutes and a maximum of 33 minutes..

ET 304 during its last 55 flights has arrived in Nairobi on time 78 percent of the time, with an average delay of 16 minutes and a maximum of 146 minutes.

ET 306 during its last 55 flights has arrived in Nairobi on time 76 percent of the time, with an average delay of 28 minutes and a maximum of 128 minutes.

ET 308 during its last 58 flights has arrived in Nairobi on time 95 percent of the time, with an average delay of 5 minutes and a maximum of 25 minutes.

*ET 320 during its last 26 flights has arrived in Mombasa on time 46 percent of the time, with an average delay of 19 minutes and a maximum of 63 minutes.

ET 322 arriving Mombasa begins 27 October 2015.

ET 324 arriving Mombasa begins 27 October 2015.

ET 332 during its last 53 flights has arrived in Entebbe (Kampala) on time 75 percent of the time, with an average delay of 35 minutes and a maximum of 205 minutes.

ET 334 arriving Entebbe (Kampala) begins 27 October 2015.

ET 336 during its last 46 flights has arrived in Kigali on time 91 percent of the time, with an average delay of 15 minutes and a maximum of 67 minutes.

ET 336 during its last 58 flights has arrived in Entebbe (Kampala) on time 86 percent of the time, with an average delay of 11 minutes and a maximum of 81 minutes.

*ET 342 during its last 36 flights has arrived in Khartoum on time 44 percent of the time, with an average delay of 20 minutes and a maximum of 67 minutes.

ET 344 during its last 55 flights has arrived in Khartoum on time 65 percent of the time, with an average delay of 19 minutes and a maximum of 88 minutes.

*ET 346 during its last 57 flights has arrived in Khartoum on time 47 percent of the time, with an average delay of 25 minutes and a maximum of 116 minutes.

ET 348 during its last 53 flights has arrived in Khartoum on time 58 percent of the time, with an average delay of 19 minutes and a maximum of 80 minutes.

ET 352 during its last 10 flights has arrived in Juba on time 50 percent of the time, with an average delay of 21 minutes and a maximum of 55 minutes.

ET 354 during its last 55 flights has arrived in Juba on time 56 percent of the time, with an average delay of 19 minutes and a maximum of 80 minutes.

ET 356 during its last 56 flights has arrived in Juba on time 86 percent of the time, with an average delay of 9 minutes and a maximum of 25 minutes.

ET 356 during its last 53 flights has arrived in Entebbe (Kampala) on time 87 percent of the time, with an average delay of 9 minutes and a maximum of 37 minutes.

ET 362 during its last 55 flights has arrived in Djibouti on time 76 percent of the time, with an average delay of 10 minutes and a maximum of 58 minutes.

ET 364 during its last 53 flights has arrived in Djibouti on time 70 percent of the time, with an average delay of 27 minutes and a maximum of 165 minutes.

ET 372 during its last 56 flights has arrived in Hargeisa on time 89 percent of the time, with an average delay of 14 minutes and a maximum of 155 minutes.

ET 374 during its last 56 flights has arrived in Hargeisa on time 88 percent of the time, with an average delay of 12 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes.

ET 402 during its last 58 flights has arrived in Jeddah on time 83 percent of the time, with an average delay of 26 minutes and a maximum of 130 minutes.

ET 404 during its last 7 flights has arrived in Tel Aviv on time 71 percent of the time, with an average delay of 28 minutes and a maximum of 55 minutes.

ET 406 during its last 62 flights has arrived in Beirut on time 90 percent of the time, with an average delay of 15 minutes and a maximum of 75 minutes.

*ET 412 during its last 54 flights has arrived in Jeddah on time 24 percent of the time, with an average delay of 23 minutes and a maximum of 55 minutes.

*ET 414 during its last 5 flights has arrived in Tel Aviv on time 40 percent of the time, with an average delay of 48 minutes and a maximum of 68 minutes.

*ET 422 during its last 22 flights has arrived in Dammam on time 18 percent of the time, with an average delay of 22 minutes and a maximum of 34 minutes.

*ET 432 during its last 24 flights has arrived in Doha on time 42 percent of the time, with an average delay of 23 minutes and a maximum of 76 minutes.

ET 452 during its last 59 flights has arrived in Cairo on time 68 percent of the time, with an average delay of 14 minutes and a maximum of 52 minutes.

ET 500 during its last 60 flights has arrived in Dublin on time 70 percent of the time, with an average delay of 30 minutes and a maximum of 247 minutes.

ET 500 during its last 63 flights has arrived in Washington, D. C. on time 57 percent of the time, with an average delay of 29 minutes and a maximum of 161 minutes.

ET 502 during its last 26 flights has arrived in Dublin on time 69 percent of the time, with an average delay of 21 minutes and a maximum of 120 minutes.

ET 502 during its last 27 flights has arrived in Toronto on time 56 percent of the time, with an average delay of 28 minutes and a maximum of 172 minutes.

*ET 504 during its last 27 flights has arrived: (1) in Dublin on time 44 percent of the time, with an average delay of 26 minutes and a maximum delay of 89 minutes (2) in Los Angeles on time 4 percent of the time, with an average delay of 69 minutes and a maximum of 182 minutes.

*ET 506 during its last 25 flights has arrived in Sao Paulo on time 28 percent of the time, with an average delay of 47 minutes and a maximum of 258 minutes.

*ET 600 during its last 60 flights has arrived in Dubai on time 30 percent of the time, with an average delay of 35 minutes and a maximum of 365 minutes.

*ET 602 during its last 56 flights has arrived in Dubai on time 36 percent of the time, with an average delay of 33 minutes and a maximum of 168 minutes.

ET 604 during its last 61 flights has arrived in Beijing on time 77 percent of the time, with an average delay of 18 minutes and a maximum of 93 minutes.

*ET 606 during its last 57 flights has arrived in Guangzhou on time 5 percent of the time, with an average delay of 52 minutes and a maximum of 315 minutes.

*ET 608 during its last 27 flights has arrived in Hong Kong on time 0 percent of the time, with an average delay of 71 minutes and a maximum of 173 minutes.

*ET 608 during its last 24 flights has arrived in Seoul on time 21 percent of the time, with an average delay of 43 minutes and a maximum of 111 minutes.

*ET 610 during its last 59 flights has arrived in Mumbai on time 3 percent of the time, with an average delay of 41 minutes and a maximum of 97 minutes.

*ET 612 during its last 58 flights has arrived in Dubai on time 0 percent of the time, with an average delay of 74 minutes and a maximum of 165 minutes.

*ET 618 during its last 35 flights has arrived in Bangkok on time 14 percent of the time, with an average delay of 47 minutes and a maximum of 250 minutes.

*ET 618 during its last 32 flights has arrived in Kuala Lumpur on time 31 percent of the time, with an average delay of 45 minutes and a maximum of 226 minutes.

*ET 620 during its last 55 flights has arrived in Kuwait City on time 9 percent of the time, with an average delay of 31 minutes and a maximum of 75 minutes.

*ET 624 during its last 51 flights has arrived in Muscat on time 2 percent of the time, with an average delay of 59 minutes and a maximum of 200 minutes.

*ET 628 during its last 22 flights has arrived in Bangkok on time 14 percent of the time, with an average delay of 66 minutes and a maximum of 335 minutes.

*ET 628 during its last 21 flights has arrived in Manila on time 19 percent of the time, with an average delay of 69 minutes and a maximum of 315 minutes.

*ET 672 during its last 27 flights has arrived in Hong Kong on time 56 percent of the time, with an average delay of 30 minutes and a maximum of 82 minutes.

*ET 672 during its last 26 flights has arrived in Tokyo on time 38 percent of the time, with an average delay of 44 minutes and a maximum of 98 minutes.

*ET 684 during its last 61 flights has arrived in Shanghai on time 43 percent of the time, with an average delay of 27 minutes and a maximum of 131 minutes.

ET 686 during its last 60 flights has arrived in Delhi on time 67 percent of the time, with an average delay of 33 minutes and a maximum of 472 minutes.

ET 700 during its last 37 flights has arrived in London on time 59 percent of the time, with an average delay of 50 minutes and a maximum of 317 minutes.

*ET 702 during its last 35 flights has arrived in Rome on time 46 percent of the time, with an average delay of 99 minutes and a maximum of 254 minutes.

ET 702 during its last 18 flights has arrived in Milan on time 72 percent of the time (no average and maximum delay statistics available).

ET 704 during its last 52 flights has arrived in Paris on time 87 percent of the time, with an average delay of 28 minutes and a maximum of 167 minutes.

ET 704 during its last 51 flights has arrived in Brussels on time 57 percent of the time, with an average delay of 26 minutes and a maximum of 170 minutes.

*ET 706 during its last 58 flights has arrived in Frankfurt on time 38 percent of the time, with an average delay of 25 minutes and a maximum of 173 minutes.

ET 710 during its last 16 flights has arrived in London on time 63 percent of the time, with an average delay of 14 minutes and a maximum of 40 minutes.

ET 712 during its last 26 flights has arrived in Rome on time 65 percent of the time, with an average delay of 29 minutes and a maximum of 135 minutes.

ET 712 during its last 18 flights has arrived in Madrid on time 67 percent of the time, with an average delay of 25 minutes and a maximum of 175 minutes.

ET 714 during its last 24 flights has arrived in Stockholm on time 83 percent of the time, with an average delay of 58 minutes and a maximum of 113 minutes.

ET 724 during its last 33 flights has arrived in Stockholm on time 91 percent of the time, with an average delay of 97 minutes and a maximum of 353 minutes.

ET 724 during its last 36 flights has arrived in Vienna on time 92 percent of the time, with an average delay of 56 minutes and a maximum of 373 minutes.

ET 725 during its last 33 flights has arrived in Vienna on time 92 percent of the time, with an average delay of 15 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes.

ET 805 during its last 53 flights has arrived in Dar es Salaam on time 79 percent of the time, with an average delay of 39 minutes and a maximum of 353 minutes.

ET 805 during its last 7 flights has arrived in Zanzibar on time 86 percent of the time, with an average delay of 63 minutes and a maximum of 63 minutes.

ET 806 during its last 51 flights has arrived in Kigali on time 61 percent of the time, with an average delay of 19 minutes and a maximum of 50 minutes.

ET 807 during its last 49 flights has arrived in Bujumbura on time 63 percent of the time, with an average delay of 51 minutes and a maximum of 340 minutes.

ET 807 during its last 50 flights has arrived in Kigali on time 64 percent of the time, with an average delay of 58 minutes and a maximum of 330 minutes.

ET 809 during its last 55 flights has arrived in Johannesburg on time 75 percent of the time, with an average delay of 23 minutes and a maximum of 238 minutes.

*ET 811 during its last 9 flights has arrived in Goma on time 33 percent of the time, with an average delay of 25 minutes and a maximum of 67 minutes.

ET 814 during its last 2 flights has arrived in Kilimanjaro (from Mombasa) on time 100 percent of the time, with an average delay of 0 minutes and a maximum of 0 minutes.

*ET 814 during its last 57 flights has arrived in Kilimanjaro (from Zanzibar) on time 39 percent of the time, with an average delay of 34 minutes and a maximum of 190 minutes.

ET 815 during its last 56 flights has arrived in Kilimanjaro on time 86 percent of the time, with an average delay of 12 minutes and a maximum of 85 minutes.

ET 815 during its last 7 flights has arrived in Mombasa on time 86 percent of the time, with an average delay of 8 minutes and a maximum of 15 minutes.

ET 815 during its last 24 flights has arrived in Zanzibar on time 92 percent of the time, with an average delay of 9 minutes and a maximum of 28 minutes.

ET 819 during its last 56 flights has arrived in Maputo on time 89 percent of the time, with an average delay of 13 minutes and a maximum of 42 minutes.

*ET 827 during its last 60 flights has arrived in Dar es Salaam on time 12 percent of the time, with an average delay of 52 minutes and a maximum of 100 minutes.

ET 828 during its last 25 flights has arrived in Gabarone on time 100 percent of the time, with an average delay of 5 minutes and a maximum of 11 minutes.

ET 829 during its last 17 flights has arrived in Gaborone on time 88 percent of the time, with an average delay of 57 minutes and a maximum of 198 minutes.

ET 829 during its last 19 flights has arrived in Cape Town on time 89 percent of the time, with an average delay of 14 minutes and a maximum of 29 minutes.

*ET 831 during its last 35 flights has arrived in Brazzaville (via Kinshasa) on time 34 percent of the time, with an average delay of 25 minutes and a maximum of 52 minutes.

*ET 831 during its last 9 flights has arrived in Brazzaville (nonstop from Addis Ababa) on time 0 percent of the time, with an average delay of 87 minutes and a maximum of 137 minutes.

ET 831 during its last 39 flights has arrived in Kinshasa on time 67 percent of the time, with an average delay of 15 minutes and a maximum of 43 minutes.

*ET 841 during its last 4 flights has arrived in Kinshasa on time 0 percent of the time, with an average delay of 34 minutes and a maximum of 47 minutes.

ET 848 during its last 26 flights has arrived in Johannesburg on time 100 percent of the time, with an average delay of 4 minutes and a maximum of 4 minutes.

ET 849 during its last 18 flights has arrived in Johannesburg on time 94 percent of the time, with an average delay of 10 minutes and a maximum of 15 minutes.

*ET 849 during its last 7 flights has arrived in Cape Town on time 29 percent of the time, with an average delay of 41 minutes and a maximum of 58 minutes.

ET 851 during its last 35 flights has arrived in Luanda on time 74 percent of the time, with an average delay of 17 minutes and a maximum of 39 minutes.

ET 861 during its last 54 flights has arrived in Pointe-Noire on time 63 percent of the time, with an average delay of 14 minutes and a maximum of 41 minutes.

*ET 863 during its last 37 flights has arrived in Lusaka on time 24 percent of the time, with an average delay of 34 minutes and a maximum of 130 minutes.

*ET 863 during its last 17 flights has arrived in Harare on time 47 percent of the time, with an average delay of 46 minutes and a maximum of 250 minutes.

ET 871 during its last 59 flights has arrived in Lubumbashi on time 90 percent of the time, with an average delay of 13 minutes and a maximum of 35 minutes.

ET 871 during its last 55 flights has arrived in Ndola on time 80 percent of the time, with an average delay of 10 minutes and a maximum of 32 minutes.

*ET 873 during its last 18 flights has arrived in Lusaka on time 22 percent of the time, with an average delay of 24 minutes and a maximum of 39 minutes.

ET 873 during its last 44 flights has arrived in Harare on time 36 percent of the time, with an average delay of 21 minutes and a maximum of 84 minutes.

ET 877 during its last 57 flights has arrived in: (1) Lilongwe on time 96 percent of the time, with an average delay of 7 minutes and a maximum of 20 minutes (2) Blantyre on time 96 percent of the time, with an average delay of 10 minutes and a maximum of 36 minutes.

ET 879 during its last 17 flights has arrived in Mahe Island on time 94 percent of the time, with an average delay of 21 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes.

ET 891 during its last 7 flights has arrived in Kinshasa on time 86 percent of the time, with an average delay of 26 minutes and a maximum of 40 minutes.

*ET 891 during its last 7 flights has arrived in Brazzaville on time 26 percent of the time, with an average delay of 51 minutes and a maximum of 49 minutes.

ET 901 during its last 57 flights has arrived in Lagos on time 89 percent of the time, with an average delay of 11 minutes and a maximum of 47 minutes.

ET 905 during its last 24 flights has arrived in Douala on time 75 percent of the time, with an average delay of 43 minutes and a maximum of 73 minutes.

*ET 905 during its last 20 flights has arrived in Malabo on time 45 percent of the time, with an average delay of 22 minutes and a maximum of 75 minutes.

ET 906 during its last 34 flights has arrived in Lome on time 100 percent of the time, with an average delay of 5 minutes and a maximum of 14 minutes.

ET 907 during its last 30 flights has arrived in Lome on time 90 percent of the time, with an average delay of 14 minutes and a maximum of 47 minutes.

ET 907 during its last 33 flights has arrived in Abidjan on time 100 percent of the time, with an average delay of 8 minutes and a maximum of 14 minutes.

ET 908 during its last 38 flights has arrived in Bamako on time 50 percent of the time, with an average delay of 26 minutes and a maximum of 343 minutes.

ET 909 during its last 39 flights has arrived in Bamako on time 74 percent of the time, with an average delay of 56 minutes and a maximum of 234 minutes.

ET 909 during its last 33 flights has arrived in Dakar on time 73 percent of the time, with an average delay of 62 minutes and a maximum of 224 minutes.

ET 911 during its last 58 flights has arrived in Abuja on time 81 percent of the time, with an average delay of 17 minutes and a maximum of 57 minutes.

ET 915 during its last 34 flights has arrived in Malabo on time 88 percent of the time, with an average delay of 21 minutes and a maximum of 74 minutes.

ET 915 during its last 20 flights has arrived in Douala on time 87 percent of the time, with an average delay of 16 minutes and a maximum of 122 minutes.

*ET 916 during its last 24 flights has arrived in Cotonou on time 33 percent of the time, with an average delay of 17 minutes and a maximum of 41 minutes.

ET 917 during its last 27 flights has arrived in Cotonou on time 59 percent of the time, with an average delay of 20 minutes and a maximum of 93 minutes.

ET 917 during its last 27 flights has arrived in Abidjan on time 85 percent of the time, with an average delay of 15 minutes and a maximum of 75 minutes.

ET 921 during its last 58 flights has arrived in Accra on time 95 percent of the time, with an average delay of 27 minutes and a maximum of 99 minutes.

ET 925 during its last 54 flights has arrived in Libreville on time 87 percent of the time, with an average delay of 9 minutes and a maximum of 20 minutes.

ET 931 during its last 24 flights has arrived in Enugu on time 92 percent of the time, with an average delay of 10 minutes and a maximum of 28 minutes.

ET 936 during its last 39 flights has arrived in Niamey on time 95 percent of the time, with an average delay of 12 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes.

ET 937 during its last 40 flights has arrived in: (1) Niamey on time 93 percent of the time, with an average delay of 19 minutes and a maximum of 89 minutes (2) Ouagadougou on time 95 percent of the time, with an average delay of 13 minutes and a maximum of 70 minutes.

ET 939 during its last 56 flights has arrived in N'Djamena on time 63 percent of the time, with an average delay of 30 minutes and a maximum of 312 minutes.

ET 941 during its last 42 flights has arrived in Kano on time 88 percent of the time, with an average delay of 18 minutes and a maximum of 84 minutes.

Sabasi

As can be seen from the previous post, ET has an under 50 percent on time arrival performance at the following airports (excluding Addis Ababa as an arrival point):

AFRICA:
Brazzaville
Cape Town
Cotonou (from Abidjan)
Dar es Salaam
Goma
Harare
Khartoum
Kilimanjaro (from Zanzibar)
Kinshasa
Lusaka
Malabo
Mombasa

ASIA:
Bangkok
Dammam
Doha
Dubai
Guangzhou
Hong Kong
Jeddah
Kuala Lumpur
Kuwait City
Manila
Mumbai
Muscat
Seoul
Shanghai
Tel Aviv
Tokyo

EUROPE:
Dublin
Frankfurt
Rome

NORTH AMERICA:
Los Angeles

SOUTH AMERICA:
Sao Paulo

B747-437B

You are flat out wrong about this. There is no practical way to transition directly between Omani and Somali airspace other than via UB400/UB403/UB404/R401 airways, all of which run through Yemeni airspace. The only alternative is to go into Mumbai FIR and then cut back to Mogadishu FIR, which is a detour of over 500nm.

At this very moment, there are scheduled flights from Emirates, FlyDubai, Etihad, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian and OmanAir flying in Yemeni airspace.

ETStar

I looked back in time as you suggested, and went back to ops that routed via DUB from day one (flightaware.com)

While the delays are there, your claim that "Flights to IAD (or LAX) via DUB are almost always seriously delayed" is grossly exaggerated for I would expect such statement for delays that are far beyond the 13%, 30% and 51% delays we are seeing for IAD, DUB and LAX respectively. Almost always would imply, in my view, a delay that is much much more frequent.

The delay into LAX is in my mind is attributed to poor timing on the scheduled stop at DUB which includes disembarking pax, cleaning up and getting back on which is unrealistic within the allotted time. They currently schedule a 1:10 stop for this. The winter schedule will see a ground stop of 1:35 which will help the numbers. By comparison, Singapore Airlines has had a 2:00 ground stop at FRA on its SIN-FRA-JFK route forever (even when operating the 744.)

Sabasi

The airways B747-437B listed are suggestive, not mandatory. Deviations do occur. Aside from that, there are plenty of aviation waypoints off the coast of Yemen to construct a commercial aviation routing, including IMKAD, NODMA, RIGAM, ORBAT, XANLO, PAXED, SOKEM, AMBOD, SEPRO, and MIXAN.

I have been on several flights over 5 years ago that began in Dubai and avoided Yemeni airspace even though it was on the direct routing. Yes, I carry a robust GPS device on all my flights, so I am absolutely certain about it.

The offloading of all passengers at Dublin (assuming it was ever the practice) has stopped.

No matter how one spins the statistics, ET has a woeful on-time arrival performance record for many (perhaps most) of its major international routes.

ETStar

Can you please provide a source for the stopping of offloading passengers at Dublin?

On topic were IAD, DUB and LAX flights, which I provided backup data for and addressed your exaggeration on those specific flights. Thanks for your insight on the rest.