Europe - JNB...ugh Ethiopian or Egyptian?
 

Hi - planning family travel next summer and the Europe - JNB leg still isn't cooperating. Just hit platinum on UA so I will book something and hope something else opens up...but the current choice (LH, LX, TK, SA all zilch) yields the option of Egyptian Air or Ethiopian. I'm leaning towards the former as a layover in Addis doesn't sound pleasant. Thought please?

I've never flown Ethiopian, but I've flown EgyptAir business class-- from Cairo to Nairobi, another time from Johannesburg to Cairo, then to Toronto. The CAI-YYZ leg was pretty nice with lie flats, but the other flights only had recliner seats. The lounge in CAI is probably the worst I've ever been to. The food selection was pretty limited, but there is no alcohol. It looks relatively new but was pretty dirty when you look carefully. The restrooms were filthy. The attendants were rude. Without knowing anything about Ethiopian, I would take that option over EgyptAir.

There seems to be some availability on SA on the way there (MUC-JNB) and on TK on the way back (via IST). I suppose you should try with a bunch of points of origin, possibly where SA flies direct, and be flexible with dates.

I found availability on June 23rd, 2016 for the outbound on SA if you want to check yourself.

Europe - JNB...ugh Ethiopian or Egyptian?
 

I'd find another destination. :)

Not sure why you want to avoid a layover in Addis, unless the forced layover is very long.

The lounge in Addis is unremarkable, but the airport itself is modern and nice. Addis city is also quite an intriguing place to spend a day as a stopover.

Also, if you could get a Ethiopian 787, that would be nice.

Addis is a great city. I love Ethiopian food and there is lots of good stuff there. I've only flown economy on Ethiopian and it was OK. (Not nearly as bad as UA)

I'm flying to the Seychelles and it looks like my best option is to fly through Addis. I'm thinking of planning a stop over there.

I'm not sure I'd want to fly through Cairo right now.

My gf and I went there in Sept, and flew biz class on Ethiopian, SAA, and Lufthansa. The best experience was had on Ethiopian. Addis is a small airport, but it was fine. SAA was extremely disappointing, especially when they decided to play musical chairs with our seats which were reserved for months ahead of time. Ethiopian 777s had flat bed seats which were comfortable (especially important for me at a height of 6'1"), the Ethiopian food was delicious, and I enjoyed seeing the staff in their traditional dress. Lufthansa was nice as well, very efficient as expected. But I came away very impressed with Ethiopian, which was different from the negative impressions I had heard online from people who had flown them. The Ethiopians we met on the flight were nice as well, one had offered to host us for a dinner, but unfortunately we didn't have the time as we had to connect to JNB. I have added Addis Ababa to my travel list as a result, I want to see more of the city beyond just a 1 hr layover. I'm glad I didn't rely on the negative words I had read previously.

Europe - JNB...ugh Ethiopian or Egyptian?
 

Dates are 7/23-25 and of course I am looking at every direct option. Sounds like Ethiopian is the least worst way to go.

Europe - JNB...ugh Ethiopian or Egyptian?
 

I just completed a number of legs on Ethiopian in Economy. The plane food is bad but otherwise a decent airline and a decent lounge. Addis is a fun city and you will get a free transfer visa (if you have no earlier connection available). It's not a great city to roam around with family since it's somewhat polluted and messy but it has some good place (Google tocoma coffee and Kategna food)!

...or, perhaps, the best way to go. ;)

On the 25/7 on the Aeroplan website I see MUC-BUD-IST-JNB on TK.

http://i.imgur.com/EhyIVhI.png

ET is miles above MS if those are your only two options. I'm personally find with flying ET, especially in Business Class. They generally do a quite good job, if you're keen on trying Ethiopian food, it's a plus as well. The only thing I would warn is if you have a long stopover, ADD is a rather small airport, but the lounges are quite unremarkable. There is some food for snacking but the wifi is generally completely useless and during peak hours its challenging to find a pair of seats.

MS is a dry airline if you fancy a wine or beer to relax on the flight. The lounges in CAI are pretty bad as well. Planes are pretty hit or miss as to whether you'll get lie flats on the 777 or not, they installed some old recliner seats on some planes and seem to have no interest in updating them.

TK is good of course, especially the food, but honestly I wouldn't go too far out of my way to take TK over ET if it results in multiple stops or a long layover. As for the others you mentioned that you'd prefer, you'll likely have better luck within 2 weeks of departure with them. As you mentioned, book something acceptable now and then keep an eye on it closer to your travel date.

Europe - JNB...ugh Ethiopian or Egyptian?
 

Is there a shower (for *G) at the lounge in Addis?

Unfortunately no. Though depending on your routing, there may not have been time for a shower anyway. JNB is one of the earlier departures, last time I did a connection to JNB there was only time to re-clear security and head directly to the gate, no lounge stop at all. I think the FRA flight has a bit more time, but many morning arrivals are only about an hour or so before the JNB departure.

Also note that ET doesn't have lie flats in their 787. They use the same Zodiac seat as TK & AI have in their 77W/788, but with a smaller pitch and different setting(s).