JetAgeJunky

As i like to travel with exotic airlines i thought whey not try out Ethiopian Airlines. What made my final decision to do so was the price for their Business Class (they call it Cloud Nine) it was a bargain one needed to take. All over all it was a unique flight experience with minor hiccups which started as well with the booking upfront as the reservation could only be confirmed via a call as i booked directly via Ethiopian's website. The Level provided by the Service center was at a medium level especially as the person who i had on my phone was not totally speaking proper English but I got the ticket and all was fine.


Here you can see the trip documented in moving pictures:




Here we have some pics from the trip:


Airport in Addis - its is a little bit messy and crazy there - welcome to Africa i would say.


Departure hall was very crowded it seems like they upgrade the Airport and everywhere have been small construction sites.


I have had my own "Bus" to the Airplane


Business Class was very empty it was me and later another person sit in the front row. Business Class seats are comfortable but not flatbeds or so it seems to be like seats which are uses as well on an average Us or European short haul flight. And the whole cabin looked very dated


We are up in the air, view out of the window onto some housing developments near the airport.


Excellent flying weather no turbulences ahead so far.


Small starter was served which was okay and accomplished with some local red wine.


I tested some Ethiopian local dishes, it was very very spicy. So after that, I have had as well some seafood noodles .


Travel tip: User your carry on as a footrest, works perfect with this seats.


And we are approaching Capetown it was very cloudy.

In general the flight was okay it was a daylight flight and i have had some time to sleep and rest. There was no TV or Entertainment System onboard which is for a nearly 6-hour flight not the perfect case but one can not complain to. The whole experience is definitely not comparable with a Business Class experience on an Emirates or Qatar Airways.

redadeco

6 hours in a >15 years old 767 with no IFE, no lie flat seats..

I just hope the price/mileage benefits justify your choice of ET

Thank you for the photos!

Guvner067

The seats on the bus look more comfortable than those on the plane.

JetAgeJunky

Oh yes Ethiopian Airlines is part of star alliance and i could bank some very good points for my miles and more program

offerendum

Keep dreaming! Which European airline offers such seats on short haul? (perhaps excemption Air Serbia and sometimes Turkish)

brg

I am a bit worried about the security there and in IST

enviroian

Exactly. Those seats resemble domestic US F but with tons more legroom.

European C/J seats are normal coach seats complete with typically 30" of pitch with a middle seat blocked out.

Nonetheless great report, thanks!

JetAgeJunky

They are part of Star Aliance so in terms of the planes one should be safe as with every other airline.

TPJ

To be fair ET in in the middle of fleet renewal program and their brand new B787's and B777's have fairly decent seats.

FlyerBeek

Yes, not to mention being the first African airline (and one of only a handful worldwide) currently flying the A350.

-FlyerBeek

TPJ

Huh...

I didn't even know about it... Great news...

arlflyer

I think that this might be the first TR I've ever seen that included food pics shot from a profile view, so points for creativity!

cargueiro

brg is worried about security, not safety!

They are not the same, though there is some overlap.