jfkeze

Recently I had the chance to knock two more countries off the list and bring my total country list to 135. Here is a report on Eswatini (ex-Swaziland) and Mozambique flying with Ethiopian on their Boeing 787s and Airbus 350s. The return was from Maputo with TAP on the reconfigured Airbus 330.

This report has the following parts:

1. Ethiopian Boeing 787 MXP - ADD - Business Class
2. Ethiopian Star Gold lounge at Addis Ababa
3. Ethiopian Cloud Nine lounge at Addis Ababa
4. Ethiopian - Airbus 350 ADD - JNB
5. eSwatini or Swaziland Trip - Mlilwane Nature Reserve
6. Exploring Maputo, Mozambique!
7. LAM - Flamingo Lounge - Maputo Airport
8. TAP Airbus 330 New Business Class MPM-LIS

jfkeze

Ethiopian Airlines 727
MXP-ADD (originating in BRU)
Boeing 787-8 Business Class
Additional info on my site PremiumCabin.Deals
The flight started boarding over an hour in advance, and when I showed up some 45 minutes prior to departure I was among the last passengers to board. Just a heads up you can do an OLCI 36 hours prior to your flight, but there is a quick passport check prior to boarding.

This flight was operated by a Boeing 787 with a 2-2-2 cabin. I selected seat 2D and was happy to report that the seat next to me was empty allowing me to have some additional space. The flight starts in BRU and there were several passengers who were sleeping when I boarded the plane.











Catering was a bit of a mess on this flight, which was supposed to have a dinner and then breakfast service. But only the dinner service was offered, I was told that it was because other passengers had requested the breakfast service.




Amenity kits were distributed in a variety of colors such as red, yellow and green. Here are the contents of the Yellow amenity kit.











Menus from the flight.





















Service started with a seared chicken with cabbage salad. I ordered the grill beef tenderloin with roasted potatoes. This sounded good on paper,but in reality it was an old shoe sole, rough and way overcooked.











Dessert options included a cheese plate and a Sweet Caramel Baravois with a Chocolate sauce. I was offered some Port wine with dessert and it was a strong compliment to the two desserts.





Flight time was about six hours, so with the dinner service taking close to an hour after menus were distributed to when the first plate was served and lasting some 45 minutes overall.

I slept for about two hours and then we started our descent into Addis Ababa, where I had a close to two hour layover before my flight to Johannesburg.

The flight was pretty empty and after talking with some of the staff, it seems it was not a one-off issue. Ethiopian offers these two-stop services combining multiple cities on the same route which adds time and stops, something not all passengers enjoy.

jfkeze

There are three lounges in the International terminal at Addis Ababa. None of these are accessible via Priority Pass. There is a Silver lounge accessible by Sheeba Miles Star Silver members as well as Star Gold lounge and Cloud Nine lounge (accessible by Business Class passengers).

This review covers the Star Gold lounge. Additional information at my site: PremiumCabin.Deals



The Star Gold provides a needed respite from the terminal which can be chaotic at times. When I entered with my Business Class boarding pass, the receptionist was a bit surprised that I didn't go straight to the Cloud Nine lounge.


The lounge itself had a nice design with strong African themes from local artwork on the walls to the use of wood and brown colors across the Lounge.







As it was 6 AM a breakfast buffet had been laid out with Pancakes, Boiled Eggs and several other options. Strong Ethiopian Coffee was also an option.























Overall it was an acceptable lounge and offered a respite from the terminal, after a few minutes I decided to go an explore the Cloud Nine lounge prior to my flight to Johannesburg.

offerendum

Nice start!

roadwarrier

Looking forward to the rest of your TR!! Would like to see your opinion on "my neck of the woods". Also, very interested on the TAP option out of Maputo - I have toyed with that option to Europe for some time already.

jfkeze

Delete

GetSetJetSet

Wondering about Mlilwane, was considering going to Hlane. What made you pick Mlilwane? Also curious about Mbabane and Mazini if you went there. Did you make it to the area around Tofo, or Bazaruto in Mozambique?

ironmanjt

[roadwarrier] I took that flight a few years ago, and it was one of the most miserable business class flights I've ever taken. Never again.

jfkeze

I ended up on the new Airbus 330s, but it was switching back and forth till departure between the 340 (worst plane in their fleet) to the old 330 (second worse plane). I ended up with the reconfigured 330 in a middle seat (had the throne seat but wanted a aisle seat in case of another change of equipment).
Food wise, TAP is pretty stingy... a cold breakfast ex-MPM without even soggy eggs... Still they credit at 200% to Aegean so they are my little helper for Star Gold status...

jfkeze

There are three lounges in the International terminal at Addis Ababa. None of these are accessible via Priority Pass. There is a Silver lounge accessible by Sheeba Miles Star Silver members as well as Star Gold lounge and Cloud Nine lounge (accessible by Business Class passengers). This review covers the Cloud Nine lounge. Additional photos can be found on my site PremiumCabin.Deals



As you entered the lounge there was coffee table where patrons could indulge in a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. The lounge was empty at 630 AM but was packed to the gills close to 8 AM when the peak flight schedule kicked in.






This lounge had a bar, but alcoholic beverages did not seem to be available prior to 11 AM. Self-service options included various soft drinks, juices and water.




The buffet meal options offered a greater variety than the options in the Star Gold lounge with Vegetable rolls, Smoked Salmon, Ethiopian Injera Firfir and Baked beans.





I skipped the Salmon...






Towards the end of my stay at the lounge I saw that a made to order omelette station was also available. This was a nice addition and complemented the difference between this lounge and the other Ethiopian lounges at ADD.

I headed out to my gate and went through the Priority Security checkpoint as there was no Priority lines at the individual gate checkpoints.

jfkeze

Ethiopian Airlines 809 ADD - JNB
Airbus 350 - Business Class






I was really looking forward to this flight. I originally had selected a seat in the middle of the cabin, which is configured in a 2-2-2 format. But in the lounge prior to departure I saw that row 1 was empty and that changing to this seat would offer me an empty seat next to me.









The first row of coach as well as the aisle seat of the second row offered excellent leg space.











The first thing that I noticed was the spaciousness of the cabin, there are no center overhead bins which gives the plane a very clean and open feel. Ethiopian does not offer WiFi nor Mood lighting on the plane, but still it has a good overall feel.






















































The flight was scheduled at just over 5 hours and even if it was departing at 830 AM was fully catered as a lunch flight.




I was extremely happy to see an Ethiopian option on the menu and was even more suprised I was told that this was in addition to the main dish! This was going to be a food feast flight and I was looking forward to it.




I set up my base across two seats, with the window seat used to display the flight info on the screen and as a cargo spot.












































PremiumCabinBear had her own seat!




































After takeoff a choice of beverages were offered with a plate of Ethiopian Kolo (which is similar to toasted barley with nuts and chickpeas mixed in), it was a tasty and unique option.



















The food service included a Starter (salmon in my case), a Seasonal Salad, a main course (I chose Monkfish, which after trying it on American Airlines last year has become one of my favorite fishes) as well as an Ethiopian dish with five dishes and two types of Injera bread, this was followed by a desert course. Overall it was a food paradise and I've never felt more stuffed on a flight, even in First Class much less Business Class. I cannot underestimate the benefits of flying Ethiopian Airlines out of Addis Ababa (ADD) to be able to enjoy this dish.





































































The flight went along uneventfully and just after five hours after takeoff we were approaching Johannesburg.




































































In flight Menu for Beverages and Food

jfkeze

Off to the Kingdom of eSwantini also known as the Kingdom of Swaziland...



On this trip I decided to visit two new countries, the Kingdom of Swaziland and the Republic of Mozambique.

I reached Swaziland using the TransMagnifica Shuttle, they have an online booking system but funds need to be transferred via bank transfer and no Credit Cards are accepted. So it took a bit of back and forth to book the trip. But they were able to pick me up without issues from JNB airport. At the airport I bought a MTN Sim Card which allows you to roam in Swaziland for 1 ZAR a MB.

The shuttle left me near Malkerns and a shuttle from the Sondzela Guesthouse picked me up. At first they were unaware that I staying at the property, my first TIA (This is Africa) moment so I highly recommend contacting them the same day of your arrival to confirm all the details.





Sondzela serves mostly a self catering and self drive crowd but offer the option of a Breakfast served from 630-800 AM and Dinner served at 6 PM. I ordered Breakfast for both days of my stay and dinner.

Breakfast consists of porridge and the fried eggs and bacon on toast made to order over a wood fire.







Then it was time to do some self guided safari. A 15-20 minute walk leads to the Main Camp at the Mlilwane Wildlife Reserve where the walking/hiking trails and other activities have their starting point. Besides the nature hikes one can rent bicycles and go on horseback tours. I selected the Hippo Trail and embarked on a 9.8 km hike. Sadly it had rained for three days prior to my arrival which increased significantly the mud on the trail. I was stuck on several occasions and do not recommend new sneakers or unpractical footwear while doing the hike.























After the hike I dropped by the main restaurant located by the lake where one could observe crocodiles and a variety of birds.I had a three meat grill and a few local beers. (Swazi lagers fall into the category of tasteless light lagers, good for a hot day but lacking in flavor)














Afterwords, I returned to the Guesthouse and prepared for the next part of my adventure, crossing over to Mozambique via Chapa/minibus.

jfkeze

Mozambique was until 1975 a Portuguese colony and the influence of that era is visible in the architecture of the city, where many buildings date to the colonial period. The city has had a variety of new buildings and now the tallest/longest suspension bridge in Africa is being built with Chinese funds/assistance.

I started my tour of the city with a visit to the main fortress located in the center of the city, this was followed by a visit to the Central Train Station and its transportation museum.

Near the Botanical Gardens one can find the Iron House (Casa de Ferro) , which was designed by Gustav Eiffel and a monument to the first President of Mozambique.


Iron House




Iron House


Radio Mozambique

Afterwards I crossed by ferry (not for the faint of heart) to Catembe where I had lunch on the beach overlooking the city.



Ferry to Catembe


Ferry to Catembe


Lunch on the beach at Catembe


Catembe beach


Catembe beach


Catembe beach


Catembe beach


Catembe beach


Catembe ferry


Then it was time to head back to Maputo, stopping by the Fisheries and Currency museums. I finished the day with some more seafood at a local restaurant located by my guesthouse.


Giraffe Statue

The following morning I went to a local cafe for breakfast, enjoying a tasty cappuccino and some "Portuguese-style" breakfast.



















Ceramic House built in the late 1800s


Central Train Station

Central Train Station


Central Train Station


World War 2 Monument


Fisheries Museum




Old Colonial buildings


Old Colonial buildings


Ice Cream at a local mall




Piri Piri spices are originally from Mozambique and the founders of Nando's were from Portuguese Mozambique and later they moved to South Africa and the chain expanded to the United Kingdom and across the globe.

roadwarrier

Did they still have the "Stewardess" in high heels serving beers from a locked cooler box from the Fore section of the Ferry?
She would take your order and money, and while teetering on her heels, bring you your order. But would only only do one order at a time since it meant unlocking the cooler box, putting the money in, and taking out the order, then locking it again........

vbh812

I flew ET for the first time last week - 4 flights, all in J. Based on my reservation (approximately 3 weeks prior to the flights), 2 of my flights were to be on the 777 - 200/300 and 2 on the 787; in reality, I flew on the 777-200 once, the 787 once and the 737 twice. My ADD-VFA and VFA -ADD (via GBE) flights were switched from flat bed 787's to recliner 737's due to a light load (as informed by the FA on the ADD - VFA leg and check-in agent on the VFA - ADD leg). The other switch from a 777 to the 787 was flat bed to flat bed and hence acceptable.

Other than the seating issue (my major gripe), 3/4 flights didn't have AVOD (or personal screens for that matter), the 737 catering was compromised (no coffee machine, fewer wine choices, champagne not available on the VFA - ADD (via GBE) flight as it was consumed on the outbound leg (they carry only 2 bottles in a 737), some food choices weren't available, etc) and 2/4 flights had very inattentive crew.

On the ADD - BOM leg on the 787, I had to get up in the middle of taxing (to the runway) to bring to the attention of the FA's doing the safety briefing that 100% of the overhead bins were open. 3 of them then sprung into action and shut all of them.

The Cloud 9 lounge in ADD is a joke with no showers and only 3 gents WC's - there was a 30+min wait for the WC in the morning. The lounge was standing room only during my late evening VFA - ADD - BOM connection. The only thing I enjoyed in the lounge was the excellent Ethiopian coffee.