Hello from Ethiopia, as I continue my quick detour to Africa, and flew Ethiopian Airlines’ Airbus A350-900 business class on the 3hr40min flight from Cairo (CAI) to Addis Ababa (ADD). So, what was my experience like on this very early morning flight (it departed at 2:20AM and arrived around 7:20AM)?
Well, I’ve gotta say, for a non-long haul flight, I found it to be quite a pleasant experience — the seat was comfortable (especially with the cabin only one-third full), the food was tasty, the amenities were pretty good, and the crew was friendly enough.
Was it ITA Airways’ A321neo business class? Heck no. But I wouldn’t hesitate to fly with Ethiopian again. While I’ll have a full trip report soon, in this installment I wanted to share some initial impressions of the experience.
In this post:
Ethiopian Airlines’ A350 business class seats are fine
As a business class flyer, the single biggest issue of flying with Ethiopian Airlines is the inconsistency when it comes to cabin products. Just as an example, on the Boeing 787s (which operate some of the carrier’s longest flights), Ethiopian has three types of business class seats, ranging from angled seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, to fully flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. You never really know what you’re going to get, since Ethiopian loves to do aircraft swaps.
On my Ethiopian A350 flight, I had the standard fully flat product in a 2-2-2 configuration, which is the carrier’s most common kind of business class seat. Ethiopian has the Collins Aerospace Diamond product, which you’ll find on quite a few airlines. Is this a cutting edge product? Absolutely not.
But it’s perfectly comfortable, especially for a flight of this length. And it’s especially comfortable if the cabin isn’t that full, and you can snag a window seat, which is exactly what I did.
The technology at Ethiopian’s A350 business class seats is fine. There are AC and USB-A outlets. There’s also seat back entertainment, with a decent selection. There were a total of around 200 movies plus around 275 TV shows, in addition to the map feature.
Ethiopian also offers Wi-Fi on its A350s, with pricing ranging from $5 for a one-hour pass, to $25 for a full flight pass, all with no data caps. Speeds weren’t great, but they were good enough for messaging, basic web browsing, etc.
I also appreciated how the carrier offered its standard long haul bedding on this fairly short flight, including a decent pillow and plush blanket, which made it easy to get comfortable. Aside from amenity kits, Ethiopian seems to offer a fairly consistent soft product in business class, which is nice.
Ethiopian Airlines’ business class food is tasty
Breakfast was served on this early morning flight, with the choice of an egg muffins, waffles, or ful medames. I chose the last option, which was served with pita bread, and was delicious. This was also served with cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt, and a selection from the bread basket.
I thought it was nice how the entire meal was served directly onto the tray table, rather than being brought out on a tray.
The drink selection was also extensive, with 16 different wine options (at least that’s what the menu suggested — I didn’t personally test out if each of those was available). 😉 While there were no espresso-based drinks, I found the coffee to be quite good.
Ethiopian Airlines flight attendants are well-intentioned
The flight attendants working business class on this sector were generally quite friendly. They were efficient, and happily took care of any requests.
Now, I wouldn’t say service was particularly polished or proactive, but all the business class crew at least acted a lot happier than I would be if working a flight out of Cairo at this hour. I can’t count the number of people who tried to self upgrade to business class, with each person claiming they were told that they could sit there, and that their boarding passes were wrong. The flight attendants were having none of that.
I also really like Ethiopian’s uniforms. It’s not that they’re the most overly stylish or progressive, but they’re distinctive. Most flight attendants have cool green uniforms, some have yellow jackets, and at least one flight attendant wears a traditional Ethiopian white dress.
I also find aspects of the service flow to be cute. For example, when pre-departure drinks are served, two flight attendants walk through the cabin together. One has the tray with glasses (some filled with orange juice), while the other is holding a bottle of champagne, and you can then select what you want. If you choose champagne, it’s poured at your seat. For what it’s worth, the airline is currently serving Victoire champagne.
Bottom line
Ethiopian Airlines’ A350 business class is pretty decent, and I wouldn’t hesitate to fly it again. There’s nothing cutting edge or particularly impressive about it, but the airline offers the best connectivity in Africa, and is also probably the best and most reliable major airline in Africa.
I found the carrier’s A350 business class seats to be reasonably comfortable, the service to be friendly, and the food to be tasty.
However, I’d be much more hesitant to book Ethiopian’s 787 business class on a US route, where you could end up in an angled seat on a very long flight.
What do you make of Ethiopian Airlines’ A350 business class?
I live in the gulf and work for a decorated gulf carrier. I happily part with mo ey to fly ET because :
- not pretentious and they strive to do good. They a proud airline and the people there embody that.
- Great and comfy seats upfront and in the back
- Not a fan of the dramatics ott IFE, or catering but theres are great and plentiful.
- Most...
I live in the gulf and work for a decorated gulf carrier. I happily part with mo ey to fly ET because :
- not pretentious and they strive to do good. They a proud airline and the people there embody that.
- Great and comfy seats upfront and in the back
- Not a fan of the dramatics ott IFE, or catering but theres are great and plentiful.
- Most of all their crew are humble and really try. They aren't pretentious and get you safely where you need to be. I don't fly for bells and whistles and the expectation of having some miraculous event or astounding revelation. To get from point A to B Ethiopian is doing fabulously well. Setting the benchmark for the other african carriers to aspire to and in time I have no doubt they will establish something the globe looks at Africa to..
What if I say Ethiopian Airlines is not my Favorite A350 operator anymore?
@Aryaan Srivastava
Then TravelinPenis will rush towards you and call you a racist.
I have flown ET a handful of times, but now just actively avoid them because of the J inconsistency. Its abysmal that on many of their long-haul flights, you could have a 1-2-1, a 2-2-2, or an extremely dated and beaten-up angle flat 2-2-2. I had this on my flight from ORD and it was terrible. None of the outlets worked. Seats are falling apart.
Hard to compete in the part of the world...
I have flown ET a handful of times, but now just actively avoid them because of the J inconsistency. Its abysmal that on many of their long-haul flights, you could have a 1-2-1, a 2-2-2, or an extremely dated and beaten-up angle flat 2-2-2. I had this on my flight from ORD and it was terrible. None of the outlets worked. Seats are falling apart.
Hard to compete in the part of the world they are in, when I have no sense of what my money or points is actually buying me.
I've looked at booking Ethiopian with a several days stopover in Addis, though I'm not sure if it's possible to do this on the website or without a substantial price difference over a standard layover. There's also no option for multiple entry for their 30 day tourist visa / visa on arrival ($62) if you wanted to use ADD as a hub for other trips within Africa.
You can get a multiple entry visa from your local Ethiopian Embassy.
Looks like a routine regional flight on Ethiopian in Cloud Nine. Only difference is that the Foul Medames seems to be catered only on Middle Eastern routes.
Middle of the night, 3 hours, flat bed. All you need.
Most flight attendants have cool green uniforms, some have yellow jackets
The Flight attendants all start the flight in the green uniforms and once the service begins adorn the yellow service vests. Upon landing they are back in their full green uniforms. And yes the Purser wears that beautiful outfit. I need to research the correct name of the Purser's outfit.
I think two long hauls to and from Canada and I can recall...
Most flight attendants have cool green uniforms, some have yellow jackets
The Flight attendants all start the flight in the green uniforms and once the service begins adorn the yellow service vests. Upon landing they are back in their full green uniforms. And yes the Purser wears that beautiful outfit. I need to research the correct name of the Purser's outfit.
I think two long hauls to and from Canada and I can recall well what they wore. You can even see the outfits in the video links I've posted already on your Ethiopian threads (wink)
@Marco - The traditional Ethiopian outfit you're referring to is called:
Habesha Khamis.
Habesha ==> Colloquial term for Ethiopian or Of Ethiopian Lineage
Khamis ===> A full length dress
It's worn with a shawl, called: Natala and the edges of both the Khamis and Natala are adorned with some colorful pattern. In the case of ET flight attendants, it's yellow daisies.
I don't remember any other airline's A350 with Collins Diamind seats installed, besides Lufthansa's customised ones. Also, I didn't expect those centre seats to face each other at the end (mostly found on A330s), rather than parallel to each other (mostly found on 777s ans 787s)... quite interesting.