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.
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?
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