I have reviewed a number of my flights on Ethiopian Airlines on their B737 MAX and B787 Dreamliner planes in Business Class to and from Addis Abeba from Europe, Vienna (Austria), and to Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. Ethiopian Airlines have also recently launched new A350 planes to their fleet, but to date, we’re yet to fly on these.
Ethiopian Airlines Fleet
Ethiopian Airlines still flies old B787s with angled lie-flat seats, so check which Business Class seat you are booking before you fly as to get a lie-flat seat, you need to be on the newer B787 Dreamliner.
Ethiopian Airlines is the largest, fastest-growing, and only consistently profitable airline in Africa, registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.
Most of Ethiopian’s long-haul aircraft DO feature lie-flat seats, except for the oldest ten B787s. The carrier finished retrofitting its B767 and B777 fleet with installments of flatbed seats last year, so these older B787 planes should be the next aircraft to undergo a retrofit.
Ethiopian Airlines Impression
I always feel that Ethiopian Airlines the airline does a good job adhering to regulations, sometimes a bit too much. The ground operations and crew operate more like a Chinese airline with complete adherence to rules. This is very different from most airlines in Sub-Saharan Africa. However (justified or not), I never felt that the crew had an enormous amount of experience. I always felt they were eager and disciplined but might not possess the years of knowledge that, say, a British Airways pilot has in flying a plane.
My experiences with Ethiopian have been very good, although not the best in the skies. You may find that your flight on Ethiopian exceeds your expectations due to its comparatively new fleet, kind staff, and decent Business Class offering. It is certainly one of the best airline choices in Africa.
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa Lounge
If you fly Ethiopian, you are likely to have access to Ethiopian Airlines’ Cloud Nine Lounge At Addis Ababa Airport which is reviewed in full separately, complete with a number of photographs.
This Star Alliance Gold Lounge is designated for Star Alliance Gold members, including ShebaMiles Gold members (ShebaMiles is Ethiopian’s frequent flyer program). The ShebaMiles Silver Lounge, located on the inside corridor away from the gates in the departure hall, is only accessible to passengers with ShebaMiles Silver status (silver is the tier one step above regular).
The Cloud Nine Lounge can be used by passengers flying Ethiopian Airlines’ Business Class who don’t have Star Alliance Gold or ShebaMiles status. In fact, it’s called Cloud Nine Lounge 2 because this is the lounge in Terminal 2, and there’s another Cloud Nine Lounge located in Terminal 1.
Since I don’t have status anymore with Star Alliance, I spent my layover in the Cloud Nine 2 Lounge. The lounge is quite large and features several separate seating areas with tons of comfortable loungers in addition to a corner with a few dining tables. It’s a pretty ugly lounge with bright colors and not the best food offering. The room’s walls and the seats are all red, reflecting one of Ethiopian’s 3 signature colors (the other two are green and yellow). At the end of the colorful and busy lounge is a quiet room where cell phone conversations are not allowed and where you can relax in a few seats with built-in massage functions.
The Cloud Nine 2 Lounge features a fairly large bar area as well as a buffet station, which offers a variety of refreshments, cold and hot snacks, including Ethiopian dishes and international dishes from the East and West. There’s also a traditional Ethiopian coffee station, which is the highlight of the lounge experience since Ethiopian coffee is terrific.
The lounge provides complimentary and fast Wi-Fi, which is great since Ethiopian Airlines does not offer internet on its aircraft, so it’s the only place to check your emails while en route. You do not need to worry when to board your flights as Ethiopian Airlines staff members walk around the lounge and personally come to announce the departure time for each flight.
B787 Business Class Cabin Review B787
Ethiopian’s B787 Dreamliner features just one large Business Class cabin located in the aircraft’s nose section. There are 24 seats, spread over 4 rows, in a 2-2-2 layout, with the seats on the side slightly angled towards the windows, away from the aisle.
All seats face forward and have aisle access, except for the window seats (where you have to climb over the legs of your neighbor to reach the aisle). Paired seats are staggered by a couple of inches (cm), which, together with a small partition, adds some privacy while allowing enough interaction when traveling with a companion.
This is the same Business Class layout that you find on other airlines, such as KLM’s B777, United Airlines’ B787s, and Qatar Airlines’ A330s.
B787 Business Class Seat Review
Not all of Ethiopian’s B787 Dreamliners feature lie-flat seats. The first ten Dreamliner aircraft were delivered with an older Business Class product with angled lie-flat seats (170 degrees recline). In contrast, the newer Dreamliners have all been delivered with fully flat beds (180 degrees recline).
When you’re booked on one of Ethiopian’s B787s, there’s no way to know upfront which kind of Business Class product you will get (angled versus full lie-flat seat). This review only covers the fully lie-flat Business Class seat, which is identical to the one installed on United Airlines B787s and Qatar Airways’ A330 planes.
The soft cushioned seat has a pitch of 78 inches (195 cm), defined as the space between one point on a seat and the same point on the seat in front of it. The seat width is 22 inches (56 cm), which is comfortable but not among the widest in the industry.
Each seat features its own 15,4 inch HD TV, which can be controlled by a handset in the armrest or by directly touching the screen. Below the TV monitor, you find a drawer that is large enough to store your laptop and a footrest that becomes part of the flatbed once the seat is fully reclined.
The size of this footrest differs dramatically depending upon the row: the bulkhead seats in row 1 offer a much larger ottoman as compared to the cramp footrests of all the other Business Class seats (so choose a seat in the first row if you can).
The armrest that is shared between paired seats features a small shared table (for drinks and snacks), seat controls, and a remote control for the entertainment system. It also houses a fold-out tray table that needs to be pulled out for any use. On the other side of the seat, behind the headrest, is a small, difficult-to-reach storage compartment, where you find a universal AC power outlet and a USB port.
The seat goes fully flat (180 degrees recline), but again, your sleep comfort will depend on the seat you choose: except for the bulkhead seats in row 1 (which come with large ottomans), the footrests are too narrow for a good night’s rest.
What are the best Business Class seats on Ethiopian’s B787s?
All seats in the cabin are excellent for those traveling with a companion because of the 2-2-2 layout.
The bulkhead seats in row 1 feature a much larger footrest as compared to all other seats, so these are the seats you want to fly (and sleep) in, although proximity to the galley and lavatory may cause some light noise disturbance from time to time.
What are the worst Business Class seats on Ethiopian’s B787s?
The 2-2-2 Business Class layout does not make the cabin very attractive for solo travelers since you will always end up sitting next to a stranger. Window seats also don’t offer direct aisle access.
B737 MAX Regional Flight from Antananarivo to Addis Abeba: Business Class
This plane had just been delivered a few weeks before my flight and was in mint condition without any scrapes or paint issues (Ethiopian Airlines’ planes typically age rapidly). I was hoping that Ethiopian would add a ‘lie-flat’ Business Class, but the company decided to install a ‘standard’ regional Business Class outfit despite this rather long flight at almost 5 hours.
The flight attendants spoke fluent English and were quite warm and helpful. Takeoff was towards the East, and we made an immediate steep turn to the West. The fate of the Lion Air JT610 crash was something I had in mind during takeoff, making me grip the edges of the seat. Nothing happened, though, and our flight was fine and comfortable, despite a few takeoff bumps.
Food On Ethiopian Airlines
You may be surprised by how good the catering and drinks menu and service have become on Ethiopian Airlines. The food and the ‘airplane coffee’ on my region’s B737 MAX flights were downright delicious (and I’m definitely a picky eater and coffee drinker). On the B787 Vienna to Addis Ababa red-eye flight, both dinner and breakfast were served, although it was only a 6-hour flight. Both were decent, and you can see my photographs in my full flight review below.
I chose the following selection from the dinner menu:
- Cold canapés
- Duck roll toast
- Salmon & Philadelphia toast with dill
- Chicken curry toast with parsley sprig
- Starter
- Marinated octopus with red peppers, black olive, artichoke, and olive oil with lemon juice
- Main
- Grilled Beef Tenderloin with truffle sauce and potato gratin and grilled zucchini (my travel companion had the Ricotta ravioli with sautéed spinach, roasted cherry tomato, and parmesan cheese)
- Dessert
- Tropezienne cake stuffed with vanilla custard
I skipped the breakfast service since I wanted to sleep as long as possible on this flight and leave some room for a meal on the second flight from Addis Ababa to Dar Es Salaam. The latter was only a short trip (2.5 hours), and one lunch was served:
- Main
- Choice of orecchiette with beef Carbonara or lentil with spinach and blood orange (both dishes served with a pesto salad)
- Dessert
- Dark chocolate brownie
Entertainment
Ethiopian’s B787 Dreamliners feature a modern in-flight entertainment system with a high-resolution 15,4 inches screen in front of each seat and in-seat power outlets (the inflight audio and video entertainment are accessible with your own mobile devices /tablets). The entertainment selection is more limited compared to other carriers on regional and international flights, but it is enough to keep you entertained for a few hours. Noise-canceling headphones are offered as well. Worth noting there is no satellite Wi-Fi installed on Ethiopian (yet).
Amenities
Business Class passengers receive a decent pillow, a scratchy blanket, and an amenity kit. On intercontinental flights, the amenity kit has the form of a pouch bag (with hook) and contains an eye mask, earplugs, socks, pen, toothpick, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, and lip balm. On flights within Africa, the amenity kit is a small bag with an eye mask, earplugs, socks, toothpaste, and a toothbrush.
My Conclusion
I have to admit I was pretty worried about flying the B373 MAX plane that day because of the Lion Air news just before my flight. I felt something was wrong with this plane, and inexperienced pilots would have had a harder time handling it than others. That said, assuming Boeing fixes the problem with this plane effectively, I would happily fly Ethiopian again. Certainly, the food, staff, and plane quality in terms of cleanliness and cabin experience was very decent on Ethiopian, and while this is not my favorite airline in the world, its Business Class stands up well as a solid choice when compared to Business Class on other airlines. You can read our Business Class flight reviews in full below:
Ethiopian Airlines B737 & B787 Business Class Reviews
Flight Review: Ethiopian Airlines B787 Dreamliner Business Class
In this post, we review Business Class in an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Vienna (Austria) to Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) with a layover at Ethiopian Airlines’ hub in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Both flight legs were operated by modern B787 Dreamliner aircraft with fully lie-flat seats in Business Class (called Cloud Nine). Ethiopian’s oldest B787s are still flying around with angled lie-flat seats, so check which Business Class seat you are booking into before you fly. The experience was good, albeit not mind-blowing, but it did indeed exceed my expectations.
My Experience Flying The Doomed Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX
Just a few weeks ago, I flew the exact same model of a B737 MAX from Antananarivo (Madagascar) to Addis Abeba. The plane that had such a tragic accident was registered under ET-AVJ. I flew the exact same model delivered just a few weeks earlier from Boeing in Seattle with registration ET - AVI (yes, just one letter difference!). Just a few days before my flight, Lion Air JT610 crashed into the Java Sea (on October 29th) shortly after takeoff, so I felt quite uneasy about my flight, especially at takeoff.
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