I recently visited my family in a one-month trip to Brazil. It was a round trip from Tokyo-São Paulo with connections in Seoul and Addis Ababa.
The reason I chose Ethiopian Airlines was purely by the price, it was considerably a lot cheaper than the other airlines that offer trips to Brazil. If you are considering a budget trip to Japan, Ethiopian Airlines is surely a good option to consider.
Having said that, I would recommend you not to set your expectations too high for this company. it is not bad, but if you have flown with other famous big companies, you will see a huge difference.
So I will start listing the pros on flying
Ethiopian Airlines.
It is a budget company.
Prices are considerably cheaper in this company, the difference of price got 20% less the second cheaper company. As I always try to low the budget of the transportation to spend more on the trip itself I chose this company. Considering the cost-benefit of the service provided by the company, I would say it is worth it.
Star Alliance Member
As they part of the Star Alliance, you can use and save miles from the member companies of this group in Ethiopian Airlines, which is very clever because you out all your miles together and buy an upgrade or an entire ticket. Through their mileage program, ShebaMiles, you can use and save miles on the member companies of this group.
The food
It is not my first time flying with an African company, and all the times the food was delicious. And so is Ethiopian Airlines food, it was incredibly good. Specially and we left Tokyo, they served very well cooked food, in a warm temperature. I also enjoyed the snacks, and they were provided through the entire flight. The drinks were also good, and there was always water, coffee and juice available at the kitchen.
The connections are fast
There is nothing worse than waiting long hours for your next flight in a strange land airport. I particularly hate waiting more the four hours in an airport. The connections I took in Ethiopian Airlines were incredible fast. I only waited for one hour and some minutes in Seoul and for three hours in Addis Ababa. Which was enough for passing security check, finding the gate and wait for the next flight. I also had time enough to look at Addis Ababa duty free shop.
The pilots are very skilled
I must say that the landing of the flight from São Paulo to Addis Ababa was the smoothest I have ever experienced. He landed a Airbus a350 as it was a feather.
If you were sleeping you would probably not notice the plane was already landed.
But, as all companies in the universe there are also some cons
The aircrafts
Don't expect a super comfortable aircraft. From the first section to the trip, the seats were pretty hard, and the seats and over head compartment could be cleaner.
The bathrooms
As Ethiopian Airlines is a budget company, I imagine their aircraft might be second-handed, which is ok if you take good care of it. But the bathrooms could be better, the was a part below the lavatory that was loose only fixed with a make-do tape the flight attendants had in the kitchen. That part in my opinion was the worst part, it is very uncomfortable using a bathroom in an airplane, so a bathroom that is falling apart is even worse.
No separations for the flight attendants to rest
The flight attendants that wanted to rest and sleep had to do it on the common seats in economy class, which I think is not comfortable for cabin crew and clients. There should be a separated space for them to rest and not with the ordinary people on the plane.
Flight Attendants could be nicer.
I won't generalize and say all of them are not nice as we expect flight attendants to be. Some of them didn't have a smile on the face when serving customers, which is disappointing because we have a high expectation on flight attendants. I am not saying they were impolite or treated anyone of us badly, but I would expect more courtesy of them, it might be selfish of my part, but I'm sure it is something we all expect.
Ground Crew could be better
Particularly in São Paulo, ground crew could be better. There was a change of terminal in Guarulhos Airport, and unfortunately there was not even one employee of the company to guide passengers who were waiting in the previous terminal, we had to help each other and find the new terminal and check in counter by ourselves. And that was the most stressful part of the trip. Also, the was a long line for check in, and it could be a little faster if the ground crew organized it better.
Delays
Departing from São Paulo, there was a delay of almost two hours in our flight, as I said earlier, the connection time is very short in this trip. As we were delayed to departure from Sao Paulo, we arrived at Addis Ababa with little time to get the next flight, we had to complete security check and proceed to the boarding gate, and it took us long time to pass X-Ray because there were only two machine operating in the night there, so the line got really long. After passing X-Ray, we had to rush to our gate to board the bus that took us to the plane. It was very stressful, because we always fear not to be able to get the next flight and have to spend one day waiting. Luckily, we were able to get the flight, but I talked to some people who did the same route on the day before, and lost the connection flight and had to wait one day in Addis Ababa.
Conclusion:
It is far from an excellent company, but if you consider the price of the tickets, I would say it is worth it. They deliver what they proposed to, and although it is not the most comfortable airline out there, they flew everybody in safety, which is the most important thing we expect from an airline company. And far beyond, I would say that I consider flying with them again if their price is considerably cheaper than other airlines. Something that I would consider too is flying in business class, as their prices are low cost. Also, as you participate in their ShebaMiles program, and they are part of the Star Alliance group you can use these companies' miles on their program.
My advice is: Don't set your exceptions too high, have in mind you saved a lot of money in this trip and enjoy their service as the best they can offer at the moment.
So, I hope if you are considering flying with Ethiopian Airlines this article may help make a decision, and if you do decide to fly with them, it may help you prepare yourself and enjoy the good things they have in their service.
BONUS: If you have time in Addis Ababa definitely visit their duty free, the price of perfumes there are incredible.
Hope you fly safe,
Michelle Motoki
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