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Home » Ethiopian Airlines » 13 Long Hours on Ethiopian Airlines
787Ethiopian Airlines

13 Long Hours on Ethiopian Airlines

Matthew Klint Posted onOctober 19, 2017November 14, 2023 20 Comments

Ethiopian Airlines has a lot going for it, but the lack of lie-flat seating makes it difficult for me to wholeheartedly endorse it. I’ve also realized something—internet is what I value most of all on a flight.

Service was exceptional on the 13-hour 787-8 flight from Toronto to Addis Ababa on Tuesday. From the champagne arrival to the final goodbye, I could not have asked for a better crew. They were friendly and proactive, offering very polished service.

a woman holding a tray of glasses with drinks

I was very disappointed to board the aircraft and find the old business class seats. In chatting with the (American) captain, he mentioned that none of the Ethiopian 787s had been retrofitted yet with new lie-flat business class seats. 787s are now delivered with the new seats, but the original 787s will only be retrofitted during their first heavy maintenance check (usually when the aircraft turns about three years old).

a person walking in an airplane

a plane with red seats

a seat in a plane

a seat in an airplane

Unfortunately, the morning departure time coupled with the lack of lie-flat seating made sleep impossible for me. I did not sleep a wink. The cabin was warm, but individual air nozzles were available above each seat, so that was not the culprit.

You Won’t Go Hungry on Ethiopian Airlines

Food was good…at least at the time. I love the spices in Ethiopian food and had a large plate of Doro Wat (spicy chicken stew), Yebeg Alcha (Tumeric Mutton Stew), Gomen (Kale), and Shiro Tibs Firfir (beef stew).

a person serving food on a table in an airplane

a plate of food on a table

That was more than enough for my meal, but then the crew brought out western courses…a steak on top of all of that. Appetizer too…i.e. a ton of food.

a plate of food on a table with a television

a plate of food on a table

a piece of meat on a plate

It was dry, but surprisingly good.

Cheese and dessert as well…

a plate of food on a table

a plate of desserts on a table

Before landing I opted for French Toast (instead of an omelet) and enjoyed that too.

a plate of food on a table

Overall, I was impressed with the catering on Ethiopian. I will add that something I ate did not agree with me, because I spent more time than I would have liked in the bathroom in Addis Ababa.

I passed the time watching a couple movies and knocking out some photo editing and writing, but I admittedly could not have handled a longer flight without internet. The inability to stay connected to my family and my business coupled with the stress of mounting emails may have also contributed to my insomnia. That’s just me and may not apply to most of you, but being disconnected drives me crazy and makes me much less relaxed.

CONCLUSION

Ethiopian objectively offers a below-average business class product if you get on a 767, 777, or 787 without lie-flat seating. Even so, warm service and good food made the flight pleasant. Even though I would not deliberately fly Ethiopian Airlines, I would never deliberately avoid it either.

Stay tuned for a full trip report from this flight.

an airplane wing and the sky

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Previous Article Review: Flying the Bombardier CS100 (SWISS from Frankfurt to Zurich)
Next Article What I Did in Addis Ababa

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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20 Comments

  1. Ryan Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 4:29 pm

    Those are low flat seats sir

    • Matthew Reply
      October 19, 2017 at 4:36 pm

      They may have been low, but they were not flat.

  2. Nancy Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    Interesting. Our recent flight from Dulles to Addis featured inedible western food. They were out of most options for business and what they had was… inedible. The Ethiopian course was delicious, however, the injera was a tad dry and cold

  3. Ben Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 4:35 pm

    How was Addis?

    • Matthew Reply
      October 19, 2017 at 4:36 pm

      Next post.

  4. CJ Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 4:43 pm

    More and more I am finding individual air very important. Tired of flying BA, Qatar etc to the ME from ATL on 14+ hour long flights, in biz, only to find it being repressivly hot the entire time hampering sleep.

  5. Stephen Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 6:19 pm

    This is like some of JAL’s 787 business class with angled lie flat seats! Why?!

    • Matthew Reply
      October 19, 2017 at 6:43 pm

      Very sad, considering these aircraft are so news.

      And they are not even angle-flat. I’d say more like 170º but not the full 180º recline.

  6. Alazar Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 7:49 pm

    What is going on? This exact article was posted some weeks ago.

    • Matthew Reply
      October 19, 2017 at 7:59 pm

      That would be impossible, because I just took the flight yesterday…

      You may be referring to another Ethiopian Airlines flight I took from Dublin to Los Angeles.

  7. MarkM Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 7:52 pm

    Curious what your readership’s most important aspect of a business class flight? For me, flat bed is easily most important while incredible food and IFE would be nice, I’ll accept average of those to prioritize flat bed. I can pass on internet.

    Matt – a future post of yours could survey our first priority on premium cabin.

    • Matthew Reply
      October 19, 2017 at 7:59 pm

      @MarkM – I will do so! Good idea.

  8. Mser Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 10:03 pm

    Flat bed, hands down #1. Internet #2. Food #3. IFE #4

    • Marissa Reply
      October 19, 2017 at 10:45 pm

      I buy business largely to sleep. On short TA hops eastward I only have breakfast. On longer TP flights, and westward across the Atlantic, good meals, service, and a wide selection of movies becomes increasingly more important.

      • brteacher Reply
        October 20, 2017 at 12:39 am

        Yes. My priorities are very different depending on whether I have an eastbound or westbound flight.

  9. Zeberga Reply
    October 19, 2017 at 11:16 pm

    Wait a min! Are you asking for a bed in flight? Oh man… you need a private jet for that. Ethiopian is the best airline in Africa that flies you safe and sound with modern airplanes. Sleeping flat can wait for 5 star hotels and should not be a basis of criticism for Ethiopian, which the pride of Africa 🙂

  10. Kebede Mizanu Reply
    October 20, 2017 at 5:08 am

    The author is one of those born to complain. Ethiopian Airline offers one of the best service and is safety oriented. They are flying an Aircraft made by Boing they don’t manufacture there own. I am an avid flier and have seen many airlines including the major ones here in the USA. None of them offer what Ethiopian Airline provide.
    It is Africa’s biggest airline and growing rapidly.
    The author you are in a negative campaign to simply criticize this great Airline owned by this great old country

  11. David S Reply
    October 20, 2017 at 9:13 am

    I do not feel sorry for you. Bush and the FAA achieved their dream of banning the cockpit from invited guests 16 years ago. I am far more disappointed and distressed from losing a lifetime joy of aviation and flying then you could ever be. I could care less about flat beds.

  12. David S Reply
    October 20, 2017 at 12:38 pm

    Again no sympathy here. I do not understand the obsession about a flat bed. I do understand my far greater distress and disappointment of having invited guest visits on foreign carriers banned by the FAA worldwide for the past 16 years. For those that flew before that the joy of aviation is dead. I do not need a flat bed.

  13. EO Reply
    October 20, 2017 at 2:24 pm

    I use Ethiopian once a year from Toronto, if course economy. I have been satisfied with their excellent service and hospitality. My needs and finance are is not the same as the people who use Business but I would definitely pay more if you start providing injera in the economy class. It is also interesting to read what business class flyers complain about.

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