Category: Ethiopian Airlines

The Details

• Flight: ET815
• Aircraft: A350-900
• Class: Cloud Nine/Business
• Seat: 4A
• Route: Addis Ababa Bole International (ADD)-Kilimanjaro International (JRO)
• Distance: 833 miles
• Duration: 2hrs 27min
• Departure: 10:56AM
• Arrival: 12:48PM

The Preflight

After arriving from my connecting flight from Accra, I had a roughly 12 hour layover in Addis Ababa until my final flight to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. While I had been provided a hotel night at the Radisson Blu by Ethiopian Airlines, I was waiting for my SO who was arriving on a later flight.

I headed towards to Cloud Nine Lounge 2 which is open to all Ethiopian Airlines business class passengers.

Upon entering, there was a seating area centered around a coffee station.

There was a fair amount of sofa seating.

There was a bar area which was unfortunately closed overnight.

There was also a buffet area that offered an excellent selection of local foods.

I had some delicious beef and chicken dishes with some excellent Injera bread.

While there was no beds available in the lounge, there was a small room with a few recliner chairs. I managed to nap for about three hours until my SO arrived. I met her in the terminal area and we spent the rest of the night and early morning in the gate area.

Once the morning rush of international arrivals began at Addis Ababa, we had excellent views of a few widebodies including B787s and A350s.

Our A350-900, registration ET-AUC, was delivered brand new to Ethiopian Airlines in October 2017. She was named “Abyssinia”.

Boarding was scheduled to begin at 9:40AM local time but was delayed by 30 minutes until 10:10AM. All passengers boarded via door 2L and I turned left towards the business class cabin.

The Flight

Ethiopian Airlines has a total of 30 business class seats onboard their A350s arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration. All of the Cloud Nine seats are between doors 1 and 2 across five rows.

These seats are Parallel Diamond seats with 65″ of pitch and 22″ of width. When fully lie-flat, each seat is 78″ long. Awaiting each passenger at their seat was a pillow, blanket, water bottle, and amenity kit.

The IFE screen was large and responsive. I appreciated the quality of the flight map.

Once most of the business class passengers were seated, flight attendants came through the cabin offering a predeparture drink. Options included champagne, water, or orange juice.

A menu was also provided.

Boarding was completed at 10:26AM but had a long taxi to the runway. Finally, at 10:55 we took off. bound for Tanzania.

Once we reached cruising altitude, the flight attendants came through with a beverage service. I had a second glass of champagne. Warm towels were also distributed.

The appetizer and dessert for the lunch service was all presented on one tray. The starter was a delicious king prawn, the salad was couscous, the dessert vanilla cake, and the cheese course a prepackaged cheese.

For my main dish I went with the salmon fillet with ratatouille and a side of pasta. I found the salmon to be OK.

After the main meal service, flight attendants came through with a coffee and tea cart. I had a cup of black coffee and also had a glass of excellent Ethiopian Merlot.

It was a beautiful ride down to Tanzania.

As we neared JRO, the peak of Kilimanjaro could be seen from the window.

We landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport at 12:48PM and had a very quick taxi to the remote stand. Deplaning was done via two separate air stairs from doors 2L and 4L.

Thanks for the ride!

Ethiopian Airlines offers a great hard product for flight within the continental Africa. I appreciate that they operate newer aircraft such as the A350 and B787 on many of their intra-Africa routes. While the catering could be improved upon, I found this flight to be enjoyable.

The Details

• Flight: ET920
• Aircraft: A350-900
• Class: Cloud Nine/Business
• Seat: 2A
• Route: Accra Kotoka International (ACC)-Addis Ababa Bole International (ADD)
• Distance: 2,682miles
• Duration: 5hr 49min
• Departure: 1:12PM (delayed 1hr 9min)
• Arrival: 10:09PM

The Preflight

After my month in Cape Coast, Ghana, I was excited to head to Tanzania for my Kilimanjaro climb. The check-in counters for Ethiopian Airlines at Accra Kotoka International Airport were not open until exactly three hours before the flight was scheduled to depart. Once I cleared security, I made my way to one of the two Priority Pass lounges in the airport.

The first lounge I went to had a good amount of seating but had no views of the outside. I was the only passenger in the lounge during my time inside.

I then headed towards the second Priority Pass lounge at ACC. This lounge was on the second floor of the terminal and had views of the apron. There was a very large amount of seating in the lounge with comfortable sofas.

Interestingly, there was a room with AstroTurf that was behind glass windows. The only thing inside was a large Turkish Airlines B737 model.

Food offerings included a variety of fried foods and pastries.

There was also a respectable alcohol selection and an espresso machine.

Boarding was scheduled to begin at 11:35AM and so I left the lounge at 11:30. However, once I got to the gate, the staff announced that the flight was delayed by an hour. At 12:25PM, boarding finally began and passengers were directed to buses that would carry us to the remote stand.

Our beautiful A350-900, registration ET-AVB, was delivered brand new to Ethiopian Airlines in February 2018. She was named “Gelada Baboon”.

The Flight

Ethiopian Airlines offers a total of 30 business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration between the first and second set of doors on their A350s. There are also 313 economy seats. The business class seats are B/E Parallel Diamonds which are 22″ wide and have 65″ of pitch. When fully flat, the bed length was a total of 78″ long. The seat controls were located in the left hand armrest as well as the IFE remote.

At each was there was a very comfortable pillow and thick blanket along with a green amenity kit. Water bottles were also at each seat.

Each seat also had a very large and responsive IFE screen. Next to the screen was a coat hook.

The very friendly flight attendants came through the cabin with predeparture beverages once most of the passengers got situated. Options included champagne, orange juice, or water.

A menu was also provided.

We pushed back at at 1:12PM local time and had a very quick five minute taxi to runway 3. The climb out of Accra was slightly bumpy with clouds obscuring any views.

Service began 30 minutes after take-off with some hot towels. A beverage cart then came through. Instead of the traditional nuts, Ethiopian decides to serve a very unique roasted teff which was delicious. I had a second glass of champagne.

We encountered some severe turbulence after the beverage service and service was temporarily suspended for safety reasons. After about 45 minutes, the fasten seat belt sign was finally turned off. Flight attendants then came through the cabin and set up tablecloths for the main meal service.

There was only one option for the appetizer which was a cold sliced beef sirloin. I found the beef to be very dry and flavorless. There was also a small side salad and cold bread roll.

For my main I had the grilled beef steak with pepper sauce, mixed sautéed vegetables, and roasted wedge potatoes. This was a rather disappointing dish as the beef was incredibly tough. To pair with the beef, I switched to the Ethiopian Merlot which was excellent.

Once the main dish plates were cleared, flight attendants came through with a dessert cart. Options included a cherry pie, cheese plate, or fresh fruit. I had both the cherry pie and the cheese plate. While the cherry pie was disappointing, I enjoyed the cheese plate.

By the time the meal service concluded the sun had set below the horizon. Flight attendants made one last pass though the cabin with coffee and tea but I declined.

I set up my bed and put on the airshow. As with all Parallel Diamond seats, I found the footwell very restrictive and uncomfortable. I managed to get maybe an hour nap in before the cabin was prepared for landing.

We landed at 10:09PM local time in Addis Ababa and parked at a remote stand. Deplaning was done via air stairs and all the business class passengers were directed to a dedicated business class bus.

Since my layover in Addis Ababa was going to be roughly 12 hours, Ethiopian Airlines was generous enough to offer me a hotel accommodation at the Radisson Blu.

In the end, I found this business class flight with Ethiopian perfectly acceptable. While the food and seat were mediocre, at the end of the day, I still enjoyed this A350 experience. I also must commend Ethiopian Airlines for giving business class passengers overnight accommodations at respectable hotels if they have long connections.