Total Score: 15 / 20
Service 3.5 / 5
Food 4 / 5
Seat 4 / 5
Amenities and IFE 3.5 / 5
Flight Number ET 809
Departure from Addis Ababa at 8:40 AM
Seat 1A
There are a few daily nonstop flights between Addis Ababa and Johannesburg, though for travelers looking to fly on the best aircraft, you’ll want to be on the early morning departure (ET 809) to fly on the A350. This is one of Ethiopian’s newest aircraft and features their best seats in both business and economy class. Most travelers (myself included) don’t consider Ethiopian to be a premium airline, however this flight drastically changed my view of the airline, at least on their A350 business class product.
Boarding the A350 from a remote gate
Service
Once seated, I was offered a warm towel, amenity kit, and glass of champagne as you can expect from most medium and longhaul business class flights. The business class crew were nice and efficient, though not overly friendly and didn’t seem to smile once during the flight which was honestly a bit off-putting. Despite this, the crew did their job and anything I requested was taken care of quickly and efficiently.
Cabin and Seat
The Cloud Nine Business Class cabin was configured in a 2-2-2 layout with just 5 rows at the front of the aircraft, a total of 30 seats. While I prefer seats in a 1-2-1 layout for more privacy, these were spacious, comfortable, and quite private considering the layout. The seat design is similar to the B/E Aerospace Diamond seats (as on United’s 787), though a bit more sleek, spacious and comfortable in my opinion. You’ll want to select a seat in the first row on this aircraft as the foot space is MUCH larger than in the other rows!
The Food
Though this was a morning departure, the meal served onboard was lunch which was excellent given that airplane breakfast isn’t so impressive even in business and first class cabins. About two hours after takeoff (about 10:45am local time), my table was set and I was served a salmon appetizer which was delicious. This was followed by an Ethiopian food course where the flight attendants brought out a trolley with several choices of local cuisine to choose from which are plated in front of you. Very few airlines do this, and I was very impressed with both the presentation and taste! Next, the main courses were served for those of us who were still hungry. I had the salmon, and though the presentation wasn’t as good as the other dishes, it tasted great. Lastly, desserts were served on a trolley as well where you could choose from fruits, pastries, cheese, and wines. I found the desserts offered to be pretty low quality and not worth the calories, so I didn’t have more than a bite. Overall, lunch service on Ethiopian exceeded the meal quality of many of the world’s best airlines which was a very pleasant surprise.
Ethiopian Food Course
Cheese Course and Dessert
Bottom Line
Overall I had a wonderful flight. I had low expectations for Ethiopian’s business class, but was pleasantly surprised with the comfortable seats, delicious food, and efficient (though not very friendly) service. There is certainly room for improvement in the overall friendliness of the crew, desserts, and of course they could install better business class seats, though I was happy with the seats on this relatively short five hour flight. I would gladly fly Ethiopian again on the A350 aircraft, though from what I have heard I cannot say the same about their other longhaul aircraft.