The following is a review for a flight from Johannesburg to Washington, DC with a connection at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and refueling landing at Rome, Italy. The flight was provided by Ethiopian Airlines. There were two of us: me and my wife on this flight. Everything was on time. Enough legroom between the seats, I was able to stretch my legs and sleep for at least some time during the 14 hour second flight (19 hours in total for both flights). Very decent meals that included two lunches and one breakfast on the flight from Addis Ababa to Washington and one lunch on the flight from Johannesburg to Addis Ababa. The lunch choices were beef, chicken and fish, I think the vegetarian option was available as well, accompanied with beans. The breakfast was a choice between egg and pancake, accompanied with a fruit salad. The egg breakfast was awesome, it came with a scrambled egg and a sausage. However, my wife mentioned unusual taste of the pancake breakfast meal, by all means those were not pancakes. What wasn't good: Externally initiated commercials on the infosystem screens, you couldn't turn the screen off. These commercials were accompanied by loud and annoying music, transmitted through the entire cabin. Obviously, there was no escape from this music as well. Additional moment: on the flight from Addis Ababa to Washington, DC, we landed at Rome for refueling. This was totally fine and it was in the flight itinerary. But, the flight attendant asked me to straighten the seat while we were at the steady position during the refueling. I can't rationalize this order except that some people just like to be a boss of some kind. Keeping the light lit in the economy cabin while keeping it dimmed in the first class also didn't improve my and my wife's feelings. Overall, the services were very good and the flight, despite its longevity, went on very smoothly.
8.0 ExcellentVladimir A, Jun 2026JNB - ADD
The following is a review for a flight from Johannesburg to Washington, DC with a connection at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and refueling landing at Rome, Italy. The flight was provided by Ethiopian Airlines. There were two of us: me and my wife on this flight. Everything was on time. Enough legroom between the seats, I was able to stretch my legs and sleep for at least some time during the 14 hour second flight (19 hours in total for both flights). Very decent meals that included two lunches and one breakfast on the flight from Addis Ababa to Washington and one lunch on the flight from Johannesburg to Addis Ababa. The lunch choices were beef, chicken and fish, I think the vegetarian option was available as well, accompanied with beans. The breakfast was a choice between egg and pancake, accompanied with a fruit salad. The egg breakfast was awesome, it came with a scrambled egg and a sausage. However, my wife mentioned unusual taste of the pancake breakfast meal, by all means those were not pancakes. What wasn't good: Externally initiated commercials on the infosystem screens, you couldn't turn the screen off. These commercials were accompanied by loud and annoying music, transmitted through the entire cabin. Obviously, there was no escape from this music as well. Additional moment: on the flight from Addis Ababa to Washington, DC, we landed at Rome for refueling. This was totally fine and it was in the flight itinerary. But, the flight attendant asked me to straighten the seat while we were at the steady position during the refueling. I can't rationalize this order except that some people just like to be a boss of some kind. Keeping the light lit in the economy cabin while keeping it dimmed in the first class also didn't improve my and my wife's feelings. Overall, the services were very good and the flight, despite its longevity, went on very smoothly.
The flight was very smooth, however, the quality of food was mediocre.
It was a good experience - too many times checking at the airport - every time had to remove shoes , belt , laptop etc. that was a bit of exaggerated. The seat had a sharp metal plate -- which torn into my jeans.
Flight was delayed by two hours. This really messed things up because I missed my connecting flight in Addis. I had a meeting in Entebbe which was scrapped because my flight from Addis landed later in the day.
To the Ethiopian Airlines Customer Relations Team, I am writing to formally express my disappointment regarding my recent travel experience with Ethiopian Airlines on flight 629/352. Unfortunately, the level of service provided fell significantly short of the standards I expected from your airline. I would like to highlight the following serious issues encountered during the journey: • Cabin Condition and Hygiene: The aircraft cabin was notably poorly maintained. The seating area was dirty, and there was a persistent, unpleasant odor throughout the flight, which made the environment very uncomfortable for passengers. • Inadequate Service: The overall level of service provided by the staff was unsatisfactory and did not reflect a professional passenger experience. • Baggage Loss: Upon arrival, I was informed that my luggage was lost. This is particularly distressing as it has caused significant personal inconvenience and disruption to my schedule. As a frequent traveler, I value reliability and a clean cabin environment. I request that you investigate these matters immediately, provide an update on the status of my missing baggage, and outline how you intend to compensate for these failures in service. I look forward to your prompt response and a resolution to my lost luggage claim. Sincerely, Puguh
I will fly this going forward especially for ORD to EBB and the reverse.
We had a good flight experience with this airline despite reading many negative comments
Planes are good. However the entertainement system is slow. The headphones are of low quality and I could hardly hear a movie The movies lack subtitiles
The crew was unfriendly and very rude to name a few (Helina). I felt unsafe due to most of the cabinets were open while on flight. All in all the flight was ok, but the crew needed more training on customer service most of all for international flights.
The plane was ok, I was in business class and was surprised there were no pods and each seat was right next to another one. That said it was comfortable and the food and coffee were good. Entertainment wise again I was surprised to see only movies and no TV shows. Check-in at Toronto Pearson was an absolute disaster, which was especially disappointing as I was a business class passenger. There was no dedicated staffing for the business counter and four (4) airlines employees assisted one economy class passenger for about 15 minutes when one could have easily assisted me. Overall room for improvement, particularly in the on-ground experience and airplane infrastructure.
Was very good, was happy with the way staff were smiling and how they were approachable
They fed me at the right time the flight was smooth and the captain explain everything
Terrible. Flew from Rwanda to Nairobi for transfer then on to Madagascar. Kenya Airways does not like to park at a gate. They park on the outskirts requiring a bus shuttle. That part is okay, but the bus drops you off outside of security. If I did not skip to the front of the line with my remaining half hour connection, I would have missed my flight. Complete security check plus taking off of shoes had to be completed (again). I made it to Madagascar, but my checked bag decided to take a trip to Dubai. I know tag on luggage was to Madagascar. No one can figure out how it made it to Dubai, except for incompetence. Even though I knew it was in Dubai, they would not allow a tracking to be done until Kenya Airways had the opportunity to get it on the next flight to Madagascar. Did not happen of course! I took 3 flights with Kenya Airways during this journey. Everyone of them had something go wrong. Please look elsewhere for another airline which I will be doing in the future.
Excellent crew. Three problems need to be taken care of: 1. Lack of wi-fi during the flight. This prevents busy traveller's from working while onboard. 2. Why there were two very-slow security check points was more punishment that necessary. Went through thorough security at transit area, the an even slower one at Gare 19!!!! Why passports needed to be checked st least 5 times by 5 different people makes no sense. Additionally, passengers were crammed like sardines in a boarding area with no charging ports that work!! This was a boarding nightmare. 3. During my flight (seat 27C) the headset socket did not work. Watched one movie, but very difficult because of that. Had to keep my fingers on the socket for it to work!
Paid an extra USD 100 for so-called Comfort seats. All of these (the bulkhead seats) had parents with babies and infants who were screaming much of the time. One mother even decided to change nappies on the seat. This was anything but comfort!
Front section of economy cabin is better than rear. Paid for seats selected.
The flight attendants on this flight were incredible! One even gave me her own dinner when my special meal order wasn’t transferred due to a flight delay! She insisted and I was so grateful. That is going above and beyond! The issue I had with the flight was with Lufthansa support. I missed my connection due to a flight delay and they wouldn’t rebook online, only in person. This took a lot of time and visits to the airport waiting for a Lufthansa agent to arrive 5 hours later than posted and almost paying full-fare price for the new flights and refusal to add my special meal orders. It made for a challenging journey home and I didn’t feel valued as a customer.
I think is one of the greatest most professional airlines I’ve flown with. So sustainable as well!!! The business class is top notch!!!
I enjoyed the courtesy of the staff, and their professionalism. The food was pretty good and they took great care of us throughout the trip!
The boarding process was smooth and the seat quite comfortable. The snack served was tasty. There could have been better entertainment options available. The crew was quite courteous and friendly.
