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
Read more Ethiopian Air reviewsThe 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.
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.
I will fly this going forward especially for ORD to EBB and the reverse.
Boarding was disorganized. Cabin crew was rude. Food was okay. Baggage was lost in Jeddah. Called airline for the past 5 days, either no response or saying the same thing as always which was "No bag has arrived. It should be here by tonight."
We had a good flight experience with this airline despite reading many negative comments
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.
Delay not posted, only departure time listed- not boarding time. We left an hour late and arrived 45 min late. Restrooms had backed up sinks and toilets not flushed ) passenger error). Lots of screen for entertainment didn’t work. But we arrived with our luggage
The plane was old and the luggage racks above us were visibly shaking during turbulence. Water was dripping on our heads during landing. Our flight was over 2 hours late departing but we were not updated or told what to expect as the screen at the gate continued to read “on time”
I had a memorable experience. I dont have any comments at this time regarding waht could be better.
Need to do a lot of improvement on service and cleaness
Kayak offered terrible customer service. The 2nd of 3 flights were cancelled and it took me an hour on the phone to try to cancel the other 2. I had to call back later to get someone to assist. I was calling internationally and an already stressful situation was made worse.
Moderate carrier , one of the flight attendant crashed my leg with the food table and never bothered to apologia but give you a lecture about how to sit in your seat.
If the flight was full I would have been more uncomfortable as the space was small. The seat in front of me was very close, I wear transition lenses and it was too close for a comfortable viewing experience. The foot room was not the best either. The row was empty so I had shoulder width space. The foot space in my opinion could be better, I am just 6ft tall, medium built and found the space mediocre. The AC on the flight could have been cooler. We were delaed on the tarmac and the air con was warm. Even in the air, it could have been cooler. Apart from that excellent service crew, we were delayed on the tarmac and water was offered to us which was of good temperature. The snacks offered were acceptable. Thanks for a safe and smooth journey.
Boarding from T3 is a nightmare for the transfer to the aircraft.
BEST air crew in the industry and service delivery takes it to the next level from great to AMAZING!!!
No TVs are working, in my local busses also not work sometimes. Is the both are same,,
The timing for this flight is really odd.. at 4.45AM If it was 1AM or 8AM it would be great. I guess its probably for European connecting flights with Emirates? Anyway, for a budget airline, the business class product in FlyDubai is quite decent. You even get Champagne, although 4AM is an off time to have it. The Throne seat for me while is great for privacy, sleeping isn't great for the foot extension. This flight is great for me due to its direct nature but if Emirates did it, I would choose that.
The quality is worse and worse , this business ticket pricing is overpriced !!!!
The Plane was very small.. domestic route will perfect not international
If I have a choice I would not use this airline. They moved by booking to Smart Wings, an airline they code share with. Changing terminals in buses and dealing with some of the staff associated with it is not the best experience. Having stated that I must share that the crew of Smart Wings airlines was polite.