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.
Everything was great, the infotainment system was glitching but this was not a big deal.
The flight was very smooth, however, the quality of food was mediocre.
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 [I629/352] . 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.
I paid for internet that did not work and had to pay more to have it
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 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.
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
All good, professional service, and arrived close to on time.
This was a special trip so we booked first class. It was obviously an old plane as the seats weren't that comfortable or spacious. We were delayed 45mins taking off as the "little engine that starts the big engines doesn't work". The powered divider between myself and the next seat in first class didn't work and my electrically powdered seat didn't work so I had to move seats to try and get some sleep. Food and drink were good, crew were great. But I'll never fly with BA again.
Continue to be disappointed that the “food” for “ordinary” fare paying passengers is poor - on this flight it consisted of a packet of two biscuits and a small bottle of water … not even offered a “free” cup of tea or coffee. Suggest a review of the “menu” and offer a hot drink to ordinary (economy class) passengers. On this route there are many far cheaper flights available - paying almost £200 for a flight that could have been bought for less than half this price should have some “perks” - offering hot drinks to all passengers would, in my opinion, be a cost effective measure which would improve the image of British Airways.
Everything. Employees offered to help me because I had to use a cane.
Need thicker and wider blankets. Food was below standard especially in the fist leg.
Decrepit planes, poor business class layout designed to maximize revenue, no decent movie selection.
We were kicked off this flight by British Airways due to delays on our connecting flight also operated by British airways and were rebooked on a different carrier which delayed our arrival home by > 26 hours.
Was delayed on first leg and missed connection. They would not let me board although I arrived at the gate 5 min before take off. I was delayed 24hrs
The business class seat was an uncomfortable conversion of a main cabin seat well below the quality of even the budget carriers in the US. I would have never paid for business class if would have known I get the same seat as main cabin. BA has gone down hill significantly in this class of service.
Our flight was cancelled on Sunday morning. We were supposed to take a short flight to Dallas from Austin, then a nonstop to Barcelona. We were rerouted from Austin to Miami on American Airlines due to storms we sat at the gate for 2 1/2 hours, pilot announced we needed fuel. In air pilot said we were rerouted to Fort Myers 30 minutes from Zmiami. Sat on tarmac waiting for a gate. Deplaned at 10:09. Pilot gave conflicting info about what to do. Missed Miami flight to Barcelona. Pilot announced crew was timed out and we would have to wait for a new crew. Waited a couple of hours. Got to Miami at 2:30 am. Gate agents at Fort Myers told us to go to D30 for hotel vouchers. No one was there. So we slept a little on the floor. Husband is 80 and I am 74. Rerouted to JFK at 9:54 am on Monday, then flight to Barcelona at 5 pm. We arrived in Barcelona a day late and missed the first night of our Oceania Marina cruise. We feel that we are due a lot of compensation for this trip from hell.