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.
The Boeing 737 MAX on this route, flown in the middle of the night, is an UTTER FAILURE for business travellers. The whole point of business travel is to arrive alert and recover from travel quickly, and this little aeroplane with its quarter recline uncomfortable business seats does nothing for that. It’s a small step up from economy in that you have decent legroom, but that’s it. Absolute margin at the cost of the traveller.
Food hardly ever changes Videos not often updated for often travel.
It was an old aircraft, stiff seats almost wooden chairs with thin cushions. Food was ok.
For Vegetarian Food was very poor. Though we had opted for Asian Vegetarian Food they didn’t serve but only what was available was served. We were offered Smoked Salmon!
Good was great, but no vegetarian option: only beef or chicken. In business class please add a vegetarian option. Thanks
1. They messed up my baby food order. 2. They messed up my confirmed seats. 3. The screen on my seat was not working at all. So, it’s a horrible experience
The wifi service was really poor I try to use it the service was extremely poor if that could be improved that will go a long way
Entertainment system poor - couldn't hear, no flight info etc.
Flight was originally postponed and then delayed further. No communication at boarding gate or via What's ap or SMS to inform you of the new time so you can plan around it.. No explanations or apologies for the delay.
The crew was good but the entertainment was poor . All old movies and TV shows and very few of them. Needs current entertainment. Seats too firm. Food just ok. Nice though to have option with upgrade of no one sitting in middle seat
This one is not bad even it is late, but they apologize and every time they announced the update.
The boarding was fast, the food was great; however, the seats & leg space were tight.
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!
It has been 1 week since arriving at my destination and I still have not recieved my kite surfing bags. Office will not communicate properly on location or when my bags will arrive. No advice on what to do on luggage that has not arrived in over a week. Simply not happy with Kenya airways at the moment.
The flight staff were not very kind. I went back to get a drink, 4 of them back there chatting. They all looked at me continued to talk then they started doing stuff and one finally asked after I was standing there awhile what I needed. This happened multiple times. The movies were not the great and seemed dated. My seat squeaked every time I moved and it moved around a bit.
Few movies to choose from. They did not board by zone
Customer service not the greatest my bags were left behind at JFK
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.