[wbcr_php_snippet id=”4203″]Founded in 1945 Ethiopian Airlines has steadily grown into being one of the major players in the aviation industry in Africa and around the world. With headquarters based at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, the airline is fully owned by the Ethiopian government. Despite being government owned the airline allows no political interference and is managed solely by airline staff. This has allowed them to operate profitably and efficiently leading them to becoming a member of the prestigious Star Alliance network of airlines. Ethiopian Airlines has the honour of flying to more destinations in Africa than any other airline.
Ethiopian Airlines Fleet
Ethiopian airlines has a fleet of over 70 aircrafts. Their modern and environmentally conscious fleet includes such carriers as the Boeing, Airbus and Dreamliner aircrafts. The interior of the latest fleet acquisitions have been improved to offer wider aisles, larger seating and bigger windows. Future airbus and Boeing type aircrafts are already being placed on order to accommodate for the ever growing company. Future Boeing additions will have sky interior making for a magical flight experience.
Ethiopian Airlines Booking
The booking experience with Ethiopian Airlines, be it the 83 international or 20 domestic destinations is effortless. The online booking process negates the need to go through a travel agent. All you would need to input are the flight types which could be one way, multi city or round trip and flight destinations of your choosing. Flight options of which cabin class you will be flying in depending on your budget and dates of your departure and arrival. Also any other promotional redeeming factors, are the only information needed to give all options of flight availabilities. Ethiopian Airlines offers a 10 percent discount on booking fees for confirmed bookings from groups with 10 or more people. Car rental and hotel booking can be done directly from their website as well with a network of trusted companies.
Ethiopian Airlines Check-in
All check in counters at the airports for Ethiopian Airlines are open 4 hours before a flight takes off and closes 1 hour before departure. Passengers must ensure that they arrive at the airport with confirmed bookings and passports and any other travel documents required of the visiting destination. Baggage is also checked in at this point and any extra weight as determined by the flight requirement will be charged with a penalty cost. Hand baggage not weighing more than 8 kg is allowed onto Ethiopian Airline flights. Baggage calculating functions are available on the Ethiopian Airlines website. There are separate counters available for could nine and silver/gold ShebaMiles members to check in, after which they will be invited to wait contently at the respective lounges. Ethiopian Airlines offers kiosk check-in at the airports as well. This was introduced to speed up the check-in process which is often bombarded with long queues. Once you arrive at the airport, locate the self-check in terminal and select Ethiopian Airlines as well as choice of language. Find your booking and confirm that you have no dangerous goods within your baggage. Check in and add any personal details. Select your seating and print out your boarding pass. It is recommended to arrive at the airport 3 hours before your flight departure to complete all check in activities.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight Experience
The ever improving standards of Ethiopian Airlines allows for their customers to get the best in air service. The aircrafts offer economy and business class seating. Flying long distances is hard on the body and the lack of stretching when seated on planes adds to this misery. Ethiopian Airlines strives to improve comfortability on board their flights with wider seating and aisles. Economy class patrons can look forward to tasty prepared meals and light snacks throughout the journey. A variety of juices and cool drink options are available as well as alcoholic options of beer and wines. The in-flight entertainment provides movies, television, audio and also specific programming to keep kids entertained during flights. The Selamta magazine is the in-flight reading material provided on all Ethiopian Airline flights. This entertaining magazine shows off Africa at its best. In addition to all above mentioned experiences offered by Ethiopian Airlines, Cloud Nine members will further receive a wider range of food options.
Ethiopian Loyalty Program
The ShebaMiles loyalty program offered by Ethiopian Airlines offers benefits according to miles accrued on their flights. The benefits for blue, silver and gold members are well worth becoming a member. According to card type, members are allowed the following:
• Free extra baggage
• Priority baggage handling
• Check in priority
• Access to executive lounges
• Advance boarding
• Priority on wait-list
Ethiopian Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance network which also offers benefits of mile accruals when flying any of their airlines. The ShebaMiles card can be used at any of these partner airlines allowing you to collect miles using only one ShebaMiles card.
Ethiopian Airlines General information
• Ethiopian Airlines services 6 million passengers annually and operates in 64 countries and 89 airports.
• With almost 200 daily departures, Ethiopian airlines produces sales revenues in average of 2 billion US dollars
• It is the national airline of Ethiopia which makes it the flag carrier airline as well
• Ethiopian Airlines employs over 8000 people
• They boast a range of best airline, best cabin crew and leadership awards
• Pets are allowed on Ethiopian Airlines cabins but must not exceed 8 kg and be in proper pet cages and in the event of not having your pet directly with you, Ethiopian Cargo has a LiveAnimal program to transport pets, with a dedicated and specially trained team to provide the best care throughout the journey.