Business Class Ethiopian Airlines Review: B787-9 Addis Ababa to Vienna

I, Bertaut, flew Ethiopian Airlines Business Class from Yaounde to Vienna on the way home from visiting family in Cameroon. This was a solo trip since the kids were in school. Read our Ethiopian Airlines Business Class Review on the B787-9 Dreamliner from Addis Ababa to Vienna for all the details on this international flight that I booked with United MileagePlus miles.

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Business Class Ethiopian Airlines Review – WTA Score

**Our WTA score represents our own views based on our personal experience with the entity being reviewed.

Booking Ethiopian Airlines 787 Business Class with miles

I was able to book Ethiopian Airlines business class with miles as one segment of my itinerary from Yaounde to Washington D.C in the newer business class cabin on the B787-9. I redeemed 92,000 United MileagePlus miles and paid $189.35 in taxes and fees for the entire journey, which included a flight on Ethiopian Airlines Business Class from Yaounde (NSI) to Addis Ababa (ADD), this Ethiopian Business class flight from Addis Ababa (ADD) to Vienna (VIE), and a final segment from Vienna (VIE) to Washington D.C. (IAD) on Austrian Airlines. The retail cost of this ticket would have been $18,532, so we saved $18,342.65 on this itinerary by redeeming miles! This review covers just the Ethiopian Airlines segment from Addis Ababa to Vienna on flight ET724.

I didn’t have enough United MileagePlus miles in my account to book this flight, so I transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards instantly to United at a 1:1 ratio. Our favorite credit cards for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® for personal cards. If you have a small business or a side job that earns income, then these are our top picks for Chase business cards (you can open all 3)- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, and Chase Ink Business Cash.

Business Class Lounge at Addis Ababa

Since I was traveling in the Ethiopian Airlines business class cabin, I had access to the Star Alliance Ethiopian business class lounge at Addis Ababa during my layover. The lounge was also opened to Egyptair, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines Premium cabin passengers.  The lounge was very spacious with ample seating, food and beverages.

There was a special room devoted to Ethiopian coffee with traditional fabrics and stools. Offerings at the lounge included a bar, cafe, dining area, washrooms, bathrooms, massage room, quiet room, a large meeting room and a prayer room.

Ethiopian Airlines Business Class Cabin

The late night boarding was orderly without people rushing the gate at once. Thanks to priority boarding for business class, I was among the first to board which gave me time to get settled in the cabin before the red-eye flight. This particular flight was onboard one of Ethiopian Airline’s newer B787-9 Dreamliners. The Ethiopian Airlines B787-9 business class cabin consists of 30 lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 layout, which allowed direct aisle access for every seat. Since there were only 8 of us in the business class cabin, I picked a middle seat at the start of the flight before switching to a window seat prior to the descent into Vienna. 

The business class seats had red fabric and grey headrests. They reclined to a lie-flat position with a rather narrow footwell unless you sat in one of the bulkhead seats. At 6’6, I didn’t have any issue getting comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

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There were several storage compartments under the armrest area. The IFE remote was stored inside one of the storage compartments. The tray table pulled out from the armrest. There was a power station and USB port. A small reading light illuminated the seat, and a touchscreen panel on the side of the console controlled the seat and light. 

Ethiopian Airlines Amenities

Amenities for Ethiopian Airlines business class included a green blanket, grey pillow, and noise-cancelling headphones waiting in the seat. There was also a bottle of water and a green amenity kit (one of the colors of the Ethiopian flag) that included basic toiletries, an eyeshade, and socks. Each passenger also received a small bottle of hand sanitizer and surgical mask.

Ethiopian Airlines Business Class Drink Menu

The flight crew offered a welcome drink of boxed orange juice and Lallier Brut champagne at the start of the trip. There weren’t any menus offered during the flight. I figured this was in an effort to limit touch points due to Covid.

Business Class Ethiopian Airlines Meals

The Ethiopian Airlines business class menu offered delicious Ethiopian cuisine. Their best meal services are on their flights departing from Addis Ababa. The meal service was not dine on demand, and was offered shortly after takeoff since this was a red-eye flight. There weren’t any printed menus offered but I opted for the rice with chicken dish for dinner, which tasted really good. It was served with a salad and bread followed by dessert. I quickly consumed my meal so I could enjoy several hours of sleep before the layover in Vienna. 

Ethiopian Inflight Entertainment

Ethiopian Airlines Inflight entertainment included a good selection of movies. The movie selection included blockbusters, classics, Brazilian, Arabic, African, Indian, European, and Asian films. I felt the selection wasn’t as recent compared to the one I experienced on my Brussels Airlines & United Polaris earlier. There wasn’t Wifi onboard though it wasn’t particularly important to me on this red-eye flight since I went to sleep after eating dinner.

Ethiopian Airlines Service

I found the Ethiopian Airlines flight crew to be very kind and professional. I liked their traditional Ethiopian attire. The crew took great care of me during my flight. They addressed any request in a prompt fashion and were very responsive. 

Last thoughts on Ethiopian Airlines Review Business Class

Overall, flying business class on Ethiopian Airlines was a pleasant experience. The 787-9 cabin was comfortable and adequate even for tall passengers like myself. The flight crew provided friendly service and the food was excellent. I was very pleased with the flight experience and will gladly fly with them in the future.