What are the checked and carry-on baggage allowances with Ethiopian Airlines?

For carry-on luggage, in economy class you’re typically allowed 1 piece, plus a personal item. Exact allowance can depend on your route and fare, and if you check baggage the free baggage allowance will vary. Ethiopian Airlines provides a baggage calculator on its website to check your allowance. For long-haul flights, though, even economy passengers can check 2 bags at no cost, up to a maximum weight of 50 pounds each.

How do I check in online with Ethiopian Airlines?

You can do web (online) check-in on flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines starting 48 hours before departure, available until 2 hours prior. Certain passengers — for example, those requiring special assistance, unaccompanied minors, or passengers whose travel documents needing extra verification — may still have to check in at the airport counter.

How can I contact Ethiopian Airlines customer service?

Ethiopian Airlines offers worldwide contact centers and global support numbers for assistance with bookings, changes, baggage issues, or general enquiries. Wait times can be long, so making any changes in the app (which tends to work better than the website) yourself is advantageous. In the U.S., the customer service number is 800-445-2733.

Is Ethiopian Airlines safe?

Ethiopian Airlines has a long history. While there have been accidents and incidents over decades (as with many legacy carriers), overall it maintains a safety record recognized by independent sources — despite the high-profile crash of a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that began due to system issues in the aircraft and resulted in a worldwide grounding of these planes for training and maintenance.

Who owns Ethiopian Airlines?

Ethiopian Airlines is the flag carrier of Ethiopia. It is a state-owned airline under the government of Ethiopia.

What alliance is Ethiopian Airlines in?

Ethiopian is part of the Star Alliance, alongside airlines like United Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, and South African Airways, among others.

What It’s Like Flying Long-Haul With Ethiopian Airlines in Economy

Updated: December 11, 2025, 8:00am CST

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Table of Contents

Booking Ethiopian Airlines Flights
My Experiences on Long-Haul Ethiopian Airlines Economy Flights
Final Thoughts

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I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve flown Ethiopian Airlines over the years. While visiting all of the countries in eastern Africa, flying Ethiopian was a necessity. I’ve also taken the airline’s quirky fifth-freedom flight between Buenos Aires, Argentina, and São Paulo, Brazil.

However, I hadn’t flown Ethiopian for a few years, until a November 2025 trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, when I found myself flying on Ethiopian Airlines once again. I flew economy from Italy down to Ethiopia and then from Ethiopia up to Spain. Both of these were overnight flights.

If you’re wondering what flying in economy with Ethiopian Airlines is like, here are the key things you should know.

Booking Ethiopian Airlines Flights

From its hub at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) in Ethiopia, Ethiopian Airlines operates flights to numerous destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. It doesn’t fly to Oceania, though.

In November 2025, I flew Ethiopian Airlines from Rome (FCO) to Addis Ababa and then a few days later from Addis Ababa to Madrid (MAD). The first leg typically takes around 6 hours, and the second usually takes a little under 8 hours. Both flights were in economy class, and the cash price for these flights was around $485 each — more expensive than other tickets that included a connection, as Ethiopian tends to charge a premium on routes where it offers the only nonstop service.

Ethiopian Airlines fare ADD MAD — Price flights for the ADD-MAD leg. Image Credit: Google Flights

My best option for booking these flights with miles came from using United MileagePlus miles. I paid 35,000 miles plus $34 in taxes and fees for each flight. Saving $450 by redeeming 35,000 miles meant I was redeeming United Airlines miles at nearly 1.3 cents each — above our average valuation of United miles at 1.2 cents apiece.

United miles booking Ethiopian ADD MAD — Booking option using United miles. Image Credit: United Airlines

After receiving my Ethiopian Airlines confirmation number, I was able to manage my reservation directly with the airline to choose seats, request special meals, or request other services as needed. Ethiopian offered complimentary seat choices to all passengers, though fees for preferred seats were $46.

Ethiopian Airlines seat map fees — Seat choices, including fees for preferred seats. Image Credit: Ethiopian Airlines

Hot Tip:

Even if you’re redeeming miles for a flight — rather than paying for the full ticket — you still need to pay taxes and fees. Be sure to use one of the best credit cards for airfare to earn extra points on your payment and take advantage of valuable trip insurance benefits, which can vary depending on the card you use. For these reasons, I always pay the taxes and fees associated with my award tickets using the Platinum Card^® from American Express.

My Experiences on Long-Haul Ethiopian Airlines Economy Flights

Boarding Is a Mess

I wish it weren’t the case, but there’s no way to sugarcoat this. Boarding with Ethiopian Airlines is always a mess. Deplaning is also a mess more often than not, but I won’t classify that as “always.”

For my Rome departure, passengers insisted on crowding the gate well before their boarding groups were called. A single employee attempted to enforce boarding groups, and I applaud his efforts. They mostly worked.

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The gate before boarding in Rome.

For departures from Addis Ababa, I’ve never understood the logic of which flights board from a jet bridge and which flights take a bus out to the plane. Normally, flights on a jumbo jet like a Boeing 787 Dreamliner board from the gate, not via a bus out to the plane, but that’s what Ethiopian Airlines does quite often.

Expect that your bus might leave the gate half full while other passengers have confused expressions, wondering why they’re being left behind. Then expect to stand around next to the plane before being allowed to get on — but don’t expect it to make sense.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 fuselage ADD — Standing around near a plane inexplicably.

When deplaning, if you’re taking buses from the tarmac to the airport, these should only depart when 100% full, which is good news. That said, buses may not be ready at the right time, and this tends to result in more standing around near the plane.

Cabins and Seats on Dreamliner Aircraft Are Dated

Ethiopian’s economy cabins use an olive green color for the seats, and you’ll find a 3-3-3 layout on nearly all of its wide-body jets — the exception being a handful of Boeing 777-300ER models. The front rows of the 2 minicabins in economy, separated by lavatories and exit rows, are both designated as preferred seats. Seating here has a fee, and these are marked as “reserved” during boarding.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD view up aisle

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View up the aisle from my seat departing Rome.

On my flight from Italy to Ethiopia, I was surprised to find a broken seat near the front of the economy cabin. Luckily, this had been blocked off and not assigned to a passenger.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD broken seat — Broken seat near the front of the cabin on my first flight.

Seats in Ethiopian’s economy cabins on jumbo jets, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350, have a seat pitch of 31 to 32 inches, which is the space between rows of seats. This is fairly average as far as pitch goes on long-haul flights with full-service airlines, but it’s definitely better than what you find on low-cost carriers.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD economy rows — Rows of seats on one of my flights.

At 5 feet, 10 inches tall, I was happy that my knees didn’t touch the back of the seat in front of me. The seats had ample cushioning, though the terse fabric didn’t rank highly on the comfort scale.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD seat

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My seat on the Rome-Addis Ababa flight.

Each seat had a tray table that could be easily released with a latch; it opened in a folded position. Each seat also came with a small pillow and a blanket (wrapped in plastic) at boarding. These blankets are definitely on the thin side, so passengers who tend to get cold during flights should bring something extra.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD blanket pillow — My pillow and blanket, on my seat at boarding.

Bottom Line:

While the seats don’t offer a ton of space and lack universal outlets for plugging in your phone, I definitely wouldn’t call them uncomfortable. They provide a fair amount of comfort and 4 inches of recline.

Entertainment and Internet Options Are Good

Each economy seat had a personal entertainment system, offering a variety of movies, TV shows, games, and flight details. Passengers can also view information about Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopia within the entertainment system.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD screen

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The screen at my seat.

It’s possible to sort content by region, and Ethiopian has programming from many of the countries it flies to. The screen also has a USB-A port and a headphone jack at the bottom. Prior to takeoff, flight attendants passed through the cabin on both of my recent flights, offering headsets to anyone who wanted them.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD headphones — The headset I received before takeoff.

Ethiopian Airlines also offers inflight Wi-Fi. Business class passengers or those who prepaid for the service can enter a promo code to unlock their internet access.

Those who are paying for the internet service have options for 1-hour, 2-hour, or full-flight rates, ranging from $5 to $25.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD wifi cost — Image Credit: Ethiopian Airlines

Meal Service Is Simple but Good

On every Ethiopian Airlines flight I’ve taken, economy passengers have had 2 meal choices, and one of them has always been chicken. My recent flights were no different.

Service is from meal carts, and passengers are all served at once. Choosing to eat at your own time isn’t an option. Flights attendants are friendly and smile while working to serve hundreds of meals efficiently.

I was surprised that the airline didn’t offer traditional Ethiopian food on either of my recent flights — something the airline has done on many of my previous trips.

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 9 FCO ADD veg meal corrected — The vegan meal on my flight.

However, Ethiopian sets the gold standard for honoring special meal requests. I’ve never had this airline fail to deliver my special meal request (vegan meals) by forgetting it or offering an incorrect meal. That’s more than I can say for other airlines.

Final Thoughts

I’ve flown business class with Ethiopian Airlines twice — though admittedly not on the airline’s newest Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. On Ethiopian’s older planes, I don’t think business class is significantly better than economy, so I was happy to redeem fewer miles and sit in the back of the plane for 2 recent flights.

The economy experience with Ethiopian lacks standout features. The seats are average, the boarding and deplaning processes are humorously inefficient, and the cabins could use an update. However, service is friendly, meals are good, and there’s Wi-Fi that actually works — something many other airlines struggle to get right.