Review: Ethiopian Airlines business class Addis Ababa to Kuala Lumpur

Ethiopian Airlines business class is called Cloud Nine. It evokes images of relaxation, rest and pampering which makes sense from a marketing standpoint. I was heading to Australia and going the long way via Cairo, Addis Ababa and Kuala Lumpur.

Operated by the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, this flight would stop in Singapore on the way. I was interested to see what was offered, as I am new to the airline.

Stopover in Addis Ababa

All passengers with a connection in excess of eight hours receive a free stay at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel. Since I had 16 hours between my flight arriving from Cairo and this connecting flight, there was plenty of time to relax in the lovely room.

Eventually it was time to get the shuttle bus back to Bole International Airport. Once through the formalities, I spent the time before boarding in the Sheba Cloud Nine lounge. It was really busy during my stay, but I still managed to find a seat. From there, it was off to the special Cloud Nine bus boarding gate and onto the bus to the plane.

EI602 – Addis Ababa to Kuala Lumpur via Singapore (ADD-SIN-KUL)
16 April 2025
Boeing 787-8 – ET-AOV
Seat: Cloud Nine 2A
Departure: 23:50 Arrival: 17:10+1

There weren’t many people on the bus and the journey around the airport did not take too long. We pulled up beside our Dreamliner and headed up the stairs into the cabin.

Ethiopian Airlines Cloud Nine Cabin

On board the Boeing 787-8, the Ethiopian Airlines business class seats are arranged in pairs. These are older style seats, but do offer plenty of space, if not much privacy.

Happily I had nobody sitting next to me on the flight, so privacy was no real issue. As the cabin was about half full, there was plenty of space for everyone to stow their carry-on luggage.

Welcome, Safety and Tonight’s Menu

Once settled, the crew come by offering a hot towel. I found these to be barely warm and pretty dry, but it’s the thought that counts. Next, it’s time for a welcome drink. All the non-alcoholic ones are pre-poured, but one of the two crew coming around is brandishing a bottle of Champagne which is poured at the seat if you ask for it, which of course I did!

Amenity kits come in red, yellow or green and come packed with goodies. They have socks, an eye mask, a face mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, a combination hairbrush and comb, ear plugs, a pen, lip balm and hand sanitiser. I happen to have all three colours now and what’s cute is that everything inside is the same colour as the outside of the pack. Another cool detail are the zipper pulls which are shaped like the airline’s logo. Pretty nice!

Ethiopian Airlines Business Class Hot Meal

After the video safety demonstration, we took to the sky. Billed as “Hot Light Meal”, it opened with a Cobb Salad with Smoked Salmon, Quail Eggs, Chicken Mortadella and Cherry Tomato. On the side was a salad comprising of Watermelon Chunks, Feta and Rocket Leaves, with Chili-Mint Dressing. For my main course, I chose the Chicken in Soy Chili Sauce, which was to come with stir fried Cabbage and stir fried noodles.

While the salads were fine, the chicken was pretty bad. I ate the noodles, but only a little of the chicken. Presentation was also pretty basic. Dessert was fine, though when I asked for the Canadian Ice Wine, none was loaded, so I had Port instead. Overall not the greatest airline dining experience ever.

Entertainment

Airlines have a remarkable habit of showing movies “edited for content”. It really irritates me, so I generally watch old classics on board as they’re less likely to have swearing edited out, for example. This time I picked Gone With The Wind and in the first 20 minutes I realised they were chopping out portions of the film to remove overtly racist content.

I quickly gave up on that and decided to try to sleep for some of the flight. That was fairly successful as the pillow is luscious and the duvet really nice. Meanwhile, I also had a Wi-Fi code written by hand given to me, but I didn’t end up trying it.

Breakfast Time

The crew in Ethiopian Airlines business class were proactively offering the egg dish or the pancakes when taking orders. I, quite stupidly as it turns out, wanted the Soy Garlic Chicken Congee. Even when I ordered it, they tried a redirect, but I got there in the end. When the tray arrives, milk is poured into your cornflakes and off you go.

Everything was fine, but that Congee was a mission. Once I got past the odour, I found it to be quite tasty. Unfortunately, the dumplings were rock hard, so I guess that’s why the crew were trying to get people not to have it.

Slippers and Singapore

I noticed there were two big bags of what appeared to be slippers in the overhead compartments on the other side of the plane. Naturally I wanted a pair, so I asked for and received a pair. They come in grey and green, so later I also requested a green pair so now I have both.

We landed in Singapore, and everyone deplanes and are immediately directed back to the gate. I hit the bathroom first, then went through security screening and sat back down waiting to board. With a one hour turnaround, it wasn’t long until I was back on the aircraft.

Kuala Lumpur or Bust!

The same crew operate the short sector from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. During the stopover, the aircraft had been cleaned, so the Ethiopian Airlines business class cabin was fresh once more.

Not only the same crew, but the same routine. On board, hot towel, welcome drink, safety demonstration and fly. There were only a couple of people continuing on as most left in Singapore. In addition, two or three new faces joined the flight as well.

Cold Canapés

With a very short 45 minute or so flight time, Cloud Nine service comprised of cold Canapés. I elected for the vegetarian choice and soon enough they arrived.

Unfortunately there was none of the advertised dip to accompany things and I found the whole selection to be quite dry. Soon we landed in Kuala Lumpur and it was off to wait for my next flight.

Overall Thoughts

Ethiopian Airlines business class is a mixed bag. It features world class touches, such as the slippers, chocolate after the meal and excellent comfortable bedding. However, it is let down by catering that is mediocre at best, heavily edited inflight entertainment and of course an older business class seat. If the food situation was improved, I would have been much happier, but perhaps I just chose badly.

All of that said, I did enjoy these flights. The crew are friendly and helpful – and I got genuine smiles welcoming me back on sector two – and do their best to ensure a great trip. While the seats are older, they still go flat and the shallow angle is no big deal. I’ve always liked the spaciousness of the older seats, so no complaints there from me.

What do you think of Ethiopian Airlines business class? Is it worthy of its Cloud Nine moniker? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Alan Wilson on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.