A Ride Onboard The Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner In Business Class – Forbes

These days a number of airlines use similar seats in business class, and a lot of their cabins look quite the same too. You can usually count on muted, somber tones greys, blues, blacks, and maybe some beige if youre lucky. Thats not to say the latest aircraft cabins being rolled out are uncomfortable or ugly. No, they tend to feel refined and relaxing, and lie-flat seats with aisle access for everyone are increasingly the standard. All of that is great news on the whole business class passengers have never had it so good. But sometimes you start to yearn for a bit of color. The good news is there are still airlines that offer that. Case in point: Ethiopian Airlines.

Ethiopian Airlines "Cloud Nine" business class seat onboard the 787-8 Dreamliner.

Ethiopian has a number of different long-haul airplanes and a couple of different business class seats, but their latest edition is on most of their widebody planes, including all 787-9 and A350s, and some 787-8s. These are pretty much the same seats youll find on the likes of United (on planes that dont have the newest Polaris seat installed) and a number of others. But Ethiopian have done them up in shiny red, with green carpeting alongside. This choice might be controversial for some, but at least its memorable.

The Ethiopian Airlines 787 business class cabin is nothing if not colorful. Luckily it's also ... [+] comfortable.

And the seats are very nice overall, with big screens, plenty of room, and comfortable padding. The main issue here is that if youre traveling alone and want a window seat, you might find yourself hemmed in by the person on the aisle. Though on the other hand if youre traveling with someone and youre interested in interacting with them, these will be much better seats than your typical reverse herringbone offering where everyone gets direct aisle access but is also cut off from everyone else.

A wider view of the 787-8 "Cloud Nine" business class cabin on Ethiopian Airlines.

The finishes and the fabric used are attractive and have a premium feel. Alongside the huge 787 windows, it makes for a nice flight. The footwell might be a little tight for some, but its not one of the worst either. Note that if you sit in the front row, the space for your feet is quite a bit larger.

The footwell onboard Ethiopian Airlines 787 business class.

This particular flight pictured was just a short hop from Stockholm to Oslo (the plane flies Addis Ababa to Stockholm then continues on to Oslo, and the same in reverse), so the service was a little more difficult to properly review. That said, they did serve a perfectly decent breakfast of fruit, cornflakes, and a blini with jam and sweet cheese. Impressive for a 45-minute flight, actually, and certainly a cut above what youd get on Scandinavian Airlines in their SAS Plus seats.

Ethiopian Airlines 787 business class seats and entertainment screens.

These so-called fifth freedom routes, where airlines fly an additional segment between two cities outside of their home region and can sell seats on those flights, can be a fun and unexpected way to get somewhere. And Ethiopian runs a number of them. You can also fly Ethiopian between Dublin and Madrid, for example. Europe has a number of these on a variety of airlines: theres LATAM from Frankfurt to Madrid, Singapore Airlines from Stockholm to Moscow, and Sichuan Airlines from Prague to Zurich, among others. Long-haul options include Singapore Airlines from New York to Frankfurt, Air Tahiti Nui from Los Angeles to Paris, or Air China from Montreal to Havana. Or for a really unusual route, try Newark to Lome, Togo again on Ethiopian.

A view of the 787 wing onboard Ethiopian Airlines from Stockholm to Oslo.

All in all, a very pleasant quick flight with Ethiopian Airlines. It would be interesting to compare how the seats and service hold up on one of their longer runs, but theres every indication it would be a great way to get to Africa.

The Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner parked at Oslo's Gardermoen Airport.

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A Ride Onboard The Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner In Business Class - Forbes