Never fly Ethiopian Airlines

Item: Ethiopian Airlines
Rating: 1
Author: Naeem S

21 December 2016 To whom it may concern Without a shred of exaggeration, it is both tiring and painful to recount and put into words our experience on Ethiopian Airlines this week. We were a family of 8 (6 adults, 1 child and 1 infant) travelling from Jeddah to Durban. Our original flight was ET403 from Jeddah to Addis Ababa – 04:10 departure time, scheduled to land in Addis Ababa at 06:55. We had 16 pieces of baggage (1 stroller + 15 pieces of baggage) checked in directly to Durban. This flight (ET403) was delayed, for whatever reason, and took off approximately an hour after the scheduled time. We landed in Addis Ababa at exactly 8:02 local time – this fact can be confirmed from your records – it was shown to us by another Ethiopian Airlines staff member in Addis Ababa later on (Hana). Once we disembarked, we made the ground staff aware immediately that we had a connecting flight to catch and had 30 minutes to make it. The ground staff were curt, unhelpful, offered no explanation and made no attempt to speed the process up to get us onto the flight and simply told us to wait on the bus. This caused a further delay. Once we entered the terminal, we were informed by the Ethiopian Airlines staff that we had missed the flight and to proceed to the ticketing counter. As it was still well before 0 8:30, we continuously asked if there was no way that we could be put onto the flight to Durban (ET845). The staff ****, saying that the flight had already departed. However the flight had only departed at 08:35 – this fact can be confirmed from your records – it was shown to us by another Ethiopian Airlines staff member in Addis Ababa later on (Hana). We were offered to be put onto a flight to Durban on Tuesday 20/12/2016. We refused, and asked to be put on a flight to either Cape Town or Johannesburg as soon as possible and then a connecting flight to Durban. We agreed that we would fly to Johannesburg on Monday 19/12/2016 (ET809) and that we would be put on an SAA flight from Johannesburg to Durban on the same afternoon. After a wait of about 90 minutes, we received our hotel vouchers and boarding passes for Addis Ababa to Johannesburg. I asked for the boarding passes for the Johannesburg to Durban flight so that we could save time in Johannesburg and board quickly. We were told that this could not be done and we should just proceed to the check-in counter with our passports and SAA would have all the necessary information. Again, this was a lie, as we later discovered other passengers who were put on the same flight were given their boarding passes for the Johannesburg to Durban flight. I find the fact that we were blatantly **** to on two occasions to be completely unacceptable and unprofessional. Had the staff been upfront with us, or made any genuine attempt to help us or get us onto the flight, we would have been more understanding and accepting of the situation. When we enquired about our luggage, we were told that we could either collect it immediately or leave it, and it would be sent through to Durban via Johannesburg when we flew. We opted to collect it immediately as we needed medication and clothes for the children. When we handed our baggage tickets to the staff at the baggage counter we were told to wait between 45 minutes to an hour as it would take some time to locate. We agreed, as it was important to get the medication. After 90 minutes we began enquiring where the luggage was – the staff were again extremely unhelpful, saying that they just did not know. We asked if the luggage was lost, whether it was still in Jeddah or whether it was gone to Durban – the response was always the same. No one seemed to know anything. After a further 60 minutes, some of the luggage finally came through (with the exception of 2 bags and a stroller). We enquired again where the rest was – no one knew. At this point we were beyond frustrated. After a further 15 minutes, we were informed that the 2 missing bags and stroller were put on the flight to Durban. My question to the staff was how this was possible – we were told that the flight had taken off before we had got into the terminal, so how did the luggage make it onto the flight? Again, no one had an answer for us. Surely if there was time for some of the baggage to be put on the flight to Durban, there would have been time to get us onto the flight? If the flight to Durban was delayed by another 10 or 15 minutes to accommodate us and get us onto the flight, how would it have affected any follow-on flights? Ethiopian Airlines could have easily held the flight as the connecting flight was the same carrier. This would have also been a cheaper option for Ethiopian Airlines instead of having to incur the costs of 4 hotel rooms and new flights. But it seemed as if no Ethiopian Airlines staff member was interested in helping us. Is it possible for staff at the airport to be made aware, before the flight lands, that there will be passengers with connecting flights that need to be rushed to their next boarding gate or plane? This is a common practice in other major airports around the world. It only requires a bit of foresight and planning. The only helpful member of the Ethiopian Airlines staff at the airport was Hana (unsure of surname). At this point, we had spent a total of 5 and a half hours at the airport – from landing at 08:02 to 13:35 – with elderly members of the family and 2 children. Once we exited the airport, we had to wait further for the shuttle to Debre Domo Hotel. The state of the hotel, which I cannot understand how it can be a 4 star hotel, warrants a separate in depth essay. In short, it was dirty, we found ****roaches in the rooms, the food was mediocre at best, and the staff was rude and unaccommodating. But what option did we have? We were tired, hungry, needed to use the bathroom and see to the children. The next morning (Monday 19/12/2016) we proceeded to the airport and checked the baggage in (8 pieces of baggage as we had combined some boxes). Here, I asked again for the Johannesburg to Durban boarding passes, but was given the same answer that it could not be done and I should just proceed to the SAA counter. I asked if the baggage would be checked through to Durban or Johannesburg and was told not to wait for it in Johannesburg but to collect it in Durban once we had come off the SAA flight. This made sense and was acceptable. Once we landed in Johannesburg (ET809), we were surprised to see that some of our baggage was on the carousel. We were genuinely shocked, as I had been told clearly that it would not come out in Johannesburg, but in Durban. However, we collected whatever of ours was there but one bag was missing. I proceeded to the Ethiopian Airlines baggage counter and was told that the missing piece was sent directly to Durban, according to the computer system. How was it possible that some of the luggage would come out in Johannesburg and the other piece could go directly to Durban? This makes no sense. Wouldn’t the bag have to go through security checks and customs too? I enquired about the other 2 pieces of missing baggage and the stroller (from Sunday’s flight) and was told this too was in Durban already. So, at this point, a total of 4 pieces of baggage had gone missing, but were all supposed to be in Durban. We then proceeded to the SAA counter to check in for the Johannesburg to Durban Flight. Imagine our anger and frustration when we were told by the SAA staff that they had no record of any of us being booked onto the flight. We were told by them to go to the Ethiopian Airlines offices in the International Departures Terminal. At the Ethiopian Airlines offices in Johannesburg, we were told that we definitely were booked onto the SAA flight, and it was the SAA staff that had made a mistake. At this point, it did not really matter whose mistake it was and, quite frankly, we did not care. All that mattered was that we got home as soon as possible. This all could have been avoided if we had received our boarding passes for the Johannesburg to Durban flight in Addis Ababa, like the other passengers. We had to wait for new tickets to be booked for us and were eventually put onto a BA flight at 18:00 (BA 622V1). By the time we had reached Durban at 19:00 on Monday evening, we had been travelling for 48 hours. At Durban Airport, the Bidair baggage services were already closed when we had landed. I contacted them on Tuesday 20/12/16 and managed to locate the 2 bags and stroller that had been sent directly from Jeddah. The other piece of luggage is still missing – it cannot be located in Addis Ababa, Johannesburg or Durban. I feel that, due to the length of the complaint, it is necessary to summarize: · It is definitely possible that we could have been put onto the Addis Ababa to Durban flight in the 30 minutes we had between us landing and it taking off, especially since some of our baggage made it onto the flight. · No one made any genuine attempt to get us onto the flight – we were blatantly **** to about the flight having departed already. · Staff were unhelpful, vague, dismissive and indifferent toward us all along. · The hotel provided was far below acceptable. · The error with the SAA flight from Johannesburg to Durban could have been avoided had we received boarding passes in Addis Ababa – we were **** to again here. · Baggage is still missing and cannot be located. · Besides the overall inconvenience, we also lost 2 days of work (and income) due to the entire delay. I strongly feel that I would never use Ethiopian Airlines ever again, nor would I recommend it to anyone I know. In honesty, I would actively discourage others from using Ethiopian Airlines. I am not unreasonable; I understand and accept that delays do happen. However, it was the attitude of the staff, lies and unwillingness to help that made the experience extremely unpleasant. This, coupled with the loss of the baggage and further delay in Johannesburg, made me make up my mind to never use Ethiopian Airlines.

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