[Anonymous]

[stainforth]

Hi frequent travelers

Will be traveling to Dublin from Johannesburg 5 times this year , both airlines same price , what’s your view which best fly ? Rating quality cabin crew , food and product on Ethopian or Air France.

[MrMichael]

Stainforth, along with those items you want to base your decision, have you considered flight safety?

[stainforth]

MrMichael that would be important too

[MrMichael]

In that case I personally would avoid Air France.

[BEYbrit]

As I really don’t like connecting at third-world airports I would avoid Air France and CDG.

Go for Ethiopian – support a company that is bringing new and interesting services to Dublin. There are lots of opportunities to fly the grey skies of AF. Go for a bit of exoticism instead.

Live a little 🙂

[AlanOrton1]

If you fly to other destinations, perhaps factor in the airline alliances each of the above belong to.
Ethiopian is Star Alliance and Air France Skyteam.
This may lead you to accrue a higher status and with it some of the tertiary benefits.
Personally, I’d probably go for AF, as you would get the longer, overnight flight from CDG to JNB, which would be a big plus for rest / relaxation purposes and more often on an A380, which is about the quietest plane out there.

[AMcWhirter]

Try each carrier for the first two trips. That will give you an idea of which one to choose for your remaining trips.

[FDOS_UK]

Don’t know if miles flown is an issue for you, but if so

Via Paris -5,899 miles
Via Addis – 6,468 miles

What travelling class, by the way?

[stainforth]

Flights all in economy

[FDOS_UK]

Y tends (and I haven’t flown ET, so may be on dodgy ground) to be quite similar across airlines I’d go for the shortest duration on such a long journey – others may have a different view. I might be tempted to go for a longer route, if I could do most of the flight in daylight and if the connections were shorter.

Ultimately, it’s your choice, but I hope this helps.

Edited to add: if you would be doing either sector on the 787, I would avoid it like the plague in Y. Too tight.

I’ve flown it in BA’s Premium Economy and it is very nice in that class, but the 3-3-3 seats in Y looked hideous, as I walked to the lavs, honestly like a loco 737.

[AndrewinHK]

Air France. Longer sector on a larger more comfortable aircraft, plus you get the french bread, winner winner. Also flying on an EU carrier you are protected should there be any delays or cancellations. If you are delayed in Addis, I am sure you would have a harder time.

[canucklad]

My heart says, Ethiopian ….If for no other reason than repaying their faith in the Irish market.
Plus, I’d imagine ET offer a better in-flight service.

But, logically you need to consider the factors already mentioned. Not least which airline is going to give you better reward opportunities through its alliance?
Density wise, probably similar if AF are using their 10 across 777’s

If it was me, I’d personally opt for AF, purely because I prefer a short hop followed by a long uninterrupted journey. Then again as FDOS says, a daylight flight alleviates the pain of transiting via Addis.

Have you investigated the possibility of a longer transit time at Addis allowing you a full break in your journey?

[FDOS_UK]

Canucklad

I use EK’s 10 across 777 reasonably regularly and it ain’t great – but it looks better than the BA787-8.

To be fair, I haven’t flown on either the AF 777 or the ET 787.

[KSHaggag]

Based on several experiences with AF ( in all classes ) and some with ET ( in business class only ) ,I would encourage you to go for AF without much hesitation .Here are my reasons ,to name a few :
1-ADD airport is chaotic and indeed a third world facility compared to CDG ( T2E ,F) which have undergone a lot of upgrades in facilities ,etc.
2-AF is a big school that has the know -how that ET does not yet have .
3-If you fall on an ET 737-8 that is not really inspiring .
4-AF is indeed international in its approach ,service ,standards ,even the food served on board .
5-ET exudes a general feeling of lousiness in different aspects .Flying new 787s etc is not a reason for me to transit ADD vs CDG !!!
6-AF flies the A380 on the JNB-CDG leg which is reasonably ok in Eco,not bad in Premium and good in Business .
7-With AF you stand the chance to upgrade your longhaul sector to Premium Eco in case you need to stretch a bit .
8-You can still consider LH on that journey which offers a very good Premium Eco product ( better than AF,BA in the same class ) ,if your budget allows .
9-ET reminds me of the nouveau riche GCC based carriers offering extra food ,better IFE than legacy europeans but they fail largely whenever they need to showcase their crisis management skills .

[Author]

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