Ethiopian Airlines Business Class For 2 People
Hello from Jerusalem!
In the past, Qatar Airways has been one of my go-to options for business class award space with connecting space to South Africa. Recently, award space has been much harder to find though.
That's why I'm happy to see a bunch of dates with business class award space for two people on Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Ababa and connecting space to Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nairobi, and more. More specifically, I'm happy to see space on two routes with lie-flat business class seats.
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Now, let's get into the details.
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Ethiopian Airlines Business Class on a 787-9 (Image courtesy of ETWatch)
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: ATL/YYZ-ADD
Operating airline: Ethiopian Airlines
Class of service: Business class
Dates: June - December 2023
Seats available: 2
Cabin layout: 1-2-1 (B789), 2-2-2 (A350)
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *Air Canada Aeroplan: From 90,000 points
- *ANA Mileage Club: 104,000 miles (round-trip only)
- *Asiana Club: 60,000 miles
- *Avianca LifeMiles: 78,000 miles
- *EVA Infinity MileageLands: 92,500 miles
- *Miles & More: 71,000 miles
- *Singapore KrisFlyer: 111,000 miles
- *Turkish Miles&Smiles: 72,500 miles
- *United MileagePlus: 88,000 miles
*No Surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person, one-way):
- From USA: $5.60
- From Toronto: ~$50
- From Ethiopia: ~$50
Aeroplan and LifeMiles have partner booking fees.
Bank transfer partners:
- Air Canada: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- Asiana Club: Marriott
- LifeMiles: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- EVA: Capital One, Citi
- Singapore: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
- Turkish: Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- United: Bilt, Chase, Marriott
Don't forget to let me know if you book and how you did it!
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Ethiopian Airlines Business Class on a 787-9 (Image courtesy of ETWatch)
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Flight Experience
Ethiopian Airlines operates flights with several different business class cabin layouts. On their Boeing 787-9, the business class cabin is arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout so every seat is lie-flat and has direct aisle access.
On the A350, you'll find a 2-2-2 layout with lie-flat seats but only some seats have direct aisle access. If you want aisle access and are traveling solo, you might want to choose a seat it he middle section so no one has to crawl over you to get to the aisle.
They also operate flights on a Boeing 777-300 and 787-8 with angled flat seats.
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Available Dates
ATL-ADD (787-9)
May: 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29
June: 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 21, 26
July: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 26
August: 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28
September: 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29
October: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 27, 29, 30
November: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, ,10, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29
December: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13
ADD-ATL
May: 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30
June: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29
July: 1, 2, 9, 13, 15, 16, 20, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30
August: 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27, 29, 31
September: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30
October: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29
November: 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12,14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28
December: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19
YYZ-ADD (Airbus A350)
March: 5, 14, 16, 21
April: 1, 15, 18, 20, 27
July: 6, 16, 30
October: 1, 6, 10, 13, 24
November: 5, 7, 9, 11, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23-26, 28
December: 1-3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14-17, 19
ADD-YYZ
May: 1, 6, 11, 13
June: 5, 7, 10, 14, 24, 28, 29
July: 1, 19, 21, 26, 29
August: 2, 3, 17, 31
September: 1, 2, 4, 8, 14, 15, 20, 21, 23, 25,
October: 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 20, 25, 26, 30
November: 1, 4, 6, 9-11, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29
December: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13-16, 18, 20
The following options don't have lie-flat seats:
IAD-ADD (Boeing 777-300)
March: 2, 4, 8, 12, 13, 19, 21, 27-29
April: 4, 8, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 23, 29
May: 2, 3, 5, 16, 24, 28
September: 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 19, 23, 25
October: 1, 10, 15, 18, 20, 23, 29
November: 1, 4, 7-14, 16, 17, 19-22, 25-30
December: 1, 2-13, 16
ADD-IAD
February: 16-18, 22, 27
March: 3, 10, 20, 23, 25, 28, 31
April: 1, 5, 6, 10, 12, 16, 17, 19-22, 24-27, 29
May: 1-5, 7, 8, 10-12, 15-20, 22, 24, 27-29
June: 19, 21, 22, 24, 26-29
July: 5, 8, 14, 18, 19, 22-24, 26, 31
August: 2, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24-26, 28, 30
September: 1, 2, 4-6, 8-15, 17, 19-23, 25-30
October: 3-7, 8, 11-14, 16, 18, 19, 23, 25, 28-30
November: 1, 2, 4-9, 12-16, 19-30
December: 1-4, 6-14
ORD-ADD - (Boeing 787-8)
March: 21, 24, 27
April: 3, 8, 20, 24, 25, 27, 29
June: 14, 23, 25
July: 1, 6, 10 , 11, 17, 21, 23
September: 6, 9 ,15, 19, 22, 28
October: 2-5, 13, 15, 16, 23-29, 31
November: 3-13, 15-21, 24, 26-30
December: 1, 3-20
ADD-ORD
May: 7, 13, 14, 24, 26, 28, 31
June: 9, 17, 18, 20, 28
July: 5, 10, 11, 15, 18, 26, 30
August: 3, 4, 7, 10, 14, 20, 23, 24, 31
September: 1, 14, 16, 20, 21
October: 5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 24-26, 28, 29
November: 2, 4-6, 11-13, 16-20, 24-29
December: 1-20
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Best Ways To Book
I've seen award space on connecting flights to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Nairobi. You can probably find other options as well. Please keep in mind that a connection could change award rate.
ANA: Great Round-trip Option, Slow Amex Transfers
At 104,000 miles round-trip, ANA is your bet bet if you have Amex points, transfers can take a few days. It's a great way to book but keep in mind that space could disappear while you wait for the transfer.
Connections won't increase the award rate but could increase the taxes/fees if you connect on a Star Alliance partner that has surcharges.
Turkish: Best One-Way Option
If you have Bilt, Capital One, or Citi points, Turkish is a great way to book at 72,500 miles one-way. While Turkish typically passes on surcharges, there aren't surcharges on this one. Generally, it's best to call Turkish to put the award space on hold while you transfer points.
Connections won't increase the award rate.
LifeMiles: Solid One-Way Option With Connecting Flights
If you want a one-way award ticket and have Amex points, LifeMiles could be your best bet at 78,000 miles. However, LifeMiles wasn't showing award space on many of the dates I checked.
United: Best Option With Chase Points
With Chase points, United is a great choice for a one-way at 88,000 miles. You might be able to use United's Excursionist Perk (similar to a stopover) on a round-trip award ticket if you want to see Ethiopia on your way/to from another country.
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Ethiopian Airlines Business Class on a 787-9 (Image courtesy of ETWatch)
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How To Book
If you don't know the exact dates you want to fly, keep things simple and use United's calendar search option.
- From United's homepage, select Advanced search
- Choose to show price in miles
- Select Roundtrip or One-way
- Enter the origin & destination
- Select Nonstop only (if you don't need a connection)
- Select the number of passengers
- Select your dates or choose Flexible dates and choose a month
- Select Business
- Run the search
- If booking with another Star Alliance partner, confirm space by searching with that program
- Transfer points (if necessary)
- Log into your account
- Run the search again
- Complete the booking
Once you know the exact dates you want, you can run the search with the program you'll be using to book. As always, I recommend confirming the program you're using sees the award space before you transfer points.
If you're booking with Turkish, I would call (800-874-8875) to put the award on hold before transferring points.
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Final Thoughts
Whether you want to visit Ethiopia, go on a Safari in Kenya or South Africa, or check out the wine region in South Africa, Ethiopian Airlines provides a great option to book business class flights.
Happy booking!
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