Just today I got an email from Ethiopis.com announcing their fall airfare specials from the US to Addis. Flying Ethiopian Airlines, it looks like it is possible to get tickets from most major US airports to Addis for between $1225 and $1319. I personally know at least 3 people who have booked tickets using Ethiopis.com and were very satisfied with their service and excellent prices.

I also know many, many people who have flown Ethiopian airllines and been very pleased. However, it is very important to note that if you fly Ethiopian, you MUST RECONFIRM your tickets while you are in Ethiopia. I personally would confirm before leaving the US twice, and then twice while in Addis, once by phone and once in person.

The reason for this is that Ethiopian airlines has the very frustrating habit of massively overbooking their flights, especially in summertime when flights tend to be the busiest with vacation travelers. If you do not reconfirm your tickets in Addis, they WILL sell your seats to someone else.

In fact today I also read the saga of a dad stranded in Addis who actuallly DID reconfirm his tickets while in Addis, and still they sold his seats. This despite the assistance of an excellent travel agent (Susan Parr).

This dad is now in the unhappy position of scrambling to buy last minute one way tickets home on another airline, and stands to pay several thousand dollars more than he'd planned to get himself and his two children home. His arrival home may even end up being delayed several days.

Let me reiterate that many, many people have had excellent experiences on Ethiopian Airlines. One tremendous advantage of Ethiopian Airlines is that their New York-Rome-Addis route gets you there and back hours sooner than the best that Lufthansa or British Airways can offer. (24 hours vs 29 or more hours)

My sister has flown Ethiopian for all three of her trips to Ethiopia without any trouble. However, I personally have some real concern over their overbooking practice. I have opted so far for other airlines instead of Ethiopian, and until they stop overbooking, I will probably choose other airlines in the future as well.

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