From Bangkok on Ethiopian Airlines

The Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur is an interesting sector as there are a few airlines that cover this sector as 5th freedom flights. This gives travelers the chance to try short regional flight with non-regional airlines that normally would entail a long haul flight into a short 2 hours sector.

I decided to give Ethiopian Airlines a try as I have never flown them before and they operate the route with the B767's, an aircraft type that I have yet to fly on.

Booking was done online, it was simple and easy, so was the check-in. Turned up at BKK airport and was greeted by the friendliest group of counter staff. I was told that I was the only passenger joining the flight.

BKK departure level

Happy that they have checked-in the one and only passenger from Bangkok

 I had time to quickly find the hidden and much recommended food court located at level 1. It was teeming with people.

The Magic Food Point Food Court

Once inside, went to the counter and purchased coupons. 100Baht of coupons should be enough for one person. Most meals cost between 50 to 90 Baht and I had a plate of fried rice noodles and a Bahn Mi sandwich.

Very busy with travelers and staff

Once done with security and immigration, I wandered around the huge duty free area before heading to gate F4 when I saw the aircraft taxi in about 20 minutes late.

ET-AMF

The aircraft, ET-AMF started life with Belgian airline Sobelair in 2000 until the airline ceased operations in 2004. It then moved to Hainan Airlines until 2007.

In 2014, it was operating Ethiopian Airlines flight ET702 from Addis Ababa to Rome when it was hijacked during the flight by the co-pilot .

The co-pilot waited for the captain to go to the toilet so he could lock him self in the cockpit. The flight continued to Geneva, Switzerland were it landed about 06:00.

The co-pilot then climbed down from the cockpit window using the emergency escape rope and surrendered to police. He was unarmed and requested asylum in Switzerland as he feared persecution in Ethiopia.

Gate F4

Once cleaning was completed, I was personally invited to board and I was, as expected, the only passenger to the join the other 18 to 20 other passengers who were on transit. Not a single crew welcomed me or said anything as I walked into the cabin and made my way to the back and my seat at 32A.

The aircraft was showing it's age of 15 years. The cabin had a musty smell and was hot. My seat, while it had great legroom, could not return to full up right position, so I changed to another seat 35A.

There was a safety card and an air-sick bag in the seat pocket, nothing else. No magazines, entertainment or duty free sale booklets. There however some left over amenity kits and headphone from the previous sector on some seats.

The content of the seat pocket

The crew offered newspapers, before the doors were close and announcements were made. The safety video was screened on the overhead monitors, before we took-off about 1 hours late.

The 4 ladies that were taking care of economy were unfriendly but were not rude. They just did or said what was necessary and nothing more.

I tried a few times to engage them in conversation but they seem uninterested and even refused request for a photograph except for one, which looked like the most junior.

During the flight a Cantonese movie was screened on the overhead monitors.

Meal service was the only saving grace in the whole flight. The meal was substantial with a choice of chicken served with rice or fish with a creamy sauce. The tray had a Thai salad, cheese & crackers, passion fruit mousse and butter & bread roll made up the rest of the meal. The fish sauce was a tad too salty for me but otherwise a good meal. The crew offered wines, soft drinks, juices and later coffee and tea.

Fish option

The only real minus for me was the rather old aircraft that wasn't well taken care of. The call chime and lights would go on and off repeatedly by themselves for up to 5 minutes a few times during the flight. The TV monitor screens were "off-colour" and the cabin had a musty smell. The seats feel like they have reached their "use by" date. The service by the cabin crew was reserved at best with no attempt at all to go beyond the required.

I was glad however to see that the crew were enforcing the safety requirements strictly.

Would I fly with them again? Maybe but they are not on the top of my list.