Just back from Namibia trying to clear rifles from
Ethiopian Airlines then check onto United to Houston.
Ethiopian Airlines is an absolute clusterfuck.

Bloody hell!

Not what like to hear!

Details please.

I’d like to hear as well. Ethiopian is the airline of choice right now for US-Zim.

Checkin oat Dulles in DC was problematic in that after telling us that they were checked all the way thru to Windhoek that did not happen. They started by saying as we got boarding passes that we had to go back and recheck thru security in DC. Okay no problem.

Then when we go to our connecting flt to Windhoek they pulled us out of line then must check guns into country then go thru security to be told again to check out of country thru security agin then fly to Windhoek. That run around was repeated in Addis again on the way back 12 days later. Not too much issue at Windhoek. All the Addis issues were for just a flt change within a couple of 2 hr departures.

Upon arriving back at Dulles they had not entered the rifles properly in there system causing issues with customs which took forever.
Will avoid them if I can find service.

quote:

Originally posted by sdirks:
I’d like to hear as well. Ethiopian is the airline of choice right now for US-Zim.

Emirates still flies to Zim. I will be on a flight to Harare in 9 days.

The procedure for checking rifles in Addis has been around for a while. While pretty much a circle jerk that makes no sense, it was run with typical African efficiency (?!) and really wasn't a problem.

It is mostly an anxiety issue for people that were not warned by their travel agent when they booked the flight. I booked my flights through Travel with Guns, and Steve Turner and team provided me all the forms and information on the process. Yes, you follow the gate agent around the airport and open your gun case for a meaningless serial number check, but overall it was easy. They delayed my flight for about an hour as other connecting hunters went through the same process.

Overall the service I experienced on board was better than most US based carriers. (Not a very high bar.) I would fly them again without concern.

Bill

I've flown them twice, in Nov. and last month. Yes, you have to recheck your firearm in Addis. If you know going in you have to do this, it works out fine . The agents walk you all the way to cargo area and then back to gate, even held the plane for me and a couple of other hunts. I plan on using them again next year. The leg room in economy is MUCH better than Delta.

My wife and I just returned from Namibia yesterday. We flew Ethiopian both ways and I have no complaints, but we don’t travel with guns. I’d fly with them again, as stated earlier, their service is better than the American Airlines we have used..

I returned from Zim on Friday the 13th of August. My review of Ethiopian Airways is mixed.

The flight crew could not have been nicer. We (3 passengers) each checked 2 guns at Dulles to Harare. Upon arrival at Addis we were met by an airline rep who took us to the police to check the serial numbers on our guns. The people were fine but the system is stupid. Our guns were checked and we did not have access to them yet they had to be inspected again. Why!? A stupid waste of time for passengers who are tired from a 13 hour flight.

Both EA flights going to Zim were delayed. That caused us to get to Zim too late to fly to the unlit dirt strip that day. Had to overnight at Malcom House for $200. Lost a half day of hunting which means a full day of buffalo hunting.

On the return trip no one met us at deboarding to take us to the guns. We were taken to the gate and then whisked (I say this jokingly; it is Africa after all) to inspect the guns. The anxiety caused by this stupid procedure is enough for me to not fly EA again if there is another way to go.

I want to emphasize that this was a systems problem; not staff. The EA staff was polite and respectful at all times.

quote:

Originally posted by sdirks:
I’d like to hear as well. Ethiopian is the airline of choice right now for US-Zim.

I flew Seattle to Harare with Emirates last month, with rifles, and it went smoothly and easily. I've had four trips to Zim with Emirates now and zero problems.

Here is a copy and paste of my experience this year:

I did it two weeks ago and it was awful; I won’t do it again. On the way there it was a frantic rush, they did meet me on the jet bridge with my name on a sign, but from there it was literally running through the terminal and then trying to find a vehicle to take us to the inspection area.

On the way back we deplaned on the tarmac and got on buses, as soon as I got to the terminal I started telling Ethiopian Air employees that I was traveling with rifles, they directed me through security and to the gates. I explained this was not what happened when I arrived, but three separate employees told me it would all be handled at the gates. I got upstairs and told the first employee I saw (thankfully I did not go to the gate) what was going on, she took me back downstairs to the same people who had sent me upstairs. They then contacted security, it is now about 30 minutes before my flight is scheduled to depart. Security takes me to the inspection area and they can’t find my rifles. After about ten minutes they find them, I move to unlock the case and they stop me and tell me it must be x-rayed first. The x-ray guy shows up five minutes later. I could go on, but I think you can see where this is going.

I did make my flight, but they had to hold it and I didn’t make it on board until 10 minutes after the scheduled departure. I certainly don’t recommend this route if traveling with firearms.

Traveling on Emirates you never touch your rifles on transit.

They do the transfer for you.

And you only see them at your destination.

I think this is a major advantage.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Traveling on Emirates you never touch your rifles on transit.

They do the transfer for you.

And you only see them at your destination.

I think this is a major advantage.

Yep! It is.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Traveling on Emirates you never touch your rifles on transit.

They do the transfer for you.

And you only see them at your destination.

I think this is a major advantage.

They are my favorite, but their schedule didn’t work on my last trip.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Traveling on Emirates you never touch your rifles on transit.

They do the transfer for you.

And you only see them at your destination.

I think this is a major advantage.

Yep! It is.

Yes. but, I was told by Gracy that since covid Emirates has cancelled flights without much notice and was too unreliable. I hope they fix that because I would like to go that route.

drongo,

That is correct! I've had two client's flights cancelled on short notice by Emirates.

Mark

After rereading this post I called the help line for EA. I confirmed my seats, as they had been changed so now Im where I was supposed to be, then I asked about firearms. I was told I needed to go to the EA headquarters in DC and get the form or I would not be able to bring the firearms. So misinformation is there as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Hughiam:
After rereading this post I called the help line for EA. I confirmed my seats, as they had been changed so now Im where I was supposed to be, then I asked about firearms. I was told I needed to go to the EA headquarters in DC and get the form or I would not be able to bring the firearms. So misinformation is there as well.

I suggest you use a travel professional who is familiar with hunters travelling with firearms.

The ones who has YOUR interest first.

Not make more money first!

https://www.ethiopianairlines....on_form_et_final.pdf

Here you go. Fill out this form and have your 4457 and you are good to go. Worked fine for me flying from Dulles to Lusaka in July. The Addis rifle and ammo check going and coming is a bit of a thrash, but manageable. My bags made both flights. My wife's checked bag, not so much- came into camp two days later. We had significant weather related disruption two weeks apart in Addis- not sure I'd fly them again in July. If fact our Addis to Dulles return flight had departed when we arrived from Lusaka coming home, but we were able to make a Chicago bound flight after a midnight mad scramble in Addis. That said, there aren't a lot of alternatives right now.

quote:

Originally posted by highstepper:
https://www.ethiopianairlines....on_form_et_final.pdf

Here you go. Fill out this form and have your 4457 and you are good to go. Worked fine for me flying from Dulles to Lusaka in July. The Addis rifle and ammo check going and coming is a bit of a thrash, but manageable. My bags made both flights. My wife's checked bag, not so much- came into camp two days later. We had significant weather related disruption two weeks apart in Addis- not sure I'd fly them again in July. If fact our Addis to Dulles return flight had departed when we arrived from Lusaka coming home, but we were able to make a Chicago bound flight after a midnight mad scramble in Addis. That said, there aren't a lot of alternatives right now.

Thank you! As I said, lots of misinformation out there. Last time I flew (NWA) lost all my bags for 6 weeks. Im glad that we have this forum! September 17 is wheels up!

It sounds as if Ethiopian have not changed. Last flew with them when I went to Zim in 1990. You changed at Addis. All your checked in luggage was lined up by the aeroplane. Once you passed through passport control you were bused to the aeroplane. You had to wait to be called forward to then identify your bag, which was then loaded into the hold. Of course my luggage wasn’t there. “Oh its already loaded”. After quite a bit of discussion I think was bundled into back of an official vehicle and driven off. Mmmm

I was taken to the main luggage depot and walked along lines of luggage until I identified my duffel bag. Which we then took to the aeroplane fir it to be loaded.

We then took off….

https://www.reuters.com/world/...s-agency-2021-09-05/


September 6, 2021
3:46 AM CDT
Last Updated 7 hours ago
Africa
Sudan

Reuters



2 minute read
KHARTOUM, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Sudanese authorities have seized a cargo of 72 boxes of weapons that arrived by air from Ethiopia and that they suspect were destined for use in "crimes against the state", Sudan's state news agency, SUNA, reported on Sunday.

Ethiopian Airlines said the weapons were hunting guns that were part of a legal, verified shipment.

The shipment is being investigated by a committee tasked with dismantling the government of former President Omar al-Bashir, who was toppled in April 2019 after a popular uprising, SUNA reported.

The weapons had arrived in Ethiopia from Moscow in May 2019, the committee found.



The intended recipient of the weapons was unclear but the committee did not rule out that they were meant for former Bashir government loyalists who Sudanese authorities accuse of trying to undermine the country's fragile transition towards democracy, according to SUNA.

The boxes included weapons and night-vision goggles and arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines commercial flight on Saturday night, SUNA reported, without giving further details.

The committee pointed "to suspicions that these weapons were intended to be used in crimes against the state, impeding the democratic transition and preventing the transition to the civil state", SUNA reported.

Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement that the guns had been held for a long time in Addis Ababa for verification, and that the consignee, who it did not name, had sued the airline in a Sudanese court, demanding it deliver the guns pay $250,000 in compensation.



Dina Mufti, spokesperson for the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Ministry, did not respond to a request for comment.

Tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia have been running high due to a spillover of the conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region and Ethiopia's construction of a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile. read more

The Tigray conflict has sent tens of thousands of refugees into eastern Sudan and triggered military skirmishes in an area of contested farmland along the border between the two countries.

Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Peter Cooney

72 boxes of hunting weapons?

Very interesting!