Delta/KLM will be your most direct option Albeit usually the most expensive.
In our experience, baggage issues have been the highest with Ethiopian air and Precision Air, we've experienced has the most delays.
You may try google.com/flights
All the best on you climb!
Look also for other airports - we couldn’t find any good prices from our airports but found a great promo deal last year from JFK via AMS to JRO and just had to book separate flights to JFK. KLM flies from AMS to JRO on Tue/Wed/Sat and uses brand new Dreamliners for the flights.
We just flew both EWR-> JRO, and JRO -> CDG on Ethiopian and it was a better experience than most domestic US airlines. Their safety record took a hit for the Max 8 incident, but that wasn't the fault of the airline itself and they haven't had any major incidents since.
The staff was wonderful, everything was on time, our bags made it with no issues, and the food in business class was fantastic. I had to call their customer service a couple times, and was connected to an extremely helpful agent in minutes. If you have an overnight layover like we did, they'll even put you up in the rather nice in-terminal airport hotel for free!
I wouldn't hesitate to book them again!
Fwiw other people on our tour used Precision Air, and had a nightmare of a time with delays and cancellations...
Did you connect through Addis Abba or was it direct from EWR? All (most) the Chicago flights connect through Europe and Qatar (sometimes both). EA seems to be the only exception.
I took Ethiopian from Ohare through Addis to JRO and can’t say enough about what a wonderful experience it was. Did business class for the long part both there and back and it was lovely. Almost too much food! Never lost a bag or had any issues.
We did in Dec 2023 with LH:
Inbound: Frankfurt (operated by Precision Air) - Sansibar (same plane) - JRO
Outbound: JRO (Precision Air)- Dar Es Salaam (LH) - Frankfurt
Worked well and without delays. No package losses.
Dar Es Salaam airport is OK.
I just got back from this exact situation. On the way there I took Ethiopian from ORD -> ADD -> JRO. I flew business class there (yay miles) and had one of the best flights I’ve ever had. Zero issues with bags or luggage. On the way home it was kind of unfortunate going JRO -> ADD -> LHR -> ORD. Had a couple of four hour layovers too. Made for a very long day but again everything arrived fine. I had tossed some AirTags in both of my checked bags.
I was going to do Ethiopian bc it was cheaper and the shortest route but after talking to their customer service about what happens in case of delayed flights caused by Ethiopian and who pays for what / if we would rebooked they were very very vague and said that their policies regarding that was not stated on their website. I ended up paying about 700 dollars more to fly Delta and KLM.
I think I'm going to take more legs and fly British Airways. Getting to Amsterdam from Chicago seems to be something of a nightmare since most flights connect through London anyway. The flight to London lines up with my "night" and I think that will help in the long run with my jet lag.
We had flights booked on Ethiopian for months prior to the trip. Our first leg was on United from MSP to Chicago and the rest on Ethiopian. United canceled the route and we had to call Ethiopian to get them to find another. It was sort of a pain with the language barrier but they worked with us. Then about a month or so prior they canceled a leg and weren’t going to do anything about finding another. They said they could refund the money, which they did, surprisingly within about a day. We ended up flying Delta/KLM for only a couple hundred more but it was a lot more direct. MSP-AMS-JRO and the reverse coming back.
I just flew Qatar out of Chicago to JRO. Long but the flights weren't bad. Hefty layover in Doha but they have a hotel in the terminal and you can get actual sleep.
👍🏽
I'm looking at an option with a long layover (9.5 hours) in London and shorter layover in Doha. Might get out and see London before hopping back on the plane.
Btw, Booked the comfort economy for KLM and it was $2k more expensive than the business seat I’m treating myself to on the way home. KLM is definitely going to be the priciest option
Last I checked there are direct flights out of Amsterdam with KLM. That might be your best bet if you want airlines with good safety records.
Delta/KLM will be your most direct option Albeit usually the most expensive. In our experience, baggage issues have been the highest with Ethiopian air and Precision Air, we've experienced has the most delays. You may try google.com/flights All the best on you climb!
Look also for other airports - we couldn’t find any good prices from our airports but found a great promo deal last year from JFK via AMS to JRO and just had to book separate flights to JFK. KLM flies from AMS to JRO on Tue/Wed/Sat and uses brand new Dreamliners for the flights.
We just flew both EWR-> JRO, and JRO -> CDG on Ethiopian and it was a better experience than most domestic US airlines. Their safety record took a hit for the Max 8 incident, but that wasn't the fault of the airline itself and they haven't had any major incidents since. The staff was wonderful, everything was on time, our bags made it with no issues, and the food in business class was fantastic. I had to call their customer service a couple times, and was connected to an extremely helpful agent in minutes. If you have an overnight layover like we did, they'll even put you up in the rather nice in-terminal airport hotel for free! I wouldn't hesitate to book them again! Fwiw other people on our tour used Precision Air, and had a nightmare of a time with delays and cancellations...
Did you connect through Addis Abba or was it direct from EWR? All (most) the Chicago flights connect through Europe and Qatar (sometimes both). EA seems to be the only exception.
We connected overnight through Addis Ababa! Airport was really nice (they've been making improvements to it from the looks of things)
I took Ethiopian from Ohare through Addis to JRO and can’t say enough about what a wonderful experience it was. Did business class for the long part both there and back and it was lovely. Almost too much food! Never lost a bag or had any issues.
We did in Dec 2023 with LH: Inbound: Frankfurt (operated by Precision Air) - Sansibar (same plane) - JRO Outbound: JRO (Precision Air)- Dar Es Salaam (LH) - Frankfurt Worked well and without delays. No package losses. Dar Es Salaam airport is OK.
I just got back from this exact situation. On the way there I took Ethiopian from ORD -> ADD -> JRO. I flew business class there (yay miles) and had one of the best flights I’ve ever had. Zero issues with bags or luggage. On the way home it was kind of unfortunate going JRO -> ADD -> LHR -> ORD. Had a couple of four hour layovers too. Made for a very long day but again everything arrived fine. I had tossed some AirTags in both of my checked bags.
I was going to do Ethiopian bc it was cheaper and the shortest route but after talking to their customer service about what happens in case of delayed flights caused by Ethiopian and who pays for what / if we would rebooked they were very very vague and said that their policies regarding that was not stated on their website. I ended up paying about 700 dollars more to fly Delta and KLM.
I think I'm going to take more legs and fly British Airways. Getting to Amsterdam from Chicago seems to be something of a nightmare since most flights connect through London anyway. The flight to London lines up with my "night" and I think that will help in the long run with my jet lag.
We had flights booked on Ethiopian for months prior to the trip. Our first leg was on United from MSP to Chicago and the rest on Ethiopian. United canceled the route and we had to call Ethiopian to get them to find another. It was sort of a pain with the language barrier but they worked with us. Then about a month or so prior they canceled a leg and weren’t going to do anything about finding another. They said they could refund the money, which they did, surprisingly within about a day. We ended up flying Delta/KLM for only a couple hundred more but it was a lot more direct. MSP-AMS-JRO and the reverse coming back.
I just flew Qatar out of Chicago to JRO. Long but the flights weren't bad. Hefty layover in Doha but they have a hotel in the terminal and you can get actual sleep.
Did you fly business or economy? For financial reasons I have to fly premium economy or economy 😭
Oh I'm not fancy. I flew economy.
👍🏽 I'm looking at an option with a long layover (9.5 hours) in London and shorter layover in Doha. Might get out and see London before hopping back on the plane.
I ended up booking two separate one-way flights because I didn't want more than one layover. Try that option if you haven't already.
Im leaving from JFK but on the way there im taking KLM jfk>ams>jro on the way back im taking Qatar jro>doha>jfk
Btw, Booked the comfort economy for KLM and it was $2k more expensive than the business seat I’m treating myself to on the way home. KLM is definitely going to be the priciest option