• Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-8
    Ethiopian Airlines
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    ET/ETH
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1945
    Alliance:
    Star Alliance
    CEO:
    Mesfin Tasew Bekele
    Country:
    Ethiopia

Ethiopian Airlines flights to Bahrain take off in July, back after temporarily ending 28 months ago in March 2020. It is 'just' a normal resumption, not that that matters. It is one of ten routes across the Middle East by Star Alliance carrier.

Bahrain is back

Starting on July 2nd, Ethiopian Airlines will again serve Bahrain from Addis Ababa. It joins service to Beirut, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Riyadh, and Tel Aviv.

With a distance of 1,420 miles (2,286km), Bahrain will have 3x weekly flights. All will be non-stop using the B737-800, Ethiopian Airlines' commonest narrowbody. It is currently bookable and scheduled from Ethiopia until October 29th, the last day of the Northern Hemisphere summer season.

Cirium data shows the B737-800 will be the 154-seat configuration, with 16 in business and 138 in economy. Of the carrier's jet aircraft, only the B737-700 has fewer seats, showing the relative thinness of the route.

The schedule is shown below, with all times local. The timings, leaving Ethiopia late at night and returning in the early morning, are for one reason. They mean a considerable amount of sub-Saharan Africa is connected to Bahrain via Ethiopia.

  • Addis Ababa to Bahrain: ET424, 22:10-02:00 (a block time of 3h 50m); Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays
  • Bahrain to Addis Ababa: ET425, 03:10-07:20 (4h 10m); Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays
Addis Ababa to Bahrain Ethiopian Airlines
The market has been served in quite an inconsistent way since it launched in 2007. Image: GCMap.

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Ethiopian Airlines to Bahrain: a summary

Cirium shows that Bahrain launched on June 3rd, 2007, using the B737-700. While flights initially operated non-stop, one-stops quickly materialized alongside quicker and simpler non-stops, increasing flights per week and, therefore, convenience and competitiveness. One-stops have been an essential part of Bahrain's story.

It briefly operated via Abu Dhabi from March to May 2008, before switching to via Kuwait from July 2009 onwards. From March 2011, Bahrain was fully one-stop via Kuwait, showing that, despite being four years old, the market wasn't sufficiently large, with the resources available, to warrant a non-stop at the required frequency. It was likely a way to attempt to keep the route.

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Boeing_757-231_Ethiopian_Airlines_ET-ALZ,_AMS_Amsterdam_(Schiphol),_Netherlands_PP1147332050
The B757-200 was used between 2008-2010. Photo: 
Peter Bakema via Wikimedia.

Ended in 2011, returned in 2017

Bahrain ended in October 2011 and returned in August 2017, this time via Dammam, just 54 miles (87km) from Bahrain in Saudi Arabia. Non-stops reemerged in March 2018, with this 'tag-teaming' continuing. It became fully non-stop between June 2019 and its postponement in March 2020. Now it is back – and is non-stop, at least for now.

1599px-Boeing_737-860(w)_‘ET-APF’_Ethiopian_Airlines_(22099209269)
The B737-800 will be used to Bahrain. Photo: Alan Wilson via Flickr.

Where do Bahrain passengers go?

According to booking data, Ethiopian Airlines carried approximately 31,000 passengers to/from Bahrain in 2019. Around six in ten transited over Addis Ababa, especially to Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria. Bahrain-Nairobi had more passengers than anywhere else, followed by Johannesburg, Mombasa, Accra, Douala, Lagos, Kinshasa, Entebbe, Djibouti, and Khartoum.

Have you flown Ethiopian Airlines? If so, share your experiences in the comments.