.During my case study of a certain species of sharks (layman- bull shark ) I realized they were aggressive species and loved to dominate in this case Pacific Ocean . They would constantly harass the dolphins ,and other species in the shark genus.underneath the belly there exist a pilot fish that no one knows it exists and the bull shark would constantly ridicule or mock the pilot fish for its inability to do aggressive attacks rather be a dependent of the shark for meals . The pilot fish would take the heat but let the bull shark do the careless aggressive and scathing hunting as it slowly feeds on the best carefully selected nutritive foods that the shark leaves .when the Chinese shark hunters came to the waters it was the shark fin they were after and never pilot fish . The pilot fish could swim away and look for another host since the aggressive master full of pride is in someone's dinner soup.

@obiero I fly to Dulles time to time and I don't like the service I get from ET. I wish there was a non daftest idea I could give kq but nothing would give me pride than to fly in my own Kenyan kq brand . I would love to see kq go to its glory again. Business wise it might be struggling right now but I'm sure with wise leadership it will rise . Wish they can look into the price of USA to Kenya .it comes ahead of patriotism

@eynands - You were advocating raising tariifs/fees/costs on US carriers as a way of protecting KQ when it accesses the US market. That's silly at best. There are bilateral agreements in place and frankly KQ needs the US more than the US carriers need Kenya.

slap the american airlines with higher tarrifs,taxes,vat and parking charges till they shy away from that route

That doesn't really help KQ which will be told quid pro quo. Plus this would only give KQ the chutzpah to provide poor services at an inflated price driving away passengers to BA, Turkish, Emirates and even to ET.

Let the US carriers compete with KQ on a level playing field between NBO & USA. We need daily flights to the USA since the USA can be an even bigger tourist market for us.

Other than redirecting traffic, time factor and diaspora, I don't see much more value out the US route upfront too. Spend tons of money in compliance.

You know, where others see gold, others rake muck.

We'll see.

As China emerges as the continent’s largest trading partner, the number of Chinese business and leisure travelers to the continent has seen major players in aviation like China Southern airlines putting their foot in the game.

In East Africa, local carriers, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways dominated flights between the region and the Chinese mainland. China’s Civil Aviation Administration says more than 120,000 passengers traveled between China and Kenya last year, with 28 percent of them going through Guangzhou. Chinese carriers are now returning the favor, arranging code sharing agreements with local players to triple the number.

Ata mimi naona hiyo muck!

It doesn't fly direct,ET flies to Dublin first before flying to Dulles,It's only the return leg where it flies direct from US of A to Addis and it's always less than half empty

Sir I disagree .Iv used it four times so I know what I'm saying.its one way from Dulles to Addis then later from Addis to Kenya .but when you leave ethiopia that's when it goes through Dublin or Switzerland then Dulles

Aren't we saying the same thing about the route?

On capacity,the return leg is always almost half empty except for monday flight

Yes, you are saying the same thing.
What KQ needs to do is have a 'semi-direct' flight that goes from NBO-West Africa [Accra comes to mind] onwards to DC/NYC using a 787 or 777. And the same of the return. The Kenyan US-bound pax do not disembark in ACC. The halt is for 2 hours.
KQ could carry NBO-ACC pax as well. Plus pick up pax in ACC who are US-bound. It requires cooperation with Ghanaian authorities.

Advantages: KQ gets NBO-ACC traffic [which replaces a 737 flight but 787s & 777s have more cargo space] as well as ACC-USA traffic. Many West Africans use ACC to fly to the US.

On the return, the belly space is also full [Ghanaians don't travel light] from USA-ACC then pick up pax in ACC for NBO [replacing a 737].

Disadvantages: Delta flies to 3x NYC-ACC so there's competition.
[But they can code-share or have a JV i.e. Delta flies one leg while KQ can flies the other OR they can book pax on each other's legs to/fro USA or beyond, etc.]
Is there enough traffic for year round flights? Generally these flights are run 3x per week with cutbacks during slow periods to 2 flights/week. 3 flights/week allow for a single plane to be used on the route.

It stops on its way from Addis and not from usa . If that's what you are asking then I think it's pick more passengers or to refuel .I'm not an expert on that .all we talk about is flight from usa to ethiopia not ethiopia to usa . hope @swenani I got this one right