Route: Dubai-Addis Ababa-Cape Town, return
Aircraft: Boeing 777, Boeing 767, Airbus 350
Class: The Business class is called "Cloud Nine". I booked in "P" business class, which cost roughly the same as an economy ticket on Emirates within this booking period and on the same route (Can$1,700). While part of the Star Alliance, you receive no Miles and More on Lufthansa with this class ticket - you can earn Ethiopian's ShebaMiles, though.
Flight time: 4 hours from Dubai to Addis Ababa and 6 hours to Cape Town.
When: Oct 2016.
The Airline: Ethiopian is Africa's largest airline and fastest-growing airline and has got a fleet of over 30 mostly-modern large Boeing and Airbus aircraft (Boeing767s, 787s and 777s, and the Airbus 350) and many smaller 737-type planes. Many of their pilots appear to be European and South African. The airline clearly is trying to emulate the Emirates model, using Addis Ababa as a transit hub to serve routes across the world, including Europe, Asia and the west coast of North America.
After reading many horror stories about Ethiopian Airlines' flight delays and poor service, I was a bit reluctant to book on Ethiopian, but the amazingly cheap fare convinced me to make the slight detour via Addis Ababa. The flying time between Dubai and Cape Town was a little longer than the direct flight on Emirates, as there was a stopover of two and four hours respectively in Addis Ababa.
The departure at 4 am from Dubai was not without its own problems. The check-in counters only opened three hours before departure, meaning that even business passengers could not check in and go to the lounges - considering that I arrived at the airport at 8 pm, it was a very uncomfortable five hour wait. The line-ups were long and most fellow-passengers were pushing trolleys laden with huge
oversized containers filled with obviously commercial good meant for resale - clearly these weighed probably about 50-100 kg, making me wonder how my plane could ever take off with all that extra weight.
The business lounge in Dubai was jointly shared by Ethiopian and a few other airlines. Even at 2 am the lounge was fully stocked and plentiful hot dishes were just being replaced by hot breakfast items. There also were a great selection of wines and a cold buffet.
The first leg of my trip to Cape Town was on a newish Boeing 777, with only three other business class passengers. The business class seating layout was 2-2-2, with full flat-beds, large screen monitors and a huge number of movies and TV shows.
Champagne was served before take-off at 4 am and breakfast was served. Each passenger received a well-stocked vanity bag and I eventually collected three a different coloured bags on my four flights - these matched the dominating red colour scheme on the Ethiopian business cabins that I flew in. The flight was as smooth as one could hope for and the arrival in Addis Ababa was uneventful, with a separate bus waiting exclusively for the four of us.
The Bole International airport is a bit of an adventure by itself. Depending on your luck, you could go through the security gates in either an hour or two, or in 10 minutes. On my first visit the security area had three officials, with the one checking the x-ray machine while also getting up from her
station to search items that she decided to flag - the line then came to a complete standstill while she meticulously searched by hand through a bag or a jacket of a less-than-amused 80-year old pensioner. This circus continued for about 90 minutes, without a supervisor in sight. On the second visit three weeks later, I walked through within minutes. There are a few restaurants and shops that only accept local currency and no credit cards.
The second and third flights to and from Cape Town were on a much older Boeing 767 and unfortunately, it looked like a scene frozen from a 1980 movie. The business cabin layout was 2-2-2 and the seats were dilapidated and came with a rudimentary fold-out monitor with about three movies - mine did not work anyway. The food selection was good and I had a taste of the slightly spicy and delicious
Ethiopian national dish called "Injera bǝ wot", with other hot entrees and starters such as prawns and salmon. A wide selection of wines included French, South African and a good Ethiopian wine made from honey. The service friendly and attentive, a fact appreciated by myself and the three other passengers in the business cabin.
On my way back from Cape Town, we stopped in Johannesburg, but stayed on board for the hour's stop. A few more passengers got on board, but the cabin was still only about 20% full. The flight to Addis took six hours and on arrival I could access the
Cloud Nine Lounge 2, which looked better than the Star Alliance lounge - food was OK, there were computers and newspapers, but the bathrooms need some serious upgrades.
The last leg from Addis Ababa to Dubai was on an ultra-modern Airbus 350, the world newest passenger plane. Once again the Cloud Nine cabin was about 5% full, the service was truly friendly and food and beverage selection was great.
The A350 has the biggest engines and entertainment monitors that I have ever seen on an airplane. The seats became fully-flat beds and were easy to extend and retract.
The four-hour flight went smoothly, with stunning views of the Red Sea and the Arabian peninsula, and one almost wished it would last longer.
To conclude: Ethiopian Arline Business Class offered a very good product and was an absolute steal at the fare that I paid for it. It was vastly superior to Emirates economy for the same price and compared very well with Lufthansa's business class which I happened to fly the following day (thanks to an upgrade). The service and food were great, I could access adequate business lounges, they use mostly-modern aircraft, and the fares were more than competitive fares on this routes and on these dates.
Located in the hotel zone of Cancún, Mexico, this is an unpleasant hotel with poor service, a generally hostile staff and a massive rip-off operation at its beachfront "restaurant". From check-in to check out, no attempt was ever made to make us feel welcome after travelling for 24 hours to get here - not even a "thank you for coming" on check-out. 
We were given what was probably the worst room in the hotel, furthest away from the beach and right next to a construction site - not a lot of fun when you have construction workers looking into your room when you open the curtains or sit on the balcony. The Pool restaurant has terrible food and watered down cocktails and a staff attitude of serving rubbish food and drinks to 'Yankee 'tourists and then overcharge them. Hostile security guards at beach entrance to the hotel made one feel uncomfortable. Stay away from this dump until they learn some manners, and understand what customer service and the word 'hospitality' actually mean. Photos above are of the lovely beach in from of the hotel and from the veranda of the room., facing a brick wall and a construction site. 
There was very limited wifi in the room, and it was only available within a radius of about 12 feet from the router. How difficult can if be to cover the whole hotel with decent wifi, especially as if does not come cheap at US$220 plus taxes per night for a suite - almost every hotel in the world manage to do wifi properly nowadays. 
The departure at 4 am from Dubai was not without its own problems. The check-in counters only opened three hours before departure, meaning that even business passengers could not check in and go to the lounges - considering that I arrived at the airport at 8 pm, it was a very uncomfortable five hour wait. The line-ups were long and most fellow-passengers were pushing trolleys laden with huge 
The Bole International airport is a bit of an adventure by itself. Depending on your luck, you could go through the security gates in either an hour or two, or in 10 minutes. On my first visit the security area had three officials, with the one checking the x-ray machine while also getting up from her 
The second and third flights to and from Cape Town were on a much older Boeing 767 and unfortunately, it looked like a scene frozen from a 1980 movie. The business cabin layout was 2-2-2 and the seats were dilapidated and came with a rudimentary fold-out monitor with about three movies - mine did not work anyway. The food selection was good and I had a taste of the slightly spicy and delicious Ethiopian national dish called "Injera bǝ wot", with other hot entrees and starters such as prawns and salmon. A wide selection of wines included French, South African and a good Ethiopian wine made from honey. The service friendly and attentive, a fact appreciated by myself and the three other passengers in the business cabin.
The A350 has the biggest engines and entertainment monitors that I have ever seen on an airplane. The seats became fully-flat beds and were easy to extend and retract.
I traveled on both airlines from Vancouver to Cape Town via Paris and Frankfurt over the past 12 months in premier economy class. The bottom line is that Air France's product is a considerable step-up from the very modest presentation offered by Lufthansa.
Secondly, the premier economy seat of Air France looks and feels like the old business class seats - its a fixed structure, which means that the passenger in front cannot impede on the personal space of the passenger behind. The seat has a cozy, cocoon-like feel, with its own reading light above the the passenger's shoulder. Lufthansa's seat claims to offer 50% more personal space, but once the seat in front reclines, you are as cramped as in economy class and it is only with great difficulty than you can get out of your seat. 
The food on both Air France and Lufthansa was basically standard economy fare, served with better cutlery, wine glasses and with a menu. TV screens on both were quite a big bigger that economy class (11 or 12 inches) and in both cases, premier economy passengers can take two bags each weighing 23 kgs. Both offer a travel kit with socks, a tooth brush etc.
Both airlines allow you to enter their business class lounges for a payment of Euro25 to Euro35, but in the case of Lufthansa, this is only allowed in Frankfurt and at U.S. airports where Lufthansa has a base. 
Check in at Vancouver Airport was a breeze - there was no
line-up at the Sky Priority counter and boarding the Airbus 330 was as quick as
we used the Sky Priority line. The premium economy cabin was cozy due to its
small size, and quite luxurious, reminiscent of business class in the 1980s. Seating
was 2-3-2, spread across a few rows, with more than ample legroom and
considerably wider seats than economy class. 
One problem was that premium economy passengers did not
quite know which toilets to use, as 
The flight on the Airbus 380 to Johannesburg was smooth and it
remains my favourite aircraft due to its size, spaciousness and because it is
so quiet. The premium economy cabin is located on the upstairs deck. The layout
was 2-3-2 and we had the two seats on the side, with lots of storage and head space
above the window. Food and service were good, in line with expectations. 
On our return from Cape Town, the first leg to Johannesburg was
on South African Airlines on an Air France ticket in economy class, but we
managed to check our luggage all the way to Vancouver. As we had another 5
hours to wait in Johannesburg, we decided to use the business lounge, paying
with miles, which was within the rules governing lounge access to premium
economy passengers (at least on Air France’s website). 
Eventually, we were allowed to enter after paying Euro25, only to discover
what must be rank among the worst business class lounges in the world –
unmotivated staff, unappetizing and mostly empty food trays, and dirty plates
and utensils left unchecked all over the lounge. After about two hours of
eating crackers and cheese remnants, I firmly made a request to a disinterested lounge staff member to arrange for the food to be replenished.
However, this was not Air France’s fault, but the aggravation caused by
petulant and confused front-desk personnel at the business class lounge,
certainly was. It took four staff members at the front-desk to trying to figure
out whether we can use our miles to access the lounge. I pointed out that Air France’s website
clearly states that we could. After studying their computers intensely, they
suggested that it was neither possible, nor impossible (something similar to
the famous French shoulder shrug) . Eventually we were allowed to enter "as an
exception". We paid our 6,000 miles dutifully, enjoyed very
long hot showers and several breakfasts and boarded the long 10 hour uneventful
leg back to Vancouver on a Boeing 777. 
I wrote a letter of complaint about our shoddy treatment in
Johannesburg and the difficulty that we experienced in Paris as well, using miles in exchange for
business lounge access. I posted my complaint it on Air
France’s Facebook page. Within three days I received a n apology and 5,000 miles credited back to my account. However, there
were still no guidance with respect to ivory members using miles to enter the
lounge in the future when flying premier economy. 
2. Chicago O’Hare
1. New York JFK Airport Terminal 3