I thought I would add a short note about traveling with Ethiopian Airlines. I flew business class this time. The increase in cost was modest compared to some others, and I arrived feeling refreshed. I definitely will make a habit of this as my last experience left me feeling really run down. The crew were always very good. The food was ok. On the way down they served some ethiopian cuisine which I love. That was very good. I think they should offer more of it.
Firearms - when you fly Ethiopian you will probably transit through Addis Ababa. You must identify your rifle during the layover. On paper the system is easy. You go with an agent who takes you to the airport baggage sorting area. Your case is brought to you and you then verify the serial number of the gun. You provide security with a copy of your passport, and a copy of your license. On the way to South Africa it was the SAPS form. On the way home it was my Canadian EXOL license. The agent escorts you back through security to your gate.
In practice the procedure is somewhat variable. On the way down I was met by a nice young lady holding up a sign with my name on it. I was taken to the baggage area where we waited.....and waited....and then as the boarding time approaches the case is produced, the process is seemless and we are off at a run to make the gate. Security was expedited but still delayed us. I then sprinted with this young woman, my shoes untied and belt off, my pants threatening to remain behind, all the way to the gate. Made it with 10 minutes to spare.
On the way home no one met us. I spoke to three or four agents in green coats who vaguely told me to "go upstairs" (turns out that is the transit departures) I happened to ask a young man chatting with two female employees. Turns out he was the guy. He asked me to wait for some others. I did. When the others didn’t show he wandered off towards the gate. Stopped to chat with an old friend, gave that friend a hug, wandered further down the hall towards the gate. Saw him in the distance. After a few minutes he came back with the remaining hunters and a young woman. The young lady took the copies of our forms. We walked about 29 yards. She met another man. They answered questions for random other people. The papers were given to the third agent - I recognized him as one of the agents I spoke to on the way up. We were asked to wait at the Ethipopian airlines lounge. Eventually a fourth fellow appeared. He took our papers and escorted us to security for verification. That went smoothly. We were then off at a force marched pace back through some of the security but then used our own initiative to get through faster as they recognized us. I sprinted down the hall, shoes untied, belt off, pants threatening to remain behind and borded with 10 minutes to spare.
Bottom line is it works, but they seem to like to use up all of the available time for the transit. I think the key is to RELAX and just speak to the agents in the green jackets until you find the right one!
