They begin with the things we decide to carry. A passport. A notebook. A shirt folded at the last minute. A small object for someone waiting at the other end. A bag that will move through airports, hotel corridors, crowded streets, early departures, and the long middle hours of travel.
AFAR was built around these objects. Travel bags and accessories made in Ethiopia. Designed for movement. Produced with durable materials, careful hands, and the belief that what travels with us should have a clear origin.
Today, AFAR enters a new partnership with Ethiopian Airlines ShebaMiles.
ShebaMiles members can now earn miles when they purchase AFAR bags and accessories. At checkout, customers enter their ShebaMiles number. After the order is completed, the miles are credited according to the program terms.
It is a practical offer. But it also carries a larger story.
An Ethiopian route to the world
Ethiopian Airlines began operations in 1946 with five DC-3 aircraft. Its first scheduled flight left Addis Ababa for Cairo, via Asmara, on April 8 of that year.
From that route, the airline grew into one of Africa’s most important aviation groups. Addis Ababa became a point of passage: for business travelers, families, pilgrims, students, diplomats, workers, tourists, and people crossing the continent for reasons that never fit into one category.
There is something quietly powerful in that history. A country known too often through simplified images built one of the strongest air networks in the region. A capital city became a hub. A national carrier became a bridge between African cities and the rest of the world. This is not only a story of aircraft. It is a story of connection.
Ph. Ethiopian Airlines Archive
Why AFAR belongs here
AFAR makes travel bags in Ethiopia. Our workshop is not far from the same city where many journeys begin, end, or pause between flights. Inside, people cut cotton, prepare leather, polish horn, stitch panels, check seams, assemble straps, and finish the objects that will later move through the world.
A bag made in Addis Ababa may travel to Nairobi, Rome, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Lagos, Cape Town, São Paulo, or a small town far from any airport.
It may carry a camera, a book, children’s clothes, documents, a gift, a memory. It may return marked by rain, dust, pressure, and use.
For us, that is the point. Objects should not only be sold. They should enter life and stay there.
ShebaMiles, in simple terms
ShebaMiles is the loyalty program of Ethiopian Airlines. Members earn miles through flights and selected partner activities, then use those miles for rewards such as flights, upgrades, and other benefits according to ShebaMiles rules.
With this new partnership, AFAR becomes part of that ecosystem. When you purchase an eligible AFAR product, you can enter your ShebaMiles membership number at checkout. Once the order is complete, miles are credited to your ShebaMiles account.
The full terms and eligibility details are available at checkout and through AFAR’s official channels.
A small addition to the journey
A bag does not make the journey. It supports it. It keeps things close. It absorbs movement. It helps the traveler pass through the necessary moments: boarding, waiting, walking, arriving, starting again.
This collaboration connects two Ethiopian stories moving at different scales. One crosses continents. One begins at a cutting table. Both belong to travel.
The offer
ShebaMiles members can now earn miles when purchasing eligible AFAR bags and accessories. Enter your ShebaMiles number at checkout and complete your order. Miles will be credited according to the partnership terms.
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