Kenya Airways

✅ Trip Verified | Heathrow to Lilongwe via Nairobi and 30hours later ther luggage doesn’t arrive at the other end. The next day I ring the airport and told luggage will be on the next flight, from Heathrow and will arrive in Lilongwe and I can collect from there. I pay 70 dollars for a cab back to the airport as a single young female, to be told, your luggage didn’t reach Lilongwe as it had to stay in Nairobi airport as there wasn’t any room on the flight! Not just your bag but 17 others! But why this wasn’t priority as they didn’t get it right the first time , I don’t know! To be told the next day that you would get a telephone call to arrange pick up of your bag, simple right? No. You arrive at the collection area to pick up your luggage and it’s looked and because it’s sun you’ll have to sit and wait. 6.45-9 am still no one? And when you go and look for that person who knows you are waiting, she is sat having breakfast! It is now 5 days later and still no bag. The staff have been next to useless except for one kind soul who may or may not deliver, watch this space. The latest is they will deliver her bag tonight or tomorrow 6-7 days after. This is not acceptable what is so difficult.

✅ Trip Verified | Nairobi to Cape Town via Livingstone. We took a few days' break in Livingstone between Nairobi and Cape Town, and so experienced two separate KQ flights. Both check-ins and boarding processes were smooth and easy - except that on the first flight some passengers were allowed to carry huge quantities of hand luggage on board, causing some chaos and frayed tempers. The seats were a little narrow. On the first flight the breakfast served was expansive, with three choices offered in economy class; the lunch on the second flight was also good. The first crew were rather brusque and unsmiling -- but this was made up for by the friendly crew on the second flight (which was much less full). On both flights the crews served all the food and drinks in a few pass-throughs in the first hour, and then disappeared until landing. The flights operated on time and luggage was quick to appear. Overall a pleasant experience.

✅ Trip Verified | Johannesburg to Kilimanjaro via Nairobi. Let's start with the flight out of Johannesburg being delayed such that I missed my connection from Nairobi to Arusha at 6:30 that evening. Upon arrival I went to the Kenya airways desk to arrange the next flight to Arusha. They proposed an 11:50pm flight. This flight actually would stop in Zanzibar first, thus arriving in Arusha at 3:10 am. I was aware of that flight. I had to ask if there was an earlier flight - hen and only then did the staff say, "There is a Precision Air flight at 10:50pm." I replied "and is that a direct flight". She answered "yes". I then had to connect the dots for the Kenya Air staff (as obviously they are not trained to use common sense or think of their customers at all). I politely said " and doesn't Kenya Airways run Precision Air?" At that point the stars aligned and she asked if I would prefer that flight, well yes, I would prefer getting to my lodge 3 hours earlier as it would be the middle of night! It gets better. I needed to return a day earlier so my agent called Kenya Airways on the cost to change - the cost they quoted was more expensive than just going on Expedia and buying new tickets from Arusha to Johannesburg on Kenya Airways. I just went ahead and bought all new tickets home to Johannesburg on a different airline. Never fly them again. They failed miserably.

✅ Trip Verified | I was scheduled to fly business class on Kenya Airways from Bangkok to Nairobi, but unfortunately, I had to cancel the flight for business reasons. I duly filled the forms for refund, got a confirmation from Kenya Airways on April 11, but no refund was made until now, ie almost 2 months later; I got in contact with customer service, where I was told that they have a backlog and are working on it; no date for the refund could be obtained. This is very annoying, as we are speaking about a substantial amount of money and this means that Kenya Airways is now on my private black list.

✅ Trip Verified | Entebbe to London via Nairobi. I recently spent some time volunteering in Uganda and whilst I was there broke and dislocated my ankle quite badly. I needed to return home a few days earlier than planned, to undergo surgery, so rebooked a flight at additional cost and requested wheelchair assistance. Upon arrival at entebbe airport, they seemed unaware of my situation despite having been informed, but did sort out some help. I also asked if it would be possible to be upgraded if there were spare seats in business class as it was important to keep my leg, which was in a cast, elevated as much as possible and particularly during a flight when it may swell more. The check in desk confirmed there were seats but that they couldn’t upgrade me there but that it should be possible in Nairobi where I would change to take an 8.5hr flight to London. At the gate in Nairobi I once again asked if it would be possible to sit in business class so I could elevate my leg. The man on the desk said that he couldn’t do anything without invoicing me but it was his attitude rather than refusal that really annoyed me. He was completely unsympathetic, laughing at me and treating me as if I was just trying to get some free perks. I was clearly in pain and the most annoying thing was that the flight was actually half full. As a goodwill gesture he’d ‘upgraded’ me to the seats with more legroom but as I explained to him when he did so, that would not help as there was nothing to rest my leg on, so it was still dangling down, putting pressure on the ankle and causing swelling. This seat was also very awkward to get in and out of due to the way the screens came out of the seat from the side and had no additional room to the side as the armrests were fixed. However, it did provide me with a great view of the business class section which was virtually empty, and I was galled to see there were several passengers in economy with at least 4 seats to themselves, enabling them to lie down for the entire flight and had they so wished to elevate their leg! At no point had the man on the desk mentioned that there were many spare seats which would have enabled me to elevate my leg quite comfortably, despite me explaining the issue. None of the air hostesses expressed any concern for my situation throughout the flight despite my obvious discomfort and attempts to create a platform from bags and cushions to rest my leg on. Whilst I understand that other people have paid for the benefit of a business class seat, I felt that in extenuating circumstances such as this, the airline could have made a goodwill gesture to ensure their passenger’s wellbeing and comfort. I will not be recommending them to others and certainly won’t be rushing back to travel with ‘the pride of Africa’ any time soon. It topped off a disappointing end to what would have been a fascinating trip, but has left a sour taste in my mouth for this particular airline.

✅ Trip Verified | Nairobi to Dubai. I would like to commend the crew on a pleasant flight. The service was exemplary. The cabin staff in our section was courteous and her service good. The flight was very smooth & managed to sleep which I find difficult to do in most planes.

✅ Trip Verified | Nairobi to Mombasa. Check-in was fast and easy and flight boarded and departed on time. Departure was very rushed and the cabin crew did not perform all the necessary safety checks. After take-off a cold dry croissant was served as 'breakfast' by a very rude flight attendant who would have a go at anyone who asked for anything more than the tea/coffee/juice and dry croissant that was available. The aircraft cabin could have been cleaner.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew Kenya Airways from Nairobi to Birmingham via Amsterdam. The flight was good, the cabin crew were great and the food was good. However the seat button adjuster ref, seat 23J is depressed in the slot hence was unable to adjust my seat and get some sleep. Hope maintenance can get this sorted. Sometimes it took too long to clear tables after meals, this can be improved.

✅ Trip Verified | Nairobi to Lusaka. I travel almost every quarter between Lusaka and Nairobi and back, and my experience is good. The crew are courteous and friendly and helpful. One little disappointment though which I have experienced about twice is when the on Board duty free shop catalogue indicated there was a special offer of a perfume/cologne on sale, and when I asked for it I was told it was not available, and I also knew I was the first to ask amongst the passengers. The product this time on my return trip to Lusaka on Thursday 29th March, was a SAFARI cologne for men, by Ralph Lauren, advertised at a special price, but no product, and no apology in the catalogue.

✅ Trip Verified | I flew the route Kinshasa to Nairobi March 26 and back March 30. The flight-time is over 3 hours but Kenya Airways for whatever reason used the Embraer 190 which should be used only on short haul flights. Both times the cabin was full and there was not enough space in the overhead compartments for hand luggage. The seats are not comfortable and do not fully recline. It was not possible to work as the cabin was too noisy and crowded. Definitely I will choose Ethiopia Airlines, which uses a Boeing 787 for the flight to Addis Ababa and never Kenya Airways again.