Kenya Airways

✅ Trip Verified | Addis Ababa to Kigali via Nairobi on 16-17th May 2019 on B737 and E90, respectively. Got my ticket reissued in airport in ADD due to No Show (I was late from previous connection on different ticket). That costed me 300 usd, same amount as I paid for original (return) ticket. The Station Manager in ADD went the extra mile to get me onwards the same day and he invited me to the Ethiopian Gold Lounge, that Skyteam uses. Service onboard fair, but food is ridiculous and substandard. They serve only microscopic meals, e.g. a little-finger sized hot roll snack from ADD to NBO (5 hours trip). That’s stingy. In NBO I had to spent the night but fortunately KQ granted me lounge access due to all the trouble that I have had. The prestigious lounge has food, views, and nice architecture with curving designs and view of tarmac. It has 6 beds in silent area and I slept well till next morning. Flights less than ½ hours delayed. NBO-KGL on the Embraer was delayed due to passengers could not fit their overhead luggage into the narrow space and some 5-10 pax was deprived their luggage to have it inscribed on site and put down in luggage room until we reached KGL. For me a dramatic flight as I had 6 BPs issued with KQ and lost 2 connections from ADD but the station manager did well to rebook me. KQ has lowered services onboard but remain strong when things go wrong. No IFE on any of these 3 regional flights

✅ Trip Verified | Bangkok to Addis Ababa via Nairobi. Transited in BKK from Vietnam and boarded after midnight 15th May 2019. Aircraft were the old Boeing 787-8 and 737, respectively. I like KQ (we have had our issues). In BKK they were professional and appeared as a true legacy carrier This, even I travelled on a strongly promoted ticket. Smooth cooperation with KQ and the AF lounge in BKK allowed me to relax in the lounge 6 hours until Kenya Airways could issue all 4 Boarding Passes of my ongoing trip to Kigali via Addis. Buying 2 tickets with complicated routing (married segments) turned out to be much cheaper than go direct. But time spent increases; likewise the risk of lapses. All flights punctual. Food only passable, only 2 options offered and only cold dishes for dinner. No cheese, no ice-cream. Other airlines do better in Economy regarding food. Drinks also very narrow offering with 2 industrial, cheap beers. Same for wines: only 1-2 options. Champagne offered (on both flights) was fine: JM Gobillard & Fils. The Boeing 787-8 offer a very boring and cramped layout of 2x2x2 in 5 rows. Business almost full (only 4 vacant seats) and economy completely full (but no operational upgrades were done). Second flight almost empty. Poor food, only a quiche in a paper box offered as breakfast. And, this was business class? FAs in excellent mood. Had 50 minutes turnaround time in ADD which I failed to complete in time due to no prior notification by KQ aircrew to ground staff to rush me through.

Not Verified | Nairobi to New York. Most uncomfortable flight I've been on. I'm 5'4 and my knees were in the back of the seat in front of me. The food is terrible and drinks are few and far between. The movie selection is slim and the earphones are janky. I guess you get what you pay for but I'll NEVER fly this airline again. It was this way both ways on our trip.

✅ Trip Verified | Nairobi to Dakar via Abidjan. I have no idea why the airline is called the Pride of Africa. Maybe because it compares to some other very bad airlines in the region. Ok, the plane seemed good and the seats had a PTV which is pretty good and a newly introduced feature. That's about it. At Jomo Kenyatta the check in was slow, even for those having done a check in online, we had to wait in a line, no one told us which line to wait in and of course no drop off line, unlike advertised in the web page ... and there is no point in using the self check in machines, as you still have to go on the line inside the airport, which is not the fault of the airline it is really hot and crowded, but the airline did not help because their boarding was done all at the same time, no groups. Once in the tarmac, maybe because they wanted to use only one bus, they waited a long time until we were really crowded and people started complaining and saying they would not get in the bus, then they took us to the plane where we waited about 5 to 10 minutes on the tarmac again (luckily it was sunny). We board the plane and have to wait almost one hour because the pilots do not have a flight plan. I go to the toilet even before taking off and it is very dirty already. Food was really bad for an almost 10h flight. Seat covers were falling off some seats. Entertainment is good but there is a problem... every time you open a new film, or show or whatever, it shows you the same publicity again, (we are already flying Kenya airways, no need to see the publicity 20 times). The publicity lasts about 7 minutes and runs over the show, so once your movie or show begins, you've lost a few minutes of it . that is something that they must fix. In the stopover, we were advised that we had to wait in the plane about 30 minutes. We waited 2h without air conditioning, over 40 degrees, people complaining, doors closed and of course no APU on, nor auxiliary power, why? Food from Abidjan to Dakar was really bad .. a cold hard muffin and a mince pie that tasted so bad and was so dry many did not eat it. Anyways for a 2h flight you can't expect much, but in total it is a 10h flight for many so it is rubbish. Both landings were quite hard and I am an airline fan and private pilot. The second one can be justified due to wind, but the first one, surprised about it. In general, very good plane, nice flight attendants, and good entertainment system. Food was very bad, the heat episode was ridiculous, the delay was annoying and the landings were not too good. Plane felt dirty. I like the airline but needs to improve.

✅ Trip Verified | I flew Kenya Airways on my return flight from Lilongwe to Amsterdam via Nairobi. Kenya Airways connects Lilongwe with Nairobi through a direct and different stopover flights via Lusaka and Nampula. I took the direct flight which leaves Lilongwe at 2:40 at night and lands in Nairobi 2 hours later. Check In at Lilongwe's Kamuzu International Airport is slow but so effective, that all passengers were checked in time and the flight left 40 minutes early. The worn down Embraer E190 was clean and had personal inflight entertainment with a few movies and series. The service was basic, a small breakfast and drinks were handed out. The flight landed in time in Nairobi. Transfer through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is rather fast and efficient, definetly the airport to transfer through in Africa. The 8h 20min flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam was on a B787-800, although it was worn down, the seat was comfortable and the inflight entertainment system was very good with a wide selection of movies and series. Service was good and the food was okay. The flight was on time in Amsterdam and I am happy to fly with Kenya Airways again in the future.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew with KQ on New York to Nairobi / KGL-JFK (via NBO). JFK-NBO flight was quite full and left 30+mins late as it waited for connecting passengers. Even then arrived Nairobi 50 mins early due to the strong tail wind and it was very bumpy flight. Cabin crew was attentive enough. Meal was just adequate enough. Lunch was served 1+hour into the flight and breakfast was served before landing in Nairobi. In between, there is only snack. There should be a dinner service as it was a quite long flight. The seat lacks padding for 14+ hours non-stop flight. Seat pitch and seat width are decent. AVOD Entertainment was provided; however, the choice of movie was very limited and listed mostly old movies which mostly I have seen. Ended up watching some foreign language movies which I enjoyed them. KGL-NBO flight was late due to arrival flight from Nairobi. It was a Embraer 190 craft. Seat was very comfortable which I wish they put them on the transcontinental flight. We were bused into the NBO terminal upon arrival. Had to run and cut the security screening line to make it to the gate that bound to JFK. Flight waited to get all the connecting passengers and luggage loaded onboard. The flight left about 50 mins late. And arrived JFK on time. NBO-JFK flight has different AVOD entertainment menu as it was a month later from JFK-NBO flight. The movie lineup was updated with new movies. Flight crew was attentive. Water rounds came around every 1+ hour or so. Toilets were kept cleaned. All in all, everything went well. I only have 3 things to suggest to improve – seat padding, headphone (audio was quality so bad and could not understand the dialogs), and the quality of blanket/pillow (they were very thin and debris of red blanket fabric stuck all over on the cloths).

✅ Trip Verified | Nairobi to Lilongwe. I came into Nairobi on an Air France Flight from Paris, connecting on Kenya Airways flight to Lilongwe. Compared to Addis Ababa, Nairobis Airport seems very organized and the security check was fast. There was good Wifi and charging ports in the waiting area. Kenya Airways uses the small Embraer E190 on its 2h and 10min flight to Lilongwe. Aircraft seemed outdated and wasnt the cleanest, but I felt comfortable and legroom was quite good. I preordered vegan lacto ovo breakfast, which consisted of a sweet and a savory samosa, both very tasty. Although it was a bit disappointing that the inflight entertainment system was not working, the captain pointed out the Kilimanjaro as we passed, which made up for this. Flight was on time in Lilongwe. So far I tried Ethiopian and Malawian Airlines in Africa and would choose Kenya Airways over those two, because transferring in Nairobi is much more relaxed than Addis Abeba.

✅ Trip Verified | New York to Entebbe via Nairobi. 6 sectors flown in three weeks and very impressed by their package generally. All flights on time, good service in the air, entertainment system excellent on Boeing 787 to NYC, three good meals provided and ample(although very poor quality/cheap spirits offered) refreshments. Transiting through Nairobi at night is tedious - far too few security desks open and ruins the good work being done on the ground. The additional security measures at JKIA for the US bound flights really are something else. Staff excellent. Something great about boarding a flight in New York to a smiling Kenyan cabin crew and flight crew taking you back home. The intra-Africa flights on KQ are extremely expensive (Lusaka - Entebbe was 400 USD), but the Entebbe - New York - is an absolute bargain - sadly (for KQ but amazing for me!), the both flights Ex New York were a third full - leaving a whole row to lie out and rest. The direct flight really deserves to succeed - I had cleared immigration and picked up my bags within 15 minutes of landing, wonderful!

✅ Trip Verified | Johannesburg to Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Food choices poor, no alternative or vegetarian option. Two drink trolleys on an 8 hour flight. My suitcase has been broken during transport. Staff not overly helpful on flight.

✅ Trip Verified | I cannot thank the ground staff of Kenyan Airways at Nairobi Airport enough. As a result of bad paperwork, I found myself stranded on Friday, February 22, 2019, not able to flying to DRC, with no phone, no internet, no entry visa, or hotel, the staff of Kenyan Airways got me settled. Within an hour, my problems were solved and I was on my way to a hotel in downtown Nairobi. It is nice to see that some companies still believe in customer service. The paperwork is sorted out and I will be flying on Kenyan Airways to DRC tomorrow.