Kenya Airways

✅ Trip Verified | Accra to Dar Es Salaam via Nairobi. We were supposed to be picked up from the airport in Dar Es Salaam by our tour guides and taken straight on a 3-day safari. We booked and paid for our flights with Kenya Airways 2 months ago believing Kenya Airways to be a reliable airline. When we arrived 2 hours prior to our flight to check in, we were told that the flight was full. Despite the fact that we had arrived within the requested time to check in and had paid 2 months prior to the flight, we were kicked off the flight. There were multiple other passengers that also were not able to check in because of too many ticket sales - 1 of them had been able to buy a ticket that same morning online despite there obviously not being any left! We purchased our tickets 2 months ago - how were there still tickets on sale the same morning and yet we, who purchased our tickets 2 whole months ago were kicked off the flight?! This is unacceptable!! Another had arrived 2.5 hour prior to departure and had still been kicked off. He had also purchased his tickets much later than we had! We were out in a hotel for the night with boarding passes printed for the next flight in 24 hours but also with the promise by Kenya Airways staff that early the next day they would try to find an alternative flight to get us to Dar Es Salaam earlier. We were already going to miss our airport pickup, who was taking us straight onto a 3-day safari for which I had already paid $300 US for. We were interrupted during breakfast to rush back to the airport. The staff told us we had been booked onto an Ethiopian Airways flight through Addis Ababa but they did not have flight details to supply us with. They cancelled our tickets for the Kenya Airways flight that night. After a long wait in line, the check-in staff found only 1 ticket, rather than 2. They couldn’t tell us arrival time in Dar Es Salaam but checked in our bags and a long time later gave us boarding passes. On checking them, we discovered our route would now include a 26-hour stopover in Addis. Not only were we leaving a day later than our initial flight, but we would be now be arriving 48 hours later - a whole 24 hours later than if we had gone with the later Kenya Airways flight. On showing the staff at Kenya airways what they had swapped us over to, they then told us the Kenya Airways flight that night was already full and we couldn't fly. Seriously, this was ridiculous. We were made to go back to the hotel and brought back to the airport that evening without any communication as to whether we would even be flying. There was no offer of any compensation for the mess made by Kenya airways - no upgrade, not even an airport lounge, no offer of a partial refund, not even an apology. Instead, we had a completely wasted day with massive amounts of stuffing around by Kenya Airways. None of it was due to anything that we did wrong. ALL of it was because they overbook their flights to make extra money. This airline can't be trusted to get you from A to B.

✅ Trip Verified | On July 2, my wife and I were scheduled to fly Nairobi to London on Kenya Airways, then on to the United States on Delta. I am a US citizen and my wife is a Kenyan citizen with a US permanent resident card (aka "green card"). All went smoothly until the agent checking paperwork at the gate immediately prior to boarding denied boarding to my wife based on the idea a transit visa was required in the UK, when in fact no transit visa is needed for our situation. To make matters worse, when my wife returned to the ticket counter for further assistance (as instructed by the gate agent), she was told there was nothing they could do for her and that she would need to purchase an entirely new ticket. She purchased a one way ticket on another airline for a sizable sum. Of course I immediately filed a complaint with Kenya Airways and insisted on reimbursement. After numerous inquiries into the status of my complaint, and being told an investigation was ongoing, I finally received an email on October 4 in which Kenya Airways admitted the situation was entirely their fault. They offered what amounted to only 20% of the cost of her ticket for compensation. After several more emails back and forth, I've concluded they will never make things right and accepted their offer. It's impossible to argue with an airline headquartered in a developing country with no real consequences for appalling customer service. Their 787 aircraft are nice, but I would stay far away from Kenya Airways. You never know what sort of shenanigans they will pull and there is no way to hold them accountable after the fact.

✅ Trip Verified | On the 10th July we were returning from Cairo to Johannesburg via Nairobi. Flight from Nairobi to Johannesburg was delayed and this resulted in additional costs been incurred by my family. The airline staff were very unhelpful and not interested in the implications caused for us caused by the delay resulting in the subsequent missing of our connecting flight to Port Elizabeth from Johannesburg. The representative merely stated that there was nothing he could do and that we had no recourse since the flight to Port Elizabeth was on a separate ticket and Kenya Airways contractual obligations ended in JHB. At the airport in Nairobi while we were seated on the plane it emerged that the pilot had not arrived for work, in the end Kenya Airways asked a pilot from another airline to fly the plane.

✅ Trip Verified | Johannesburg to Nairobi. This airline lost our luggage for 7 days. Our dream holiday was a disaster. Could not get hold of any of their baggage handling departments in either Johannesburg or Nairobi. Many many emails to customer services all went unreplied. According to hotel staff in Nairobi this is a very regular occurrence. To date, we have had no interaction nor an apology from this airline. Do not fly this airline if you can help it.

✅ Trip Verified | I can only recommend to anyone to avoid this airline. I would even pay a bit more, just to avoid Kenya Airways. First, our flight was canceled and we were given no information as to why. The next one went only 24h later. During this time, they provided us accommodation, but only two meals. When I asked for a third, they declined. When I said that I disagree, they simply said I could file a complaint to their main office. On board, our ordered special meals were missing. Once finally arrived, my bag was missing. They managed at least to get it to my hotel within 24h. When I wanted to introduce compensation claims (for the flight and baggage delays), they sent me from one office to another. Up to this date, the claims are still pending and I am not sure to get any form of compensation for the stress, energy and extra expenses.

Not Verified | On the 30-07-2018 my 2 year old granddaughter and I were on a return flight from Harare to Bristol via Lusaka, Nairobi and Paris. When we arrived in Lusaka (Zambia) we were informed that the plane was technically unfit to fly to Nairobi. This caused an unexpected 6 hour delay in Lusaka. In Lusaka no announcement was given in regards as to what was going to take. As a result of this delay we missed our connecting flight in Nairobi to France which was at 23:00 hrs on the the same day. On arrival in Nairobi the following morning 31-07-2018 we were informed that the next available flight was available causing in fact a further 15 hour delay in our travel. Kenya airways booked us on a flight with KLM to Amsterdam which was a change from Paris to Bristol in our original itinerary. All these delays and changes in our flights was extremely stressful.

✅ Trip Verified | Kigali to London via Nairobi. Lost Luggage I missed a connecting flight to London due to multiple delays. The departure time on the ticket is just a suggestion. I and my friend were on 4 different flights and all the flight were delayed which makes me think the issues with my flight was not an isolated or rare incident. After missing the flight I asked for my luggage, they said they couldn't get it for me but assured me that it would be put on the new (Kenya airways) flight that put me on for the next day. On getting to the airport I confirmed 3 times at different stages with the ground staff and they checked (or pretended to) their computer and confirmed that my luggage was on the flight only to get to Heathrow and find out that it was never put on the flight. Then the nightmare begins, their customer service phone doesn't work, it passes you through a couple of options and then automatically drops the line. Online chat doesn't work. You get intermittent help on twitter even though they are actively retweeting positive stories about the rubbish airline.

✅ Trip Verified | Entebbe to London via Nairobi. Overall a very average experience, with staff generally going through the motions, medicore food, limited drinks and three-star entertainment. Excellent baggage allowance and quick connecting times make this an acceptable option on the Uganda - UK routing if the price is right. My headphone socket was broke on the day time NBO - LHR flight which was really disappointing. No sparkling water available nor Amarula. Duty free items requested not available (and I tried to order in advance which also did not work properly). Totally full flight London - Nairobi departed with a 90 minute delay on the tarmac whilst awaiting ATC issues. Captain welcomed us with a 'Good Morning' (at 7 p.m. this was slightly disconcerting) and gave us very limited information about the delay. Cabin crew went round with water on one side of the cabin - but not on ours. On time arrival into Entebbe and luggage out quickly (reassuring considering the delay in London making the connection tighter than it should have been). A cooked breakfast on either the early morning arrival into Nairobi or the 8 a.m. arrival into Uganda would have been really welcomed. Nairobi still a much better transit airport than Addis, but both carriers way short of the standards set by Qatar Airways, Emirates and KLM which also compete on this route at good prices.

✅ Trip Verified | Johannesburg to Accra via Nairobi. My luggage went missing in Nairobi. Took three days to have my bags arrive in Johannesburg. When I got my luggage zips were broken, locks removed and my some of my stuff were not inside.

✅ Trip Verified | Amsterdam to Cape Town via Nairobi. It took Kenya Airways more than 4 days to cancel the flight I had booked for November 2018, because they found that the price was too cheap. In their app it is still confirmed. I will never fly this airline because they are just not reliable.