Kenya Airways

✅ Trip Verified | Kigali-Bujumbura-Nairobi-Dubai on 31 July 2019 on an old E190 and on a newer B787, respectively. Faultless travels, first flight to NBO via BJM on time, 2nd flight delayed 70 Minutes. Check in KGL was fine but slow. Could not check in my baggage to final destination but at least they could transfer it beyond DXB on another airline, which made me OK. Service onboard fully acceptable, 3 types of small, cold sandwiches on brown bread. Wines of RSA origin, acceptable but not memorable. Transit in NBO smooth, jetbridge deboarding and boarding. Flights were both full in economy cabin, but service inboard was managed well and thoroughly. No IFE on first flight. Detour to BJM very annoying. FAs were fine, nothing too much trouble. Due to delay on 2nd flight they granted me access to the wonderful Pride Lounge in NBO, that was a nice move, and I enjoyed really and filled up my depots. I love this lounge due to its space, curved form, good food, and views of tarmac. Second flight had IFE, good food, and generous drink rounds. I had lamb, 1 of 3 options for hot meal. FAs were in splendid mood – twice I ordered a drink and both times I got one extra “as bonus”. Seats with amble space. Ticket was cheap and provided excellent value for money.

Not Verified | New York to Dar es Saalam via Nairobi. We will never fly this airline again. We flew JFK to Nairobi non-stop on June 29th and returning on July 11th. Firstly, the customer service is unbelievably terrible. Every stewardess was rude, and never helped . They huffed and puffed when you kindly requested something as simple as some water (flight was over 14 1/2 hours). Secondly, they refused to accommodate anyone for seat changes, even when the customer is paying the upcharge. Third, we requested to get skymiles added from this trip and they refuse to give us our credit due to our "class". They are a part of the SkyTeam. We spent extra money on exit row seats and spent a lot of money for the tickets. How are we not getting any mileage credit built up from this. This is probably the number one reason I will never fly with this airline ever again. I am so angry with this. Bathrooms were dirty and never cleaned or restocked. There was several times that I had to walk to the back of the plane to find a stewardess and ask them to put more toilet paper in the bathroom or if there was any way they could clean the urine off the floor in every single one of the bathrooms. We paid for exit seats for the additional leg room and the stewardesses never said anything to the 15 people that decided to congregate in my extra leg room area and stand there conversating for over 2 hrs. I asked them kindly to relocate several times and even said something to the stewardesses several times. Finally, they moved after I had to make them (very frustrating). I didnt pay all this extra money for me not to be able to extend my legs. The only good thing I can say about this airline is they got us from point A to point B.

✅ Trip Verified | Dubai to Kigali via Nairobi on 30th June 2019 on B787-800 and E190, respectively. My ticket was in economy and very cheap. I bid for an upgrade for the 1st leg and it was accepted 2 days before and they reissued ticket. However, due to serious delays by Cathay Pacific entering Dubai (from Saigon and Hong Kong), I realised almost a day before that I would not be able to make my trip from DXB. I cancelled my online check-in’s to avoid No Show, but had to forfeit upgrade and tickets according to fare rules. However, KQ, and in particular the Station Manager in DXB, went the extra mile to still get me on board on the following flight 5 hours later on the same day. This, without reissuing tickets (which were non refundable), without charging me for No Show, without loosing my upgrade, just out of courtesy, empathy and a well explained case from my side. At gate in DXB, I was the last person (had only 40 Minutes for transfer, so got a good morning run!), but KQ issued all my BPs in 2 Minutes during last call. Onboard, spacious cabin, got seat 2C in a nice 2 x 2 x 2 configuration. Flight full except a few seats in business. Good food and kind, attentive FAs. A decent airline respecting classic values and handles “ground situations” or irregularities well. Not the first time they have done small miracles for me. In NBO, I was kindly invited to the KQ Pride lounge that Skyteam uses. Just a courtesy due to my endured inconveniences. Last leg on an E190, I love this aircraft. Dinner and drinks served in a good atmosphere due to fresh FAs. Well done, KQ, outstanding service: I owe you for this one! And my home-travel is still valid. What more could you have done? I cant see it.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew NBO-ADD on an early morning flight KQ400 on 14/6-19. Delayed in NBO 1.5 hour due to technical issues with the aircraft (an old B737-800). On board eventless, and FAs were in a good mood. Aircraft 80% full(?). Drinks fine. Inedible baked snack served. Special meals not provided. Trip was rescheduled by Kenya Airways due to a long term announced cancellation of a leg, which became complicated as I had 6 legs on my entire journey. However, rebooking by KQ was handled well and they gave 2 options. Bus gating in ADD. No IFE. OK trip but no more.

✅ Trip Verified | Johannesburg to Nairobi. Super impressed with Kenya Airways. Bright and airy cabin on the Boeing 737-800, very attentive crew and nothing was too much trouble, food excellent and possibly the best steak I've ever had on board.

✅ 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.