Kenya Airways

✅ Verified Review | Johannesburg to Bangkok via Nairobi. Terrible airline - do not book Kenya Airways! We originally booked our Johannesburg to Bangkok tickets via Nairobi because of the short travelling time - there was only a 1-1.5 hour layover in Nairobi each way. Months after booking the ticket, Kenya Airways rescheduled our flights so that there was a 7 hour layover in Nairobi. The 7 hour layover ended up 5 hours longer than expected because the flight to Bangkok was severely delayed (this after our flight to Nairobi had been delayed by 2 hours and used a different aircraft that did not have in flight entertainment). The 5 hour delay severely impacted our plans in Thailand, creating great inconvenience and forcing us to make additional travel arrangement to the island we were staying on, at our own expense. When we raised these concerns with the Kenya Airways service desk at Nairobi airport, we were told that they could not assist us and we had to log a complaint with Kenya Airways customer service. My partner logged a complaint - we have still had no reply to this. We faced the same experience on our return flights - the flight from Bangkok to Nairobi was delayed by 3 hours which meant we missed our connecting flight to Johannesburg and were put on the next flight out - another 7 hour wait at Nairobi airport. Then we were notified that we had been moved to a later flight that evening because a smaller aircraft had to be used. When we eventually arrived back in Johannesburg, my partner's bag had been left in Nairobi. The agent at the Kenya Airways luggage desk told us it would be couriered to us the next morning - it was only delivered at 10pm the next night. Our flights with Kenya Airways ended up being the worst travel experience of any airline - we ended up spending over 20 hours extra at Nairobi airport as well as 5 hours extra at Johannesburg and Bangkok airports due to KQ delays - an entire day of our holiday lost due to their inefficiencies. None of the customer service complaints we have logged have been replied to. We will never fly Kenya Airways again.

✅ Verified Review | A few hours before departing from Johannesburg to Bujumbura via Nairobi, we have been informed that our flight was delayed for 8 hours which caused us to extend our hotel stay and delay our car rental. At airport we are issued with 2 boarding pass (JNB-NBO and NBO-BJM). In Nairobi, we are waiting at our gat to board (flight also delayed for 4 hours). When finally boarding the attendant informed us that this flight doesn't go to Bujumbura anymore but to Kigali. Nobody informed us of the change (despite our visit to the helpdesk to ask information about food and drink voucher which was not given). Calling the operation manager, we have been told that the decision has been made a few hours before our boarding time. Needless to say, we were not given any compensation whatsoever. The flight crew were very nice and aircraft and seats comfortable and that is the reason I give it 3 points in my rating. Kenya Airways won't see me again.

✅ Verified Review | London Heathrow to Cape Town via Nairobi. Flights were as expected (pretty basic economy class) with a 12 hour overnight wait for connection in Nairobi on the return leg which was awful. It was cheap but I would never fly with Kenya Airways again due to their terrible customer service. My fiance left an item (not on display) in the seat pocket in front of her. She realised as soon as she left the plane and staff on board were contacted within 30 minutes of us getting into the terminal. The item had mysteriously disappeared during cleaning. I followed up with their customer service by phone (said they would investigate but never called me back) and then by email. I know it was our fault for leaving the item but I would have expected them to at least be helpful in dealing with our enquiry or show some sympathy or some kind of apology. Instead they said that there was no evidence that I brought the item onboard therefore they could not do anything to help, no form that I could fill in for lost items, no documentation for an insurance claim, just a short, rude reply from their customer services which made me think that this was not the first time that this had happened and that I should make other potential Kenya Airways customers aware of this - if you leave something of value on the plane in Nairobi, don't expect to get it back.

✅ Verified Review | Lusaka to Bangkok via Nairobi. The initial Kenya Airways flight from Lusaka to Nairobi was delayed, and I was told that the connecting flight would be delayed by 2 hours which ensured connection time for the connecting flight. Upon arriving in Nairobi I was informed that the connecting flight KQ886 would not depart Nairobi at 02:00am, but it would depart at 09:00am. Again this KQ886 flight has been delayed, I am now told that this flight will not be available for 4 days and I will have to wait in Nairobi. I am now informed by the airline customer service personnel that the flight will depart on December 30th at 11:59pm. At this point I have no idea if I will be on this flight, if this flight even exists. I am so upset by the poor service and rude customer service personnel. To make matters worse I have other travel arrangements and bookings that have to be rescheduled, some of which are non-refundable, ground transportation changes to be made and no idea at all from Kenya Airways management and customer service personnel when I will arrive at my destination. I have spoked to several customer service personnel and airline supervisors and managers, all of which provide different excuses for the airlines disfunctionality and various excuses as to why the flight is delayed and when it will be rescheduled. What a terrible, terrible experience. I cannot believe that there is such disfunctionality with in this international airline, the lack of customer support and the over all disrespect for its customers.

✅ Verified Review | Johannesburg to Zanzibar via Nairobi. Worst airline that I have encountered. Flight from Johannesburg to Nairobi delayed by 1.5 hours. We ended up flying at 3am. No drinks were offered prior to the descent which was at about 8 am. About 20 of us missed our connecting flight to Zanzibar, because only 1 hour had been allowed between flights. Others missed flights to Kilimanjaro. Kenya Airways provided a hotel in a terrible area for our 10 hour layover. There was nothing to do near the hotel and most of us missed a full day at expensive resort accommodation in Zanzibar. We would only reach our hotels at around 10 pm.

✅ Verified Review | Johannesburg to Bangkok via Nairobi. Terrible Experience with Kenya Airways losing my baggage and not being able to assist in any way to track the baggage. Very poor assistance when calling the helpdesk in Kenya, and staff kept putting me hold with no answers. I would not recommend flying Kenya Airways if you are having to relocate and need your check in luggage urgently.

Four short flight with Kenya Airways, two on time and two delayed by 45 odd minutes. All fairly comfortable, notably the E190. Poor breakfast on the "red eye" from Lilongwe to Nairobi, small snack on the 40 minute leg to and from Mombasa, and reasonable lunch with wine on the return to Lilongwe from Nairobi. Ground staff and flight crew were reasonable efficient and friendly, given the short flights. Award flights, so good value.

Johannesburg to Antananarivo via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Generally positive experience with KQ on 4 sectors. Dreamliner is excellent and the E190 also has personal TV screens (one sector they were not functional). Food sometimes excellent (chicken and beef), sometimes really bad (fish and vegetarian). Cabin crew consistently excellent, and beverage services generous. KQ offers 2 x 23kg bags to Madagascar (unlike all their competitors flying the route) but the KQ agents admitted the smaller planes that use the route (E190) cannot cope with the loads when the flight is full (which ours were) which resulted in ours and many others bags not making it from NBO - although it followed the following day. We were disappointed that they were not able to deliver to our hotel we had to return back to the airport and wait for hours for the bags to be released. Last flight NBO - JNB involved flying through an electrical storm for a full 30 minutes in the middle of the night. The crew handled it brilliantly.

Amsterdam to Lilongwe via Nairobi. Boarding was smooth, with the gate open for nearly an hour and manned by KLM staff. The extra leg room seat was fairly comfortable but narrow. Drinks and a pretty minimal meal were served by friendly crew. I slept through breakfast, but missed little, as it really was small. Departure on time and arrival early. Flight was full, The second shorter flight to Lilongwe was in an E190, and was more pleasant with a cooked breakfast and more space.

✅ Verified Review | London Heathrow to Lusaka via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Outward Boeing 787, full aircraft, seats narrow and not much room to move, particularly in terms of width. On time departure, cabin clean and cabin attendants efficient. Food was average with a choice. Landed on time at Nairobi, then off again to Lusaka, again on time, Embraer 190. Leather seats, but seen some wear. Plane fairly full, snack served on short flight. Return flight from Lusaka - this time via Harare to pick up more passengers - had to stay on the plane (Embraer 190) while cabin was cleaned. Return flight was late, as was departure from Harare back to Nairobi but enough time to connect with Boeing 787 to London. Again food was average, Cabin crew were OK but rather expressionless. Dreamliner is not a comfortable plane and the tinted windows were irritating, as the centre seats were virtually dark when window passengers used the dark tint and I could hardly see my food. Although a newish aircraft, seat pocket was torn and plane looked grubby. Arrival at Heathrow was a little late. Overall impression was satisfactory in that this type of airline does its best to survive amongst the bigger ones.