Kenya Airways

CDG-NBO-EBB and EBB-NBO-AMS. First flight was an hour late in departing IFE had a horrible crackle only 5 movies on the 767-300 one of which they only showed half of. Food was ok school dinner like really only got a lunch meal (pasta followed by chicken curry and apple pie) dinner was a tuna roll which is not a dinner considering the flight was landing at 9pm and 9 hrs long. Seats were uncomfortable material very lose and faded. NBO-EBB was a brand new Embraer 190 excellent comfort leather seats steak and cheese roll much better same on the return leg but got a continental breakfast. NBO-AMS was a 777-200er similarly poor condition but had new IFE 20+ movies but some didn't work. My IFE worked on the my side of the plane (seat fghj) the other side (a-e) were all broken meals again were poor. Won't be flying again KLM BA or Emirates next time.

Outbound: YYZ-JNB via AMS and NBO. Inbound: JNB-YYZ via NBO and AMS. Flew KLM on YYZ-AMS on an old soon to be retired mighty MD-11 but the cabin looked new. Flight on time. No PTVs in Business Class but I slept almost the entire flight. Service was great. Had an 8 hour layover in Amsterdam. Nightmare began when boarding the AMS-NBO flight. Plane was a moderate Boeing 777-200ER. Garbage all over the floor no PTVs seats that can't recline for standard Business Class and some broken tray tables. Left an hour late. The food for Business Class looked like plastic and it somewhat tasted like plastic. Arrived 15 minutes late the next morning. Nairobi's airport was in very poor shape. NBO-JNB - Luckily it was the gate next to where I arrived. Flight was operated by an old Boeing 737-700. Seats better than AMS-NBO flight cabin clean but some tray tables were missing. Flight delayed because of morning traffic congestion. Flight attendants very polite. Arrived later than scheduled. On the return the JNB-NBO flight wasn't delayed but the Boeing 737-700 was awful. The next day we board at around 8am but the plane wasn't even at the gate. A replacement airplane a very poor looking Boeing 767-300ER was towed to the gate at 9.00. Boarded at 9.45 and left at 10.15. Served the worst breakfast and lunch. Arrived an hour late in Amsterdam. Had a 5 hour layover waiting to travel with KLM. Aircraft was a new Airbus A330-200. On time flight even arrived earlier in Toronto. Business class cabin was great. No PTVs though. This will be the first and last time I will fly Kenya Airways.

JNB-NBO in a 737. Plane arrived late took off late. Seating on the 737 a bit cramped for a flight of this distance. Served a late lunch fair quality. No IFE. No magazine in my seat pocket. Did not enjoy this trip. Nairobi airport 5 hour layover. Very poor airport to spend time in. Dark and gloomy. No seats to lie down in. Big Big wait to get food at the poor restaurant/snack place. Cold chicken pie could only manage a bit of it. You cannot even watch the planes arriving and leaving. Avoid NBO if longer than 1 hour. NBO-LHR on 777. OK economy fair. IFE very hard to work out and not a good choice. Dinner - fair at best. Breakfast before arrival very poor. Hard to get a second cup of coffee. Compares well to "Ryanair".

ADD-NBO-ADD. Both flights on time. Easy check in. Wonderful new aircraft the Embraer 190 lifts the whole experience above almost all medium haul flights in my entire life. I volunteered to downgrade on the ADD-NBO leg as the flight was sold out and I was only stand-by despite having a booking. However the ticket was issued for the following morning and I had the choice either to downgrade or to wait. But even the economy class was a very good experience despite being full: lots of food (2 food options + vegetarian) constant refill of drinks and the aircraft completely clean and staff observant and kind and quick. Not denied anything. On the way back same excellent service even the tax-free worked well. Very detailed enjoyable and interesting info from captain on both legs the entire cockpit staff was introduced and likewise the chief purser. Nice seats spacious with power-outlets. A great experience. IFE seemed not working but who cares?

They have repeatedly failed to deliver service befitting their alleged title as "The Pride of Africa". Sydney to Nairobi via Bangkok in April and December 2012 and the experience was appalling. KQ took over from BKK and FAs were very rude dismissive and rolled their eyes at simple and polite requests for essentials such as a blanket and water. When my first blanket request was ignored I pushed the FA button only for a passing FA to turn it off harshly and storm off while I was trying to explain what I needed. Eventually I gave up. There was no entertainment although this was a 15 or so hour flight! The seats were really uncomfortable and bathrooms were disgusting but I have to say the food was the only highlight. Never flying KQ again though.

Flew from FBM to HKG it was pretty old 767 aircraft. Half of the entertainment system didn't work. Always afraid of whether the baggage will arrive or not. Uncomfortable seats. One of the flight attendant behaviour flying out was very impolite.

Great overnight flight from LHR to Nairobi. On time. Delightful service. Good food. Generous with drinks. Only issue was shortish time between dinner and breakfast. Connection to Entebbe smooth. On time. New plane. Same quality of service. Baggage arrived. Absolutely no complaints.

Nairobi to Bangkok. It was an overnight flight that was continuing to Guangzhou. An older aircraft entertainment system didn't work food was inedible. The staff however were delightful. Cheap tickets that got us to our destination - would definitely pay more in the future to avoid such an unpleasant experience.

LHR-NBO-NDA Flew 17 Dec. Boarding was quick and efficient. Flight was delayed leaving Heathrow due to baggage needing to be taken off the plane because of no passengers. An understandable security measure and the pilot entertained us with his flight plan. Food was good and staff were friendly and attentive. Landed on time in Nairobi. Second leg to Ndola was uncomfortable. Seated in emergency exit aisle with very straight seat unable to recline. Seat slipped forward so the metal was exposed. Return leg via Nairobi was good. Seat for Nairobi to London was broken so would not stay reclined. IFE was good both ways as was all food and drink served.

We travelled for the first time with Kenyan Airways and found staff very friendly and helpful. The food on board was adequate and hot. The seats were not very comfortable seat pitch poor and not much room. The return trip was on a newer aircraft I think and the onboard entertainment system worked fine.