Kenya Airways

...and one of them is Kenya Airways. "The Pride of Africa", they call themselves. They are generally well regarded, their image is friendly and they are also endorsed by a leading European airline - they are affiliated to KLM.

I was looking forward to trying them out, flying from Dubai to Nairobi. Unfortunately my flight was an overnight flight - well, departing at 2.30am and arriving at around 6.30am - so I wasn't sure how ...
...was served very quickly. The Kenya Airways check in supervisor was busy dealing with a couple of people protesting at paying excess baggage, but the Dubai Airport person checking me in got me the window seat I wanted. It was all done quickly, pleasantly, and I was off on my way, leaving the people protesting how unfair it is to be charged excess baggage.


Boarding
I used the Diners lounge at the airport and arrived ... more

Airlines from Africa don't exactly have a good reputation. There are certainly a lot who don't do much to help their image - irregular schedules, sullen staff, tatty planes, delays and worse.

Amongst these there are a few who do seem to have a much better reputation, and one of them is Kenya Airways. "The Pride of Africa", they call themselves. They are generally well regarded, their image is friendly and they are also endorsed by a leading European airline - they are affiliated to KLM.

I was looking forward to trying them out, flying from Dubai to Nairobi. Unfortunately my flight was an overnight flight - well, departing at 2.30am and arriving at around 6.30am - so I wasn't sure how much I would actually get to experience, and I really just wanted to get a good night's kip!

Check In
Dubai airport has a habit of announcing check in closing one hour before departure (perhaps to get people through to the duty free). However, when I arrived at 1am for a 2.30 departure, and saw the sign "Check in closing", it took me aback!

I was travelling business class; there was only a queue of one at the desk so I was served very quickly. The Kenya Airways check in supervisor was busy dealing with a couple of people protesting at paying excess baggage, but the Dubai Airport person checking me in got me the window seat I wanted. It was all done quickly, pleasantly, and I was off on my way, leaving the people protesting how unfair it is to be charged excess baggage.

Boarding
I used the Diners lounge at the airport and arrived at the gate on time. The gate agent was smart and pleasant, I got a smile and a warm welcome. They started boarding punctually. As is usual in Dubai there was no priority boarding, it was everyone for themself, but that really is the fault of Dubai airport handling, not the airline.

Cabin and ambience
I was travelling in Business Class on a wide-body Boeing 767 aircraft. As I boarded, it appeared to be clean and well looked after.

The ambience was slightly subdued, thankfully as I don't really do "cheerful" at 2am unless there are at least ten vodka shots inside me. It was nice, though; the decor was in warm colours and the music playing was modern African tribal. I got the feeling that on a daylight flight the mood would be more upbeat!

I stuck my bag in the overhead locker which was a bit on the small side - my standard airline wheel bag barely fit in. Anyone with a lot of cabin baggage would have difficulty finding space for it. Anyone else trying to get their bag into the locker over row 3 would have problems too. As it turned out, a few minutes later a family came on rather loudly and began trying to reorganise not just their seating but other people's too. They looked middle eastern but the woman spoke with a strong American accent, and "assertively" told the crew that they would try moving seats, as "you don't want someone else to sit with my kids". I ended up being asked to move to 5A, one of the single window seats with meant nobody next to me, child or adult, so I obliged. The husband thanked me for moving but the wife just stared at me as I pulled my stuff out of the locker and didn't even have the manners to say thanks, instead she went back to bossing the crew around, this time instructing a stewardess to adjust the airconditioning vent over her seat - she couldn't be bothered to reach up and do it herself.

Seats and comfort
The seats in Business Class were laid out two on each side, with one in the middle (2-1-2), except for the last row where there was just one seat on each side.

The seat didn't look like much but turned out to be very comfortable. The legroom was quite generous and it was quite well cusioned with a comfortable armrest. The best surprise, though, was when I put the seat back after take off, it went back almost completely flat. The legrest came up horizontal and the seat back went down to be just about flat. My feet did touch the back of the seat in front but not uncomfortably so, I could still stretch out. There's not many airlines whose business class seats go flat! It was very comfortable and I was able to get several hours' good sleep.

The only criticism of the seat was that the legrest was padded and comfortable but the footrest at the end was a bit hard on the ankles.

There was a blanket on each seat, which was quite nice and warm. Everyone was given a washbag which looked and felt a bit plastic and cheap but contained a toothbrush and toothpaste, folding hairbrush, Rochas moisturiser and cologne, a mint, socks and eyeshade.

Service
The business class cabin was almost full but there were three cabin crew looking after us - one gentleman Purser who was in charge and two stewardesses.

The Purser was smart, polite, welcoming and kept things fairly well organised. He did seem a little taken aback when the woman with the kids started telling him what to do but otherwise he was very pleasant.

The two stewardesses were both pleasant, efficient and friendly; one was particularly warm, cheerful and helpful and made everyone feel special and looked after.

The flight departed 25 minutes late but the captain kept us informed of the reason for the delay (loading cargo) and everyone was apologetic.

Food and Drink
We were offered a drink before take off - water, juice or champagne. There was also a choice of newspapers, either from Dubai or from Kenya.

After takeoff there was another round of drinks, then they turned off the lights and let everyone sleep. This was a nice change - most airlines seem determined to serve a meal straight after take off, even if it is 3am. Instead, Kenya Airways do the sensible thing and serve drinks, then they woke us up an hour and a half before arrival for breakfast.

They woke us with glass of orange juice, followed by the breakfast tray. breakfast was a bowl of fresh fruit, a choice of bread rolls and croissants, and a hot plate of either an egg pancake with sausage and tomato, or an Indian hot breakfast. This was followed with yoghurt and, of course, plenty of tea and coffee. The choice was a bit limited, and the portions a bit small, but it was enough.

Entertainment
This was one area where they let themselves down. Most airlines now have seatback video - certainly in business class - but Kenya Airways still have a single movie shown on a screen at the front of the cabin.

The movie selection is up to date - Pirates of the Caribbean, Runs in the Family, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - and the headphones were the more comfortable type, but having a film on the big screen looks so...so...dated now!

What was nice, though, was that I decided to read for twenty minutes with my drink before going to sleep. I was about the only one awake so the stewardess came and asked me which movie I wanted to watch, as she would put on whichever one I wanted to see!

The airline magazine was also a little basic. There were some interesting, but brief, articles about wildlife and safaris, which were written in a rather amateur style.

Summary
Overall I was rather impressed by Kenya Airways. The aircraft was modern and clean, the business class seat was very comfortable and went almost completely flat to give a good night's sleep. The food, while slightly small portions, was fresh and tasty and was served at a sensible time. The crew were pleasant, cheerful and friendly and tried hard to please. The only negative comments would be about the small overhead lockers and the dated movie system.

Overall a good flight, I will certainly use them again. It could be as soon as next month!

Kenya Airways are based in Nairobi, Kenya, and their network covers most of Central and Southern Africa. In Europe they serve London and Amsterdam, and in the Far East Hong Kong and Bangkok. Other destinations include Cairo, Dubai, Bombay and the Seychelles.
 

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