Nick Walton finds Kenya Airways needs more than a state-of-the-art aircraft to compete with the world’s leading airlines.
Background
Kenya Airways is one of Africa’s fastest-growing airlines. Based at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the airline was also one of the first to fly the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A member of the Star Alliance, Kenya Airways served more than 53 destinations in 41 countries.
Check-In
We flew into Nairobi on Tanzanian carrier Precision Air after Kenya Airways cancelled our inbound Nairobi flight without notice, leaving us stranded at Kilimanjaro Airport for several hours.
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Once we did arrive in the Kenyan capital, we approached the dedicated business class counter, where we watched a young crew member argue with the passengers before us. Once the passengers had stormed off, the Kenya Airways staff member coolly checked us in, all while gossiping with her colleagues at the next counter. The next guest in line finally lost his cool at her attitude and general lack of interest as we left the check-in area and new yelling began. It was a very curious way to treat premium travellers.
The Lounge
The Pride Lounge at Nairobi Airport is an intimate, modern and well-appointed space located on a mezzanine level. Once you get past more surly and disinterested desk staff (who genuinely looked taken aback when we walked in and offered our boarding passes) you’ll find a well-lit space with lounge suites for approximately 50 guests, a well-structured buffet with hot and cold dishes, a full bar, a dedicated smoking room, international papers, and well-maintained bathrooms.
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Inflight
Kenya Airways operates a new Boeing 787-800 to Bangkok and Hong Kong, a beautiful, cutting-edge aircraft with 30 lie-flat business class seats, each with a 79-inch pitch in a 2-2-2 configuration in two cabins. Seats are very comfortable, even when fully reclined, and feature plenty of storage space, large monitors, in-seat AC and USB connectivity. My only niggle is that they lack privacy compared to the business class products found on many other 787s. Fortunately, the business class was almost empty.
Dining
Staff welcomed guests on board with glasses of Elexium Champagne and stylish amenity kits. Our cabin attendant, Pitchaya, used the 70-minute delay (passengers on another cancelled KQ flight to China were loaded onto our aircraft at the last minute, which then required that we take on additional fuel) to take orders.
For our dinner service, the menu included braised leg of lamb with Lyonnaise potatoes; grilled chicken breast with coconut cream sauce and saffron rice; tagliatelle arrabbiata with courgettes and red pepper; and vegetable curry with jeera rice. This was followed by strawberry mousse and chocolate ganache. The meal was well-cooked and served efficiently, leaving us time to catch some sleep as we crossed the Indian Ocean.
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On Kenya Airways’ west-bound flights, passengers are not required to disembark in Bangkok, and when we arrived in the Thai capital on this east-bound flight, Hong Kong-bound passengers were told to stay put. Approximately 15 minutes after all the Thailand-bound passengers had deplaned, we were suddenly told to collect all belongings and leave the aircraft because the replacement crew were yet to arrive. There was a lot of confusion and mixed messages among staff, who clearly couldn’t wait to leave for their hotel.
We were directed to wait in a remote Air France lounge, which was fine, but this unexpected transit meant that all duty-free brought onboard was confiscated by Bangkok airport security because the complacent crew hadn’t packaged liquids in security-sealed bags, causing anguish among passengers – many of whom were originally on the direct China flight – and who had purchased expensive gifts on the flight and could not understand the problem due to the language barrier.
In the quiet and well-appointed Air France lounge, the first we knew of our re-boarding was a “last call” announcement; approximately 15 of us ran from the lounge to the gate only to find boarding had not yet commenced, causing even more frustration among panting business class passengers.
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The last leg of the flight was uneventful; the new crew was much more charming, but the damage had been done and many passengers left visibly frustrated when we finally arrived in Hong Kong, proving that Kenya Airways will need more than just fancy new aircraft and sleek livery if it really wants to endear itself to premium travellers.
Business class tickets Hong Kong-Nairobi return from US$1,865 per person.
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