KQ101

A Kenya Airways Odyssey: A Review of a Dreamliner Flight

My overnight flight from Atlanta arrived sometime just after dawn and I had around ten hours to fill before today’s flight. Rather than lounge around at the airport, I decided to take advantage of the time in London. For US citizens, no visa is required and entry was a breeze. Having checked traffic times to get from the airport to downtown, I wasn’t looking forward to spending 45 minutes in a car both directions, and luckily, I found a solution at the airport. Once through passport control, there are a number of signs directing you to London Underground, where you can catch the Heathrow Express. This train runs every 15 minutes and goes nonstop between Heathrow and Paddington station. The journey takes just 15 minutes, and will set you back 15 pounds.

Check-in was simple and I was quickly waiting in security, where I experienced a much more organized and polite international security screening than what you’ll find in the states. After making it airside, it was time to explore. If you’re interested in what this terminal looks like, or a number of other airports from around the world, check out my rollaboard diaries series. The heat of the viewing platform got the best of me and I retreated back to the main level where I found a lounge. I really wanted a shower after my day of exploring, but it seems like more and more frequently my Priority Pass is not accepted because the lounge is “too busy” and only accepting premium passengers. There is one lounge in terminal 4 that accepts Priority Pass all-day, and that is the Blush Lounge. I honestly wasn’t expecting much, something along the lines of “The Club ATL”, but I was pleasantly surprised. The lounge is on the smaller side, but it is nicely decorated, there is an acceptable variety of food, and of course the all important coffee machine. Ooh, and Biscoff. One thing this lounge lacks is restroom within the lounge walls, so you’ll need to exit the lounge and make a left to access the main terminal bathrooms.

As the boarding time approached, I made my way to the gate. Today’s gate is on an extension to terminal 4, which takes a solid 10-15 minutes to walk to. Make sure you make all your planned snack and entertainment purchases in the main section of Terminal 4, because there is nothing available once you make it over the bridge. As boarding commenced and before joining the organized chaos that boarding today’s flight was, let’s take a look at tonight’s flight. Our aircraft is 5Y-KZA, delivered brand new to Kenya Airways in May, 2014. This aircrafts name is “The Great Rift Valley”. Have you ever heard of Rift Valley Fever? It was first reported in the early 1900s in the Rift Valley of Kenya.

Rift Valley Fever, or RVF, is transmitted by mosquitoes. While most people who become infected experience no symptoms or mild illness, the virus can cause hemorrhagic fever syndrome or meningoencaphalitis in less than 2% of cases. The real threat from RVF is to livestock where the virus can cause much greater havoc.

Games in IFE didn’t work, no shopping available in IFE.

Our 9 hours and 26 minutes flight will cover a distance of 6,800 km or 4,250 mi.

Kenya Airways Dreamliners are configured in a two-class layout. After entering through door L2, two lavatories in the entrance galley separate18 lie-flat business class seats in the forward cabin, from the remaining 12 business class seats in a smaller cabin just in front of the wing. The rest of the cabin is divided into two sections configured in an all-economy class layout with 204 seats. The first three rows of the economy class section are designated as “Economy Comfort” seats, which provide slightly increased seat pitch compared to standard economy. When booking a flight with KQ, seat selection is not straightforward., especially if it was booked via a codeshare. I’ll talk a little bit more about seat selection later. Set on top of each seat are a standard pillow and blanket.

Having reached my seat, one of the first things I noticed was the warn button for the dimmable window. While this technology is unique, generally works as intended, and provides the flight crew with dictator-like authority over whether or not you can see out the window, I tend to prefer the traditional, manual window shade that never seems to slide up or down in a smooth manner. 

Having spoken with a few people from Kenya, one of the frequent comments I heard about KQ is punctuality, and this afternoons flight was delayed for around 45 minutes. The pilot did inform the passengers that ATC had delayed push-back time to properly space the lot of heavy departures from Heathrow in the afternoon, so I can’t attribute this delay directly to KQ. I was luckily in a window seat facing the runway being actively used for arrivals, so there were plenty of aircraft I was able to spot that I don’t see on a regular basis. Eventually the safety video was played and we were beginning our pushback, engine startup, and long taxi over to the active.

Now that we’re airborne and I’ve had some time to thoroughly investigate the seat, let’s take a closer look. As previously mentioned, economy class on KQs Dreamliners is in a standard 3x3x3 configuration. The color palette KQ used for their Dreamliner is a mix of earthy tones, perhaps referencing the expansive savannah some of their passengers are expecting to travel to when arriving in Kenya. While the symbol over the dimmable window switch is warn off, there are multiple stickers to look at on the seat back in front of me.

Below the no smoking sticker are two additional safety-related stickers notifying me that my seat cushion can be used as a flotation device and that the seat belt can be properly assembled by pushing the smaller metal end towards the larger metal end. A wired remote for the IFE is provided for those who have T-rex arms. A fourth sticker on the right-hand side directs passengers to stow handsets during takeoff and landing. I didn’t realize until performing a search online that handset most likely refers to the remote control directly adjacent to the sticker and not the phone I’m holding in my hand. I can’t be the only one assuming handset refers to cell phone, right?

Legroom is adequate; I am 6’4 or 1.93 meters and survived the south-bound journey. Like 99% of tray tables, this one can be released from the seat in front of you by rotating the lever. After gravity pulls the tray downwards, it can be used folded in half with a cup holder, or entirely unfolded to hold the magazines that were in the seat-back pocket. One important note is that this tray table cannot be moved closer to your body. To get acquainted with what’s going on in Kenya, you can read the narrative-style magazine msafiri, or if you have money burning a hole in your wallet, browse the duty free shopping magazine.

All seats feature an IFE, and lucky me, I found another airline with a modern aircraft that is using resistive touch screens. As you can see, the sensitivity of these screens is dramatically reduced compared to a modern capacitative touchscreen that you’re probably carrying around in your pocket. Sure, it could be the age of the screens, but they’re actually in pretty decent cosmetic condition, so I’d tend towards blaming the technology of the screen. If you wanted to get more information about your seat than what you could gather using your own senses, you can read about where you are sitting for the journey. Sarcasm aside, I have noticed other airlines include the actual seat model anywhere in their IFE or on-board media. Do you know of an airline that does so?

With respect to entertainment, the IFE is OK. It’s definitely better than nothing, but it’s not going to keep everyone entertained during the flight. The first thing I always check out on a new airline is the flight map and, well, it was quite disappointing. I’m not sure how many passengers utilize the audio section, but if you are one who does, don’t depend on KQ for a large selection. Same goes for TV shows, where a total of 37 options exist. The movie catalogue is more extensive with just over 100 options to choose from. All-in-all, I’d do my best to plan on sleeping on a flight with KQ in the future, or bring my own entertainment.

Dinner was rolling down the aisle and I was excited to see what kind of dishes Kenya airways had on order.

Clearly I forgot to make any post-consumption comments on the desert. From what I can remember, it was a very light and airy, slightly sweet cake. Unfortunately, I can’t remember any more specifics about the taste.

Both meals passed my three requirements.

I think it has become obvious that the lack of sleep I experienced during this trip had started to disrupt my cognition, so I didn’t have much else to report on just before touch down or after arriving. In fact, I ended up going through security, skipping passport control, without picking up my checked bag. I ended up being told by a security guard to simply walk through the mob of people queuing up to remove their shoes and screen their bags, just as I had done in order to collect my checked bag and correctly enter the country.

Let’s talk about KQ though. In terms of cost, Kenya Airways international routes weren’t all that pricey. This particular one way ticket costs an average of 700-1000 USD, meaning it’s between 16-24 cents per mile in economy. British Airways is the only other carrier offering non-stop service to Kenya’s capital, and when checking, prices were competitive. For some odd reason, I had conjured up the idea that flight attendants and KQ crew would making flying with KQ unforgettably unique and culturally inspiring. After the flight deck introduced themselves over the PA and the emergency safety video was played, the remainder of the flight felt like most other flights I’ve been on. Maybe I had set my expectations too high, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think the country’s flag carrier could do a little more to boost the in-flight experience to match the larger than life adventures citizens from around the world travel to Kenya for.

Perhaps I’m being too critical and not acknowledging the airlines progress. I mentioned earlier that I had spoken with some Kenyan’s about the airline, and many of them have great pride for the country and the airline itself. As a first-time customer, I boarded the aircraft as a blank slate.

However, as a flyer with loyalty to the SkyTeam alliance, certain expectations for my onboard experience have developed. Comparing KQ to other SkyTeam partners like Delta, LATAM, or Air France doesn’t seem fair, however. I’m not trying to say Kenya Airways is the forgotten step-sibling of the alliance, but comparatively speaking, the airline doesn’t have the resources or reputation of the aforementioned three companies that have been fostered for almost a century. In fact, 1977 marks the first year of KQ service nearly a half century after some founding SkyTeam members began flying. 

Before I would consider KQ as an equal-standing member of the SkyTeam alliance, here are a few of my critiques as the airlines currently stands. For starters, we live in a time where most people book flights online. Even though some countries still provide ticketing offices, including Kenya, being able to easily book and manage flights via an online portal is a necessity for an airline looking to compete on a global scale. An intuitive and functional website is the minimum standard, while including applications for mobile phone users would be the next step. KQ has a website and phone applications, but neither functioned as well as other major airlines. Selecting a seat was confusing, and when trying to adjust my booking, both the website and phone app were clunky, slow, and multiple links appeared to be broken. Don’t let the first impression of the airline be ruined by a poorly coded website or app. Secondly, how a customer perceives an airline can be greatly influenced by their experience with staff off the aircraft. From check-in agents to gate agents, these interactions should be positive and engaging, especially when things are running smoothly. On a related note, I didn’t find the flight crew customer focused. The tasks they were required to complete throughout the flight were done, but it was clear they were “working”. Finally, I’ve contacted Kenya Airways on two separate emails concerning an item I left on a flight. It has now been more than three weeks since sending the last email and I have not received a response. I accept full responsibility for leaving my toiletry bag on the aircraft, but the airline should monitor a publicly advertised email address and respond to customer inquiries in a timely fashion.

As airline travel continues to recover and exceed pre-pandemic levels, I’d expect to see KQ do well in the coming years. Because of the vast planes of natural beauty and wildlife, a large chunk of Kenya’s GDP relies on tourism, which since the pandemic has significantly picked up. Right now, the airline is somewhat restricted on expansion, due to limited aircraft. Ironically, the CEO of KQ recently announced plans to increase the airlines fleet over the next five years, as well as the number of destinations.

Let me know your thoughts on Kenya Airways and whether or not you’ve flown with them. As always, thanks for watching, C’ya.