Review of Kenya Airways flight Eldoret Nairobi in Economy

Airline Kenya Airways
Flight KQ657
Class Economy
Seat 12A
Aircraft Embraer E-190
Flight time 00:50
Take-off 10 Nov 16, 13:55
Arrival at 10 Nov 16, 14:45
KQ   #46 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 110 reviews
East African
Published on 31st March 2017
Please Mods can you add the airport of Kisumu (KIS) in Kenya ?
Thanks





The entire routing:

1. Air France AF7689, Montpellier – Paris CDG, A320 – Y: no report
2. Air France AF662, Paris CDG – Dubai, B77W – Y: no report
3. RwandAir WB301, Dubai – Kigali, A332 – J: click here
4. RwandAir WB402, Kigali – Nairobi, B737 – J: click here
5. Kenya Airways KQ670, Nairobi – Kisumu, E190 – Y: no report
6. Kenya Airways KQ657, Kisumu – Nairobi, E190 – Y: you are here
7. Kenya Airways KQ608, Nairobi – Mombasa, E190 – Y: no report
8. RwandAir WB301, Mombasa – Kigali, A332 – J: click here
9. RwandAir WB300, Kigali – Dubai, A332 – J: click here
10. Air France AF655, Dubai – Paris CDG, B77W – Y: no report
11. Air France AF7688, Paris CDG – Montpellier, A320 – Y: no report




After 3 nice days here, a 18 min taxi ride dropped me off at the modern looking platform!

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Smoking area far far away
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Upgrade works, expected to end mid 2017, will see the international airport accommodate bigger aircrafts (777 and 747). Despite having only domestic destinations at the moment, new routes linking Entebe, Kigali, Arusha, Mwanza and Juba are also viewed as possible through the airport. On completion it will become the third largest airport in the country.

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Was not expecting SP lane at such remote airfield
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Operators
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The feeder flight from Kisumu with Kenya Airways was a rather simple affair. Unlike NBO and MBA, the compulsory security xray is located inside the terminal to access the CI desks. Once airside, a sign invited "First and Business class" passengers to go upstairs but the area was cordoned off for refurbishment. The lounge should be completed next month! It did not affect my overall judgement as prices were moderate at food outlet where I bought a bottle of mineral water for my pills.



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The jerseys of Kenya's best football teams : Gor Mahia Fc (green) and A.F.C Leopards (white and blue stripes)
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A Kenya Airport Autority staff handed over a survey to fill, before boarding was called without priority for family nor disabled travellers.



A few things could be improved
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The Cabin Crew and check in team dressed in new and unique wear specific for the route.The entire customer facing team at JKIA domestic unit and the Cabin Crew on the Mombasa flights will wear unique polo shirts with a coastal theme to distinguish the Mombasa shuttle from the usual KQ uniform.



Launched in 2010, KQ got a good idea to extend it to the entire domestic network.


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The casual attire on domestic routes
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Prolonging goodbye for more minutes
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KQ ads and a Just For Laugh video showed as IFE
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On Kenya Airways internal routes you get a choice of soft/hot drink and Tusker lager beer!

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Standard offering on a 50 min hop
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Nairobi
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graveyard
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Surprisingly, no birdstrike was reported on that day !
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New T2 serving low cost carriers. (for Avgeeks, do not not miss FlySAX Fokker F-28 reg 5Y-EEE and East African DC-9-10 5Y-XXA while they last)
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Another airworthy DC9 - 5Y-AXP (to Somalia though)
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Never heard about them
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Once landed, visiting the office of the station manager could only confirm the reliability of Pride of Africa concerning my missing luggage. At that moment a familiar face appeared inside the terminal as I was not 100% sure I refrained from greeting this "special" passenger!

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The windowless domestic Simba Lounge, on the small side, is perfectly fine for a 15 to 30 minute wait.


Quite dark lounge Simba Lounge at Terminal 1 Domestic Nairobi
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Capacity limited to 30 seats
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See more

Verdict

Kenya Airways

6.9/10
Cabin6.5
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Meal/catering6.5

Eldoret - EDL

6.6/10
Efficiency6.5
Access7.0
Services5.5
Cleanliness7.5

Nairobi - NBO

6.5/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.0
Services5.5
Cleanliness6.0

Conclusion

KQ:
Cabin well maintenained, and crew friendly (more on the next leg), nice to get IFE screen working, and free in flight snack

Kisumu:
New but not yet completed, even though I did not expect a SP lane, lounge should be ready soon

Nairobi:
Nice to get a domestic lounge the domestic terminal 1D (dedicated to Kenya Airways is small and very easy to use.

Thanks for reading

Related

1 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 392835 by
    Nick 171 Comments
    Thanks for this full report on such a short flight. I agree that Kisumu looks pretty modern and clean, impressive. On the subject of African low cost carriers, have you tried any? I often check Fly540's website but so far their route map hasn't lined up with my trips. I think there's a huge market potential for low cost carriers in Africa. It seems like flights that are only a few routinely cost $500 or $600 in Africa but flights of a similar length in the US would be maybe $150 or $200.

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