Kenya Airways Trip Report 2013
To end my series of Skyteam airlines trip report, I am going to fly a new airline called Kenya Airways. Let’s be honest! Kenya is not on my list of country to visit and not sure if I am willing to risk flying a long haul on Kenya Airways (I possibly will go with Emirates and other Middle East airlines). Kenya Airways currently alternates between Hong Kong and Guangzhou on the continued leg of its Nairobi to Bangkok flight. Due to its very attractive business class price and the perfect coordination of my schedule need, I manage to catch this KY flight back to Hong Kong. Honestly I don’t have any expectation but to be able to fly a new airline on this trip. (BTW, Delta is also going to devalue the earning rates on KY beginning March 1, 2013 as well, and you don’t earn elite bonus miles on KY too. Delta really needs to clarify these issues and I can’t help to feel that Skyteam is a just promotional slogan with no obvious benefit. Delta in realty does not want you to fly any of its Sktyeam members in regular basis.)
February 24, 2013
KQ 860 BKK-HKG Lv1410 Arr1750 Boeing 777-200ER 5Y-KQU
Booking:
I booked my ticket on Kenya Airways’ website and the booking process went fine. However, you could not select seat on its website, and I ended up emailing KY, but to give KY credit, I got a response within a day or so and my request for a bulkhead window seat was honored.
Check-in:
I obviously did not use its regular check-in desks, but its transit desks did not open till two hours prior to departure (in paper), but in reality, KQ never opens its transit desk for this onward flight. You are requested to head to the gate that they used on the day of (F5 for today’s flight) to get a boarding pass. In the end, I just asked the staffs at the International Sky lounge to contact gate F5, and Kenya Airways has to send someone to give me my boarding pass. As a premium passenger, I just don’t think I should have to go all the way to the gate to get a boarding pass, and then walk back to the lounge. It was honestly a very disappointing performance. In theory, there is also a self-service check-in machine but I tried many times to no use. They just can’t find my reservation.
Lounge:
Kenya Airways uses the International Sky Lounge (basically a joint Air France/KLM/Korean Air lounge), and my previous experience with this lounge is not great. Despite flying business class, the staffs will not let me enter the lounge without an invitation. Thankfully I have my Delta Diamond Medallion card, and they let me wait in the lounge for the transit desk to be opened. However, this shows how these airline staffs are poorly trained.
Here are a number of pictures of the lounge, which has a cosmetic improvement:
The best improvement is the availability of hot food, including hot soup and dim sum including bread buns, steamed dumplings and canapés.
To end my series of Skyteam airlines trip report, I am going to fly a new airline called Kenya Airways. Let’s be honest! Kenya is not on my list of country to visit and not sure if I am willing to risk flying a long haul on Kenya Airways (I possibly will go with Emirates and other Middle East airlines). Kenya Airways currently alternates between Hong Kong and Guangzhou on the continued leg of its Nairobi to Bangkok flight. Due to its very attractive business class price and the perfect coordination of my schedule need, I manage to catch this KY flight back to Hong Kong. Honestly I don’t have any expectation but to be able to fly a new airline on this trip. (BTW, Delta is also going to devalue the earning rates on KY beginning March 1, 2013 as well, and you don’t earn elite bonus miles on KY too. Delta really needs to clarify these issues and I can’t help to feel that Skyteam is a just promotional slogan with no obvious benefit. Delta in realty does not want you to fly any of its Sktyeam members in regular basis.)
February 24, 2013
KQ 860 BKK-HKG Lv1410 Arr1750 Boeing 777-200ER 5Y-KQU
Booking:
I booked my ticket on Kenya Airways’ website and the booking process went fine. However, you could not select seat on its website, and I ended up emailing KY, but to give KY credit, I got a response within a day or so and my request for a bulkhead window seat was honored.
Check-in:
I obviously did not use its regular check-in desks, but its transit desks did not open till two hours prior to departure (in paper), but in reality, KQ never opens its transit desk for this onward flight. You are requested to head to the gate that they used on the day of (F5 for today’s flight) to get a boarding pass. In the end, I just asked the staffs at the International Sky lounge to contact gate F5, and Kenya Airways has to send someone to give me my boarding pass. As a premium passenger, I just don’t think I should have to go all the way to the gate to get a boarding pass, and then walk back to the lounge. It was honestly a very disappointing performance. In theory, there is also a self-service check-in machine but I tried many times to no use. They just can’t find my reservation.
Lounge:
Kenya Airways uses the International Sky Lounge (basically a joint Air France/KLM/Korean Air lounge), and my previous experience with this lounge is not great. Despite flying business class, the staffs will not let me enter the lounge without an invitation. Thankfully I have my Delta Diamond Medallion card, and they let me wait in the lounge for the transit desk to be opened. However, this shows how these airline staffs are poorly trained.
Here are a number of pictures of the lounge, which has a cosmetic improvement:
The best improvement is the availability of hot food, including hot soup and dim sum including bread buns, steamed dumplings and canapés.
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