Once we had booked international flights to Zanzibar and back from Johannesburg, our original intention had been to stay in Zanzibar for a week (two different locations) before going to Giraffe Manor after a stay at And Beyond Mnemba, then onward to Mozambique with And Beyond too. As it turned out however, we couldn’t (initially) get booked for either And Beyond property, so I changed things around such that we would travel to Mauritius for Christmas, still initially going to Zanzibar and finishing up in Johannesburg for New Year.

On checking flights from Zanzibar to Mauritius, the most direct and obvious choice was Kenya Airways via Nairobi, where there was a business class service on both. The flight to Nairobi was just over an hour, just over an hour layover, with the onward flight to Port Louis (Mauritius – MRU) taking 4hr 20mins with an additional hour time change.

I must confess Kenya Airways wasn’t the highest on my list of ‘Must Fly’ airlines (to be fair wasn’t on the list at all), however initial impressions have been great. You can find out more at the end of this blog of my overall impression.

Index

1. Pre-trip / Booking

2. Departure

3. Check-In

4. Airport Lounges

5. Boarding the Flight

6. In Flight

   1. Welcome

   2. The Seat

   3. Food and Drink

   4. IFE (In Flight Entertainment)

   5. On Board WiFi

7. ThePrivateTraveller’s absolute highlights

8. ThePrivateTraveller’s top tips (any areas for improvement?)

9. Would I fly Kenya Airways again?

10. My Final Thoughts on the Flight

Pre-trip & Booking

As above, it was really easy to be able to search out this connection from Zanzibar to Mauritius, but it wouldn’t let me book direct on their website. I therefore booked with Booking.com and all confirmations came in quickly, with no schedule changes whatsoever. I was able to add the booking into My Trips on the Kenya Airways app (which was good) and keep track of the booking that way. There was a message about having to reconfirm flights within 72 hours (a blast from the past) and although there was a link on the app, this went to a defunct page for advice. I therefore contacted the airline through WhatsApp to do this, and while you maybe had to wait a while to get connected to an agent, this was sorted.

Although the app was telling me I could check in online within 48 hours, while it did let me do this but not issue any boarding pass (message to collect at the airport), within about a day I was able to go back and download passes into Apple Wallet.

Departure

Leaving from Xanadu Villas early morning, we arrived at Terminal 3 of Abeid Amani Karume International Airport in Zanzibar within about an hour, there was very little traffic being Christmas Eve. It was a decent airport, there was a departure form to fill out, but we were through security reasonably quickly, and some decent tourist shops to look at too.

We arrived into Nairobi slightly ahead of time, and were able to just go down an escalator to transfer. Unfortunately we had to go through another security check, but this didn’t take too long (there was a Sky Team Sky Priority separate queue) and no sooner did I then get a WhatsApp alert from Kenya Airways that Gate 14 was now boarding. The boarding pass had indicated that boarding would start at 11:55 for the 12:40 flight, so we just made our way straight there.

Airport Lounges

We were given access to the Marhaba Lounge in the departure area. This was decent enough, with good free Wi-Fi, a couple of seating areas as well as a small dining room and a (very small) bar. There wasn’t much food wise, but some pastries and muffins with some other snacks too. There was a decent selection of soft drinks, with alcohol served from the bar.

With the (planned) short connection in Nairobi, we didn’t think there would be time to visit a lounge, hence we went straight to the gate. As it turned out though, the flight would depart almost an hour late and with the departure gate being very basic, with hindsight it would have been better going to the lounge even for half an hour or so to bridge some time.

Boarding

Boarding for the Nairobi flight was due to commence at 09:25 for the 10:10 flight at Gate 5. Slight delay, but boarding was announced at 09:40 at the gate, just as I received a WhatsApp message from Kenya Airways advising the flight was boarding. There was no priority boarding, just seemed a free for all, albeit it was quite structured and the flight didn’t seem too full. The flight left on time (actually took off one minute before schedule at 09:10) and we were on our way to Nairobi, Kenya.

On departure from Nairobi (there was no announcement about any delay) we boarded the Boeing Dreamliner (an aircraft 9 years old) first and easily, getting to take some pictures in the business class cabin before any other passengers joined us there.

In Flight

I’ve broken down the key components of the flight and services offered, sharing my opinion on them below:

Welcome

Decent welcome on the flight, we had the two front seats and once overhead luggage stowed and seated, we were offered a choice of welcome drink (champagne, orange or apple juice) and what had to be the fluffiest hot towel I’ve ever had on an aircraft.

Again another decent welcome on this flight leg, we found our front row seats ourselves and there was lots of overhead cabin bins for luggage storage. We were offered a glass of champagne, orange juice, or water on boarding and given the menu for food, in French & English.

The Seat

In business class there were four rows of three, in a 1-2 configuration. The aircraft, an Embraer E190AR (04C0E1) was 11 years old, so clearly hadn’t been refurbished since origin. That said, the seats were still comfortable and a decent size, with a small screen in front with USB port, with an additional port in the seat itself. There was a pull-out meal table, small middle tray that wouldn’t come out, a very useful mini-tray on the right hand side (literally just enough for a glass) and a cushion each.

Business class was three rows in the front cabin in a 2-2-2 configuration, with two toilets separating a back mini-cabin with another two rows. Seats were comfortable, though dated, with pull-out screens from the centre console. I’d thought there was no in-seat power but did eventually find both a USB and plug connection at the back of the seat. Headphones from a previous flight must have got stuck down between the seats, so the power section was obscured by headphone wire.

Food & Drink

Surprisingly for a relatively short flight (schedule was just 1hr 20min) we were given a menu card with a choice of three light meal options and a full drinks service. I had been able to reserve a vegetarian meal in advance on both flights (not online, but I did have to get in touch with their contact centre through WhatsApp) and while there was a vegetarian option on the menu (Vegetable samosas and aloo bonda served with hoisin glaze), the attendant knew that I had already had a meal requested. Good selection of drinks too with everything from soft drinks, juices, tea, coffee as well as a full selection of alcoholic drinks (whisky, cognac, vodka, gin, beers, Baileys liqueur as well champagnes, white and red wine).

Our light meal was served soon after take-off, beautifully presented with crisp white embroidered linens and really nicely designed accoutrements. Food was decent, and just enough for such a short flight. Service was excellent.

For the Mauritius flight, the food was described as a light meal, slightly more extensive that the first leg – assorted bread rolls, with a choice of three main courses (beef, fish, or the vegetarian – chunky vegetable ratatouille served with herbed gnocchi, creamed spinach, and seared cherry tomato). There was a dessert of vanilla mousse with strawberry coulis. Again, there was the same extensive selection of drinks. Although I had ordered a vegetarian meal on this flight too, there was no mention of it and I just ordered the standard menu option which sounded good.

IFE (In Flight Entertainment)

Although quite dated, there was the IFE screen (touch) with a selection of Movies, TV and Music, despite the shortness of the flight.

On the Dreamliner, screens were able to be extracted from the centre console, but we only managed to get one out, the other stuck. The film choice wasn’t great though, a very dated selection and nothing remotely blockbuster or new. However, as complete cheese, I watched (and fell asleep a bit through) Rebel Wilson in Isn’t It Romantic.

On Board Wi-Fi

Nothing on the Zanzibar to Nairobi leg, nor on the second flight either.

The Private Traveller’s Absolute Highlights

I was so pleasantly surprised by Kenya Airways, here are just a few of them:

• Butaki was great on the ZNZ – NBO leg, very generous with the Bombay Sapphire gin bottle (full-size vs miniatures).

• Although it could take a while to get through to the agent (you really had to persevere) once you did a connection, albeit delayed, service was great.

The Private Traveller’s Top Tips (Areas for improvement)

Whenever I take a flight, I do always like to look on the positives on the airlines we fly with etc. but sometimes you can’t help but notice things that (for me, but I realise this is always personal) might have made for a better trip. If I am aware of anything, I will share them here.

• The link on the app as to how flights should be reconfirmed should be updated to work.

• The departure service at Nairobi could have been much, much better – even just an announcement to explain the delay.

• In flight Wi-Fi

• More up to date on board entertainment

Would I fly Kenya Airways again?

Yes, I would when this was the best option for connecting up part of a journey and clearly were very prevalent on a lot of routes in both Kenya and around Africa. Staff were all very pleasant and professional. I didn’t have high hopes after seeing some of the reviews, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

My final thoughts on the flight

After having had very low expectations and being particularly worried about flights going after seeing a statement on Instagram from Kenya Airways about a lot of expected disruption over the Christmas period, with shortages of both aircraft and parts. There weren’t lots of decent options otherwise to get to Mauritius from Zanzibar, especially connecting us to get there for Christmas Eve; but all went to plan, despite the hour delay in Nairobi. The flight must have caught up time as we were scheduled to arrive in Port Louis (MRU) only about 15 minutes behind schedule. 

Have you ever flown with Kenya Airways, if so, what was your experience?

What airline would you like me to review next?