Kenya Airways 787 Business Class Review (2020)

 Much like any other 5th freedom flight, this flight was unusual. Between having an African crew and hospitality on an intra-Asian flight is something that will never get old. Besides that, the entire experience felt less than premium however. Given the cheap price, I would fly them again between Guangzhou and Bangkok, but it would be focused on price. [PS: I took this flight on January 2020, just as COVID-19 was starting to pick up in China. When I took this flight, little did I know it would be my last time in China for at least half a decade.]

Note:

Dear Reader,

Before you begin this review journey with me, I want you to know that this review is a bit dated. It is from before the COVID pandemic. I had planned on publishing this one and others slowly during and after the pandemic. However, my job at the time requested I not write them. As some of the airlines were their clients, they explicitly requested I refrain from writing anything that could imply any conflict of interest. Recently, after starting a new job, I have decided to publish this one and others. I will note wherever I can what has changed, and include a year for when the flight happened, in the interest of clarity. Please enjoy this review!

Guangzhou Airport

After a mostly uninspiring stay in Guangzhou, I went to the airport with the expectation that Kenya Airways would use China Southern’s check in facilities. I arrived about 4 hours prior to my flight, and found out the hard way that Kenya Airways uses their own outsourced agents, and that they don’t open until 2.5 hours before departure. So for a while, I just spent time at the Guangzhou airport lobby people watching. 

Gate and Boarding

Guangzhou Airport was quite abuzz while I was waiting for boarding. Although I spent some time at the China Southern Business Class lounge, by the time I walked over to the gate I saw more people at the terminal than what I had seen before. Keep in mind, Guangzhou Airport is huge and it often feels empty. Kenya Airways’ gate was as crowded as the rest of the terminal, and I expected a full flight. Boarding began on schedule, and then something interesting happened . . . 

When I got down the jet bridge (I was the first to board), I saw the aircraft door open and the aircraft completely turned off. All lights were off, no cabin crew were easily visible. I was confused, and to avoid going to jail in China, I decided to not board the aircraft and just yell for the crew. As people kept coming down the jet bridge, and not being able to understand what was happening because they could not see, tempers began to flare. After 4 minutes of yelling, eventually, the crew showed up. They had been sleeping in the business class cabin (along with the pilots and first officer). I don’t know if this is normal, but wowowowow. It’s a huge safety risk, I had never seen this happen before. Once the crew and the pilot got the aircraft ready, people began entering the plane. This was 10 minutes after I entered the jet bridge. 

Cabin and Seat

Once I was inside the aircraft, I settled into my seat 3A. The Kenya Airways business class cabin is arranged in 3 rows of 2x2x2 lie flat seats. The seats are the same ones Air China has on their A330s. The seats lack privacy and are not as wide as other similar business class seats. They are fine for a medium haul flight (up to 6 hours) but flying them from Bangkok to Nairobi seems rough. Seat controls are in the center console, and the IFE screen is directly in front of the seat (which was fairly high resolution).

Departure and Take Off

As soon as I was settled in, the cabin crew came by (all of the business class cabin crew) to apologize for the miscommunication before boarding. They asked me what I wanted to drink, and I chose orange juice. The drinks came with a paper coaster with the Kenya Airways logo, which was a nice touch. 

Soon after, boarding was done. Business class was 14/18 full. Economy seemed to be booked full. The safety video played as soon as the door was closed, and it felt very Kenyan. I appreciated the national touch. We took off after a long taxi and headed to Bangkok. 

Dining

After take off, the crew came by and asked what we wanted to drink for our meal. I asked for coffee and water. The crew came with a trolley and offered each person a snack box. The box consisted of a hot savory pastry and a small salad. WOW. This was worse than a Cathay Pacific economy class meal on a similar flight. The food was good, but it was nowhere near business class quality. It was barely economy class quality as far Asian carriers go. It’s something you’d expect on an American carrier.  The coffee was served in a beautiful Kenya Airways cup, and that was the highlight of the meal. Overall, the meal was a complete letdown. 

Sleeping Quality

Each seat transforms into a full flat seat. The seats are somewhat comfortable, but if they had better padding or a mattress pad it would make a huge difference on a longer flight. The pillow seemed very plush but then became very thin as soon as you put your head on it. The blanket was warm, but the cabin was kept really hot so I used it as a mattress pad. 

Landing and Arrival

Our approach to Bangkok was smooth. We landed on time and in a few minutes we were at our gate. 

Conrado’s Thoughts

The flight was nothing out of this world, but probably the best way to go from Guangzhou to Bangkok after 5pm (the better overall alternative is likely Thai Airways). Kenya Airways at least offers a lie flat seat on this short evening route. Would I take this flight again? No, I would try fit a Thai Airways schedule instead. Overall, a rather disappointing flight. 

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