Review: Kenya Airways B787 Business Class, Paris to Nairobi

 

Kenya Airways B787 business class cabin from Paris to Nairobi

Flight: KQ113

Departure time in Paris (CDG): 11:00

Arrival time in Nairobi (NBO): 21:05

Aircraft: Boeing 787-800

Seat: 3A

Duration: 8h 5m

Date of flight: November 16, 2024

*This is an award ticket using 63K SAS miles from ARN-CPH-CDG-NBO, Business Class flight #272

Air France Lounge, T2E Hall L CDG Airport

Air France Lounge, Terminal 2E Hall L

Arriving from my KLM flight in Paris CDG Airport at 7:40am, I went directly to Hall L and asked if I could use the Air France Lounge if my flight with Kenya Airways is departing from Hall K. I was told there was no problem so I spent more than an hour in the Air France Lounge in T2E-L with its famous The Balcony and the usual Clarins Spa offering free facial treatments. It also has a sauna just like the Finnair Platinum Wing in Helsinki Airport.

Boarding, Gate K51

Boarding gate K51

From the Air France Lounge, I had to go back near security control, take the elevators down and take the train to Hall K. I wonder if I should have just used the Air France Lounge in Hall K considering that I was not even able to take advantage of the free facial at the Clarins Spa as it was already fully booked 😉 All Air France Lounge offers complimentary massage or facial in their lounges (Terminal 2 Hall K, L and M) and Terminal 2F although the Clarins Spa opening hours differ from each lounge.

Although boarding was from Gate K51, we actually took a bus as the B787 aircraft was parked in a remote stand. Business class passengers had a separate bus although I arrived late so I took the same bus as economy class passengers.

Aircraft, B787-800 (5Y-KZE)

This 10-year old Boeing 787 named Serengeti Plains will fly us to Nairobi today 😉

Business Class Cabin (Premier World)

The business cabin has a total of 30 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. There is the bigger cabin from rows 1-3 where all 18 passengers sat and the smaller business cabin behind the galley from rows 4-5 which was empty.

Seat, 3A

My seat 3A is a window seat. The seats are outdated sadly. In fairness though, they are still being used by Turkish Airlines on their B777 when I flew with them in February this year from Hong Kong to Istanbul. Of course, Turkish Airlines has newer business class seats on their Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.

Already waiting at my seat was a pillow, blanket and amenity kit. 

There was also a mattress pad under the ottoman.

The amenity kit was a bit disappointing as the contents only included an eyemask, socks, ear plugs, comb, dental kit and a pen. I was at least expecting a lip balm or lotion. In comparison, we flew with Ethiopian Airlines business class in September 2017 and the amenity kit was just as basic so I guess it must be a norm in the region. It also was operated by a B787 with the same seats Kenya Airways has on this flight.

Duty free magazine, inflight magazine, safety instruction card and air-sickness bag

Headphones

Personal screen with very limited film options

Welcome Drink

Moments after settling in, we were offered some welcome drinks which consisted of orange juice, apple juice and water. You could also ask for a glass of champagne, the way other passengers did.

Menu & Beverage List

Menu card

Wine list

Sprits and Beers

Beverage list

Safety Video & Take Off

I thought the safety video with a lion as one of the passengers was cool 👍 Scheduled flight duration from Paris to Nairobi is 8 hours and 5 minutes.

Finally, after some delay, we were able to take off at 11:22am.

Dining

A few minutes after the seatbelt sign was turned off, dining service began.

Towel was offered to begin the service.

First, some drinks and some mixed nuts. I decided to have a glass of apple juice and a glass of champagne. After all, this is my 15th airline for the "SAS EuroBonus Millionaire Challenge" 👍

A bottle of Dasani water was also offered.

Lunch

The lentil and coral sad was actually very good 😋

When the flight attendant came to ask my main course order, I asked her which one is not spicy. She did not know because she said the meals were loaded in Paris. In the end, I chose the shrimps with Creole sauce which turned out to be not spicy, and it was also delicious! The snap peas were a bit over cooked though.

When the dessert trolley came, I asked for some cheese and fruits. The flight attendant insisted I should also try the chocolate cake 👍

To end the meal service, I had a cup of chamomile tea.

Turn Down Service

Although there was a mattress pad, no one offered to do the turn down service so I decided to do it myself. I slept for a few hours after watching "Suicide Squad". Sadly the film selection was disappointing as it was very limited and most were old movies.

Lavatory

There are 3 lavatories in the business class cabin: one in front of the bigger cabin and 2 behind the galley separating the 2 business cabins. Most airlines would have a hand lotion or perfume aside from a hand wash in their business class lavatories but Kenya Airways did not have them.

Dinner

About two hours before landing, dinner was offered. It was a bit strange as on the menu, it said continental breakfast. The flight attendant serving my aisle came to inform me that there are two options: penne or tagliatelle. I asked which sauce was on the pasta but she did not know. I opted for the tagliatelle in the end. It was served with some boiled vegetables and tomato sauce which was very good.

Landing in Nairobi Airport

We landed in Nairobi Airport at 9:28pm, more than 20 minutes behind schedule. Passport control had a long queue although we were directed to a special lane not being utilized to make the process faster. Mpox is a disease common in Africa so there was a sign about it near the transfer desk.

CONCLUSION

To offer a direct flight from Paris to Nairobi is an advantage for Kenya Airways as most people would prefer a direct flight to a connecting flight. Having seen the seats and the service though, Kenya Airways would not be my first choice as Air France also offers direct flights between the two cities and there is no doubt the seats and service are much better on Air France. Although the crew were friendly, the seats are just outdated and can not compete with other airlines offerings. The meals were very good but could still be improved. I flew on Kenya Airways because I was doing the SAS EuroBonus challenge where I would need to fly on 15 Skyteam different airlines and Kenya Airways was the 15th airline. It was nice to be able to see how their compare with the others and hopefully, with some improvements on the service and an upgraded business class seat, they would be able to get more passengers to fly with them. I actually flew with Qatar Airways business class from Doha back to Europe the following day and the service was impeccable as expected, and the hard product was just unbeatable!