bostonbali

AMS-NBO,
KQ117, B777-200
Scheduled Departure: 9:05PM
Scheduled Arrival: 6:35AM
Actual Arrival: 9:20AM

We got back to the airport with plenty of time to relax at the lounge (there was no line at security at this time of the day. We got to see the KQ plane arrive at its gate, then line up next to its KLM cousins. My first impression upon boarding this aircraft and making the EBLT (Ego-boosting Left Turn) was 'WOW!' The Premier World business class cabin in this 772 was quite spacious (there were four rows laid out in a 2-3-2 arrangement). The purple-fabric seats were quite wide and comfortable with 76" pitch. The IFE screen was mounted in front of the seat (part of the hard shell of the seat in front). The seat only had four control buttons (two for the seatback, two for the leg rest), however it was a FULLY-FLAT seat, which was the most important part for us. This was our first experience on a fully-flat seat – what a great feeling. No sliding downward meant a peaceful sleep! In case anybody is interested, I also took a pic of the Y bulkhead seats.

Amenity packs were already waiting for us in our seats. Menus and welcome drinks (water, champagne, OJ, apple juice) were distributed by the purser, who would also be attending to our side (we were seated in 2A and 2B). We took off a few minutes late, but were happy to be off the ground, on our way to a continent we've not been to before!

While we were climbing, our ears kept popping, which was a bit unusual. About a ½ hour after taking off, I noticed that we began circling back towards land (we were over water at that point). The pilot then announced we had to return to AMS to take care of a problem (at that point, he didn't disclose what the problem was). Sure enough, we descended to about 7,000ft, and proceeded to dump fuel out the wings over the North Sea before landing about one hour after takeoff. I'm sure dumping fuel from a full 777 was not a small expense to Kenya Airways (does anybody have a rough idea of the cost of dumping all that fuel?) Once on the ground, the mechanics took about 30 minutes to correct the problem, and another hour or so to refuel the plane and get our paperwork in order. During that entire time, we received minimal info from the crew. We figured out the problem had to do with the pressurization system, because the mechanics closed and opened the doors a few times while trying to pressurize the cabin (our ears would pop each time they would do this).

By the time everything was fixed, we were quite nervous, because we were only scheduled to have a 2.5 hour layover in Nairobi before our flight to Seychelles, which only flies every four days (and we were only going to the Seychelles for four days!). We were now running about 3 hours later, which means we would most certainly miss our flight to the Seychelles. The crew had no idea whether the flight to the Seychelles would wait for us. The ground crew was not interested in letting us off the plane in AMS so that we could find alternate routes to the Seychelles (despite the fact that we only had carry on luggage and no bags in the cargo hold area). I turned on my laptop, purchased 30 minutes worth of wireless (6 Euro), but the moment I signed on, we were being pushed back and I had to shut down my laptop. Ultimately, we stayed onboard, knowing that we'd arrive in Nairobi about 30 minutes after our flight to the Seychelles was scheduled to take off, and hoped for the best.

Once in the air (a second time), service was good, though not exceptional. It began with a hot towel service, then cocktails served from a rolling cart. We were given a bag of prepackaged nuts (not much different than one would receive in the NWA Domestic FC cabin, with the exception that the bag of nuts said 'Out of Africa' on it). We then moved on to the canapé. Afterwards, we received a tray containing our chosen appetizer and dessert. The main dish was presented after the appetizer plate was taken away. The food was a bit disappointing, both in terms of choice, as well as taste. The plateware, however, was very attractive. The crew was good, though not extremely personable. The flight was 25% empty in business class, with 7 seats remaining open. IIRC, flight time was about 8 hours.
One comment about the menus. KQ has dedicated menus for each long-haul flights. The header of our menu said Amsterdam-Nairobi, KQ 117. On the way back, our menu said Nairobi-Paris, KQ112. I've never seen that before (usually, I see a small code at the bottom or the back of the menu explaining which routes it's used for, and the same menu is usually used for various routes).

Appetizer
Fennel Olive Salad with Smoked Halibut, Smoked Dried Beef, Pomedori Tomatoes, Mixed Herbs Garnish

Or

Carrot and Fennel Salad with Cucumber, Walnuts, Lollo Bianco, Oak Leaf Salad and Reypenaar Cheese Shavings

Main Course
Blanquette of Chicken served with Cooked Baby Potatoes, French Beans, Parisian Carrots and Snow Peas

Or

Grilled Salmon with Teriyaki Sauce served with Tricolore Rice and Carrots

Or

Pasta Di Semola Grano with Oven dried Tomatoes and Parmesan Cheese

Dessert
Passion Fruit Profiterol Tart with Whipped Cream

NBO Layover

We landed in NBO and got to see some cool local airliners, such as Delta Connection (I don't think this one services LGA, BOS or DCA…), as well as Tanzania's PrecisionAir and a sea of pretty KQ tails. Before we disembarked, we were told that our flight to SEZ was, in fact, waiting for us. Turns out that flight was delayed anyhow, not really waiting for us, but that's OK, we were extremely happy and relieved to hear that. All we had to do was find our gate. Shouldn't be too hard at an airport with only 14 gates, right? Hmm. We ran into two problems. Not only are not all the gates marked (at least the one to the Seychelles was unmarked), but we also received different gate info from the various KQ agents we asked. We eventually found our gate (where after handing our boarding passes, we walked onto the tarmac and climbed the stairs to our plane). There were a total of about 10 people connecting from the AMS flight to the SEZ flight, all of whom made their connection (not sure about their luggage though).

NBO-SEZ
KQ450, B737-700
Schedule Time: 9:00AM
Actual Departure: 10:00AM (or so)
Scheduled Arrival: 1:30PM
Actual Arrival: 2:15PM (or so)

The flight took about 2:50. We were given a welcome drink (OJ, Apple Juice, Champagne or Water), warm towels, mixed nuts (prepackaged, not in a bowl), a menu, and a warm brunch. The website says that the seats have about a 40" pitch, but I found them a bit tight (just as tight as domestic NW FC seats). Every one of the 16 seats in Business was taken. Coach appeared to be about 90% full.

Here is a recap of the menu. Not that this one did NOT have our flight number or route, unlike the longhaul menu (otherwise, it had the same look to it, and actually offered an additional white wine and an additional red wine over the longhaul menus).

Brunch
Freshly Prepared Fruit Salad

Assorted Cereals

Tropical Fruit Yoghurt

Baked Egg and Tomato Strudel; Grilled Chicken Sausage; Mexican Style Beans; Sauteed Mushrooms; Grilled Tomato

Or

Beef Brochette Provencale served with Biriyani Rice

Or

Kenyan Vegetable Compote with Cheese Potato Croquette

Assorted Bread Rolls and Croissant

Butter and Preserve

Kenya Tea or Coffee

Upon arrival in SEZ, we walked down the stairs to the tarmac, then into the arrival hall, where we had to present our Yellow Fever shots. We couldn't find our yellow fever cards immediately, but presented the Health Ministry Agent a copy of our immunizations, which sufficed. We then proceeded to immigration, where we had to show our return flight tickets (to prove we did not intend on staying in paradise forever). We then entered the island of Mahe. We decided to take the public bus, which costs $0.30. We were definitely the only foreigners on the bus, but it was a fun (yet hot) ride. It was kind of ironic arriving at a $1,200 a night resort on a $0.30 bus, but we didn't care – we finally made it.