Flight
Johannesburg - Nairobi
Kenya Airways
Business Class – 777-200
Seating Configuration 2-3-2. Seat 3G
Depart 11:40 Arrive 16:40

On arrival at the airport, we engaged the services of a porter. We had 3 rucksacks, and 2 camera bags. I paid him around ZAR30 (USD4), and it was well worth it. As we had bought goods in Johannesburg, and wanted to claim back tax, I told the porter, and he zipped us off to a Customs Counter that had no queue (we passed others that had at least 20 people waiting in lines).

We cleared Customs in no time, and were at the check-in counter at 9:00 am. Check in was quick, and we were then off to security and immigration. There is no fast track for premium passengers at Johannesburg Airport. We were airside within 20 minutes of clearing check in.

I went of to claim back the VAT. There was a long queue and we waited around ½ hour.

Kenya Airways uses the Premium Services Lounge. It is a large lounge with sofa’s, a smoking area, dining tables, selection of reading material, work stations, etc. After 10:00 am they offer alcoholic beverages that include wine, sparkling wine, beer, spirits, as well as juices, sodas, tea/coffee, etc. Food on offer included sandwiches (they were fresh), crisps, fresh fruit and nuts.

We left the lounge at around 11:00 am and headed to our gate. The flight was full. As it was a 777-200 there would have been over 300 passengers waiting to board. There were two air bridges connected to the aircraft, but only the second one was being used. 26 of the 28 J class seats were occupied. This was surprising for a Saturday flight.

Once on board, a tray of champagne, juice and water was taken around. Newspapers were also handed out. The 777-200 has AVOD, so there was a good choice of movies and programmes. Menu’s were also handed out. KQ461 was a lunch time service, and there was a choice of entrée (duck or mushroom tart), main course (beef chow mien, stuffed chicken thigh with pak choy, or vegetarian pasta), and some cake for desert, followed by cheese and fresh fruit.

Service started off with a drink trolley. KQ have some excellent wines on board. We settled for the Ruperts and Rothschild red, and some nuts. Lunch orders were taken (I had the duck and chicken. The chicken was not served with pak choy but peppers instead. Both dishes were tasty. Desert was not nice. The cheese platter was excellent). The tables were then laid with table cloths, and lunch trays were handed out. The wine was constantly topped up. Service lasted around one hour. It was friendly and professional. Kudo’s to the KQ staff.

As I have mentioned before, KQ have excellent Business Class seats. The flight took off on time, and we landed 15 minutes early. We had an air bridge, and were through immigration in no time. KQ’s famous priority tagging did not work again, so our bags took around 15 minutes after the conveyor belt started, and for the first time as far as I can remember, we were not stopped at Customs.