Trip Report: Kenya Airways, Lagos to Dar Es Salaam, Kigali to Lagos via Nairobi (April 2018)

Trip Report: Kenya Airways - Lagos to Dar Es Salaam, Kigali to Lagos via Nairobi

         comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

Traveling around Africa generally can cost a lot, both in time and money.  The ticket price will be high, the travel time long, be very expensive, and most times you have to leave the continent to travel from one country to the other.  Luckily, there are African companies that are making travel within Africa more affordable and convenient; both Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways.  Both are the flag carriers of their respective countries, both seem to have updated fleets, good schedules, and both seem reliable.  I was looking to travel from Nigeria to Tanzania, and return from Rwanda back to Nigeria and in looking at my options both Ethiopian and Kenyan came up in the search.  Both were competitive in price and both had about the same overall travel time, but I choose Kenya Airways for a couple of options: 1) I had flown Ethiopian on my way into Nigeria so wanted to try another airline; 2) it had been about 4 years since I had flown Kenyan so wanted to see what updates were available; 3) the departure timings for Kenyan were better; and 4) Kenya had more options in terms of flight scheduling.

Booking travel with Kenya was very easy through the website.  The site was easy to book and manage your reservation.  I had to make some modifications to my reservation and that could not be accomplished online, so they either have a chat function available or a call center; both of which were helpful.  Another good feature about Kenya is that they offer refunds on your ticket – if your schedule changes and you need to cancel your ticket, you can ask for a refund instead of travel credit.  The refund amount depends on your ticket and class of service, but everything is available online and usually the refund is processed within 4-6 weeks.  A great service from Kenya.

After booking my flight, I managed my reservation through the Kenya Airways app.  Through the app and website I was able to preselect my seats for free, request a special meal, and add my Skyteam frequent flyer number.  I was also able to check-in and print my boarding pass directly from the website 24-hours prior to my departure.  My first flight was from Lagos to Dar Es Salaam via Nairobi.  The Lagos to Nairobi sector was scheduled to depart Lagos at 10:45p and arrive into Nairobi at 6:05am, and then I had 45 minutes to connect to my other flight which was scheduled to depart Nairobi at 6:55am and arrive into Dar Es Salaam at 8:20am.  This was a tight connection, but this is what Kenya Airways provided me and everything was booked on one ticket so I went ahead with it and hoped for the best. 

The first flight was operated by a Boeing 737-800 with a 3-3 seat configuration.  The aircraft operates the Nairobi to Lagos sector, and the same planes brings passengers back to Nairobi.  The incoming aircraft arrived late, and the turnaround time was slow, thus boarding began well past the 10pm which was listed on the boarding pass.  Boarding was done by groups and the groups were strictly enforced; this made for a lengthy and delayed boarding to an already delayed flight.  First impressions upon entering the aircraft were good, as it looked like a new-ish plane with updated seats and personal PTV for each seat.  Each seat also contained a blanket, a pillow, and headphones on them.  The seat pitch was decent, not too tight but not too generous either (I am 6’1 and while my knees were not hitting the back seat, there wasn’t tons of room either) and the seat comfort was also average (it was fine for a 3hr flight but there needed to be more comfort for the longer flights).  Each seat contained a PTV with a USB port and headphone jack, a tray table, and then a seatback pocket with the airline magazine, the duty free, and an airsickness bag.  The doors finally closed, we pushed back for the gate, and headed to the runway for the 5hr 20mi flight to Nairobi.

Kenya Airways is a full service airline so complimentary meals and drinks are provided.  Once we reached cruising altitude, the meal and drink service commenced.  The special meals were delivered at the same time as the regular meal, and for the regular meal there was an option between two choices.  I had ordered a special meal and while I appreciate being served a meal (as these days meals are disappearing from economy), the quality of the meal was not that good.  It was a decent quantity, not too much food but not too light either (perfect for a 4hr flight) but the quality of the food definitely need to be improved.  Complimentary soft drinks, tea, and coffee were also provided.  Once the meal service ended, passengers sat back and watched their screens.  The PTV screens were already on once you sat down, so most passengers just watched the entertainment program the entire flight.  There was a decent selection of TV shows and movies, again good enough for a 3-4 hour flight but you would get bored on longer flights.    

Even though we departed late, we landed roughly on time and taxied to the gate.  There is a separate line for transferring passengers, but because Kenya is starting new flights to the U.S. they have modified the transit so all passengers must go through enhanced screening.  While I understand the security of this, it adds time to the transit process and this needs to be factored into the connection time they provide to customers.  There was a HUGE line of passengers in the transiting security line and it looked like I was going to miss my connection when the airline itself started to call out passengers for my flight.  A representative was pulling passengers and putting them ahead of the security line as I only had a total of 25 minutes to make my connection.  Since I was moved to the front, I went through security and ran to my gate in time to make it to my flight.

The second flight was operated by an Embraer 190 with a 2-2 seat configuration.  While the plane size was small, the seat pitch and comfort were nice and each seat had its own PTV screen as well as USB port.  The plane was only half full so the doors closed and we pushed back for an on-time departure.  Since there were not that many passengers, I was able to move up and stretch out to a row unto myself.  Even though the flight time was 1hr30min, a light breakfast was served just after take-off.  The breakfast consisted of a fresh croissant which was nice, warm and fresh.  It was small but it was nice and that is something I appreciated from Kenyan, especially on this short flight.  Tea, coffee, and complimentary drinks were also served with the meal.  Once the meal service end, most passengers either slept or watched the entertainment system.  The system was not as extensive as the system of my Lagos to Nairobi flight, but there was a decent selection of TV shows to pass the short flight time.  We soon landed in Dar Es Salaam and luckily my bags also made the tight connection in Nairobi.

My return flight was scheduled differently than my outbound flight.  I was returning from Kigali to Lagos via Nairobi, and I had scheduled a long layover in Nairobi.  My flight was scheduled to depart Kigali at 8:30am and arrive into Nairobi 12:35pm, and I was then going to connect to my flight departing Nairobi at 6:35p and arriving back into Lagos at 9:50pm.  The first flight was operated by an Embraer 190 and has a stop in Bujumbura.  The flight was supposed to board at 7:45am, but that came and went without any announcements.  Finally, the announcement was made and we boarded the plane.  This plane looked similar to the plane that I had taken from Nairobi to Dar Es Salaam, with the same legroom, the same individual PTV’s on each screen, and the same 2-2 configuration.  The flight time from Kigali to Bujumbura was only 45 minutes so most passengers past the time watching their screens.  The passengers on the plane consisted of passengers flying from Nairobi to Bujumbura (who stopped in Kigali); passengers flying from Kigali to Bujumbura; passengers flying from Bujumbura to Nairobi; and passengers flying from Kigali to Nairobi (who stopped in Bujumbura).  We landed at Bujumbura, where some passengers got off while others got on, and set off for Nairobi.  Since this was a longer flight, at 1h55m, both a beverage service and a meal service were provided.  The flight was uneventful and we landed in Nairobi close to on-time.

After a scheduled delay, I fought my way through Nairobi traffic to connect to my 6:35p flight to Lagos.  Even though we had boarding groups assigned to us, these were not enforced and everyone boarded as they pleased.  The operating aircraft was a Boeing 737-800, the same aircraft that brought me from Lagos to Nairobi.  The layout was the same, the seat pitch and seat comfort were the same, and again each seat had their own PTV screen.  As this was my fourth flight with Kenyan in the span of two weeks, I had basically exhausted the entertainment options by this point.  As the flight time was 5hr15m, after takeoff a meal and beverage service were provided.  For the rest of the flight, the attendants were not present at all until it was time to get the aircraft ready for landing.  They attendants did not come by with water or to pass through the cabin to collect trash; the attendants just sat in the back talking.  After a bit of a delay, we finally landed in Lagos a bit behind schedule.

Overall, it was a decent experience with Kenya Airways.  Since my last experience with them, some aspects have improved while others have stayed the same.  They definitely have a better on-board product versus what they previously had, and that makes for a better inflight experience.  The food quality still is average, and the overall customer service still needs to be improved.  I had some great flight attendants and great customer service, and I had some really apathetic ones.  I would not hesitate to fly them again, but I would just keep my expectations manageable. 

Stay Report: Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam, The Kiliminjaro (Tanzania - April 2018)

Stay Report: Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I was going to be meeting a friend and staying in Dar Es Salaam for one day.  My friend was staying at the Hyatt Regency for work so I just stayed with them instead of booking my own place.  The hotel is located near the city center and was originally the Kempinski hotel before Hyatt took it over.  From the outside, it looks like a really nice and grand hotel, and the grandeur continues inside into the hotel.

From the outside, you enter the hotel’s parking lot and drive up to the hotel’s main entrance.  After you pass through the security, you enter into grand lobby that has lots of open space and lots of sitting areas.  The left side of the lobby contained the elevators, the check-in desks, another sitting area, and the entrance to one of the restaurants (where breakfast is served).  In the middle of the lobby is a sitting area and a walkway with water underneath which leads to the coffee shop.  To the right of the lobby is another restaurant as well as shops.  Also in the middle of the lobby is the staircase which leads to the second floor which contains the meeting rooms as well as entrance to the spa, fitness center, and pool.  My friend had left a key to the room at the check-in desk, so I went there to collect the key.  Even though I arrived in the morning, there was only one attendant behind the large check-in desks so it took some time for me to retrieve the key.  Once I had the key, I went to the elevators and went to the room.

The hotel is shaped in a block with the hallway down the middle and rooms on either side; one side of the hotel faces the parking lot and the ocean while the other side faces the city and neighborhoods.  The room that I had faced the parking lot and the ocean and generally was a nice room.  As you opened the door, on right was the bathroom while on the left was a luggage storage area next to closets.  The closet was open which meant that if you did unpack into the closet, everyone could see all your clothes.  One side of the closets contained a safe, a mini-fridge as well as a coffee maker.  The hotel also provided two complimentary bottles of water, which were placed next to the coffee maker.  Below the open-closets were drawers for additional storage space.   

The bathroom itself was quite large and contained a shower (behind one door), a toilet (behind a second door) and in the main bathroom a sink and a tub.  There were also nice bathroom toiletries provided in the storage next to the sink.  Next to the tub was a window with blinds that, if opened, opened directly into the room.  I am not sure what about Hyatt bathrooms, but none of them provide complete privacy – why would you want a window into the bathroom from the room?

Further into the room, on the right side was the bed while on the left side was a long shelf that ran across half the room and connected to the desk.  The desk was parallel to the wall so that it stuck out into the room and connected near the bed, which made it difficult for people to move across the room if you are using the desk.  The desk did have plugs and USB ports, which was a nice and welcomed gesture.  Mounted on the wall in the middle of the room was the TV and across from the TV was the bed.

This room had one queen bed and generally the bed was comfortable.  There was a nice duvet and the bed was comfortable enough for a good night’s sleep.  The only downside was that the bed was not as spacious if you are sharing it.  On both sides of the bed was a small night stand with plugs and light switches next to them, and in between the bed and the window was a couch.   Overall, the room was nice and had all the amenities needed; it wasn’t a spacious room but neither was it a tight room.

The hotel is a full-service hotel so there are many facilities for guests to enjoy.  These include a sauna, a fitness center, a spa, meeting rooms, a coffee shop, two restaurants, complimentary wifi, and complimentary bottles of water in the room.  As I was only at the hotel for a short period, I was not able to experience all the facilities.  I tried the coffee shop, one of the restaurants for breakfast, the wifi, and enjoyed the complimentary water.  The coffee shop was nice and relaxing and the service was very good; the wifi was decent speed and did not seem to limit devices, which is a good thing; the room included breakfast so went down to the restaurant, and the selection was decent but not as good as I would have thought coming from a Hyatt; and finally the complimentary bottles of water were a nice gesture.  I did know of people who tried the spa and they enjoyed the massages they received there.

 

Overall, the stay at the Hyatt Regency Dar Es Salaam, The Kilimanjaro was nice.  The hotel is a full-service hotel and has nice facilities.  The rooms are nice and a good size, the bathroom is also spacious and nice, and the beds provide a comfortable night’s sleep.  The hotel is also conveniently located within the city center and is a 10-15 minute walk to the ferry terminal. The only negatives were the following: 1) I asked for additional toiletries from the housekeeping and never received an update nor the toiletries (apparently the housekeeping service is not good at all); and 2) the window between the bathroom and the bedroom.

Stay Report: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Dar es Salaam - Oyster Bay (Tanzania - December 2013/January 2014)

Stay Report: DoubleTree Dar Es Salaam - Oyster Bay
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

pictures courtesy of DoubleTree 

I was traveling around East Africa and was going to start and stop my trip in Tanzania, and was looking for a hotel that was nice and with easy access to goods and services.  I found and booked the DoubleTree, Oyster Bay through the Hilton website when they were having one of their 'special' sales which include drastically low prices for pre-paid rooms. After I booked the rooms, I contacted the hotel to confirm some of the details of the reservation; I contacted them through email but the hotel never responded - I finally got results and messages back from the hotel using Facebook as they did reply to these messages. When we got to the hotel and checked-in, I went to confirm the details I had emailed about but the front-desk staff seemed confused as to what I was talking about. They were nice and pleasant and could check me in ok, but extras and additional services seemed difficult. 

photo courtesy of DoubleTree

The hotel is located in an enclave with the hotel on one side and shops and restaurants on the other. The hotel premises include the hotel itself, an on-site restaurant (with slow service), a coffee shop, a pool with a cafe, and a deck.  There are no beaches at this hotel (to get to the beach, you have to drive about 10-12 minutes to the closest public beach). There is also a fitness center and a spa.  From the outside, the hotel looked very nice and modern.

As you enter into the lobby, on left side were the check-in desks while to the right was a sitting area.  Straight ahead was the restaurant and the deck which led downstairs to the fitness center and spa.  I went to check-in and while the staff were generally friendly, they were not the most competent staff; it took a long time for things to be understood and even then some things were lost.  I finally finished checking in and proceeded to my room.

photo courtesy of DoubleTree

As I was traveling with a group, I had booked two rooms – one with a king bed and one with 2 queens; both rooms were quite large and similarly laid out.  As you entered into the room, on left hand side was the bathroom while on the right was the closet.  The bathroom was spacious and contained a sink, a toilet, a nice size tub, and toiletries as well.  The closet across from the bathroom was also spacious and provided plenty of storage room.  There was also a safe in the room.  As you proceeded further into the room, the beds were located along the left side of the wall while across the right was the chest with a TV on top and drawers on the bottom.  The beds were large and comfortable and provided a good nights’ sleep.  There was also a nightstand in between the beds and next to the beds was a window.   Across the other side, in between the chest and the window, was a desk and a chair.  Depending on your room location, there were two views from the window; you were either looking out onto the front entrance of the hotel or you were overlooking that back of the hotel with the gardens and the ocean; the back view was a much better view. 

photo courtesy of DoubleTree

Since I was there for an extended period, I got to try out different facilities at the hotel.  I tried the wifi, which was complimentary and basic enough to check and receive mail; I tried the restaurant for dinner where the food was ok, the service slow and the price high; I tried the fitness center which was decent; the pool which got crowded with locals swimming for the day; and the spa for massage which was pretty good and relatively inexpensive, but the one at the Hilton Addis was better.  Breakfast was included in the room and that was decent and standard with cereal, breads, other breakfast items, and an omelet station. 

The positives about the hotel are the hotel is located in a nice part of town and right next to the hotel is a nice shopping complex with restaurants, a small supermarket, shops, and a market for souvenirs.  Because of the location of the hotel, there are plenty of taxis and rickshaws available to take you to other parts of the city (the hotel is located about 20 minutes from downtown and about 45 mins from the airport).  The hotel also looks nice and provides spacious rooms.

photo courtesy of DoubleTree

The negatives about the hotel include the staff, which seemed nice but confused. The service at the hotel restaurant was slow and also confused (especially if you have any dietary or religious issues, the staff seemed generally confused with these requests).  One major annoyance was that the hotel NEVER had change.  I got very large notes when I exchanged money and tried to get smaller bills from the money charger, shops, or supermarket when we were there.  Each time I asked the front desk for smaller bills, and I asked many times, they said they did not have any change at all. This was somewhat annoying as smaller bills were easier to pay for cabs (who never had change either)

If you want a good night stay in a good hotel, and do not mind being away from the city but being

walking distance to markets and some restaurants, then you will enjoy this hotel.  Due to the location, the hotel was peaceful and tranquil. Just be prepared for confused staff and delayed service.

A Trip Report: Kenya Airways, Dar Es Salaam to Seychelles via Nairobi (January 2014)

A Trip Report: Kenya Airways
Dar Es Salaam to Seychelles via Nairobi

comment below and let me know your thoughts :) 

There are many airlines to choose from while travelling to and within Africa, but most passengers stick to the top three: South African, Ethiopian, and Kenyan.  Out of these three, Kenyan Airways is the smallest but seems to be the one that is strategically growing very fast.  While all three airlines are part of alliances - South African and Ethiopian are part of Star Alliance while Kenyan is part of SkyTeam - only Kenyan seems to be using the alliances to expand its reach across the world.  While South African and Ethiopian are adding new destinations and routes, Kenyan is looking through partnerships and alliances to grow their network.  They connect with Delta and KLM through their SkyTeam alliance, and recently they announced a partnership with Etihad to increase the connections to the Middle East.  The increase in partnerships means Kenya Airways can focus on becoming a better African airline, which some people will like; but it will also mean that its reach is limited and this some people may not like.  I write this all to say is that we flew from the U.S. to Tanzania and then was looking to fly from Tanzania to the Seychelles (my flight to Tanzania was in December 2013 and to the Seychelles was January 2014).  Instead of choosing one airline, we choose 2 different African airlines because 1) I wanted to experience both airlines but also 2) what I had mentioned above in that an airline can either be a great regional carrier or a great international carrier, but its hard to be both.  

We flew from the U.S. to Tanzania on Ethiopian Airlines (a great flight which I reviewed in an earlier post) and we choose Ethiopian because it had the best connections and timings from the U.S. to Africa; the reason for this is that Ethiopian flies non-stop from America to Africa.  Kenya Airways does not fly to the U.S. but instead partners with its SkyTeam partner to connect from the U.S. to Africa; however, there are many stops and the timings are very inconvenient so that is why we did not fly with them.  When we were looking at flying intra-Africa, from Tanzania to the Seychelles, we choose Kenya Airways because they had a good service with good timings and connections (and lots of options); Ethiopian was priced competitively with Kenyan but the timings and connections were bad.  Kenya Airways bills itself as the 'Pride of Africa' and after experiencing the service, they are doing Africa well.

Booking:  Based in the U.S., it was hard booking an intra-African flight on Kenya Airways.  While the website is very nice, it is a little clunky and not as fast or as modern as other sites (such as Ethiopian).  Also, for some reason the Kenya Airways site would not take my American credit card; when I inquired about this they informed me that I could put the reservation on hold and pay for the ticket in a ticket-office within 24 hours - very convenient if you are within Africa, not so convenient when you are in America.  Because of all these reasons, I booked my flight through a travel website.  While Kenya Airways has many flights from DAR to NBO (Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport), they only have one flight from NBO to SEZ (Seychelles International Airport in Victoria).  Depending on which flight you choose out of DAR, you can either have a very long or very short connection in NBO to the next flight. 

After I had booked my flight on the travel site, I contacted the airline to ensure the reservation and the details were correct.  As I previously did not know that Kenyan flew many flights from DAR to NBO, I was unaware that the 11-hour layover I had in Kenya was unwarranted; in fact it was the airline itself that informed me of this.  (I will come to that part later on under 'service').  Because all this happened within 4 hours, I was able to cancel my original booking and rebook myself on the flights with the shorter connection:
KQ489 departing DAR @ 5:10am and arriving NBO @ 6:30am (using Embraer 190)
KQ450 departing NBO @ 9:05am and arriving SEZ @ 13:15/1:15pm (using Boeing 737-800)

Service:  Kenya Airways has excellent service, both prior to an on-board the flight.  After I had booked my ticket through the travel website, I contacted the airline to ensure the reservation was confirmed and the details were correct.  I had contacted the airline via email and within 2 hours I had a detailed response from a Kenyan Airways representative.  The quickness and the detailed level of response was very impressive.  The travel website had originally booked me on a 11-hour layover in NBO but the Kenya Airways representative informed me that other Kenya Airways flights were available with shorter connection times and they had plenty of availability.  I was able to cancel my original booking and book the shorter connection times.  I later emailed the airline about seat assignments and emailed one week prior to my flight to confirm my booking, and each time the responses were quick and detailed.  A great customer service touch.  On board, the great customer service continued.

On-board:  The first flight was KQ489 which was an early morning 1hr 20min flight on a Embraer 190.  The plane was already parked at the gate when we arrived and boarding commenced for an on-time departure.  Once on-board, the aircraft looked new and clean.  There were leather seats (with a nice seat pitch) and each seat had a personal TV screen -- on an Embraer! 

Note: only one side of the plane's PTV's had been turned on; I was sitting on the turned off side so I asked the FA to turn it on, and they said due to the short flying time they could not -- luckily there were empty seats around me on the working side so I switched over


Even though it was a short flying time, the FA's still served breakfast along with coffee, tea, and juices.  The breakfast was simple with fruit and a croissant (in a box-type presentation), but it was a nice touch for the early morning flight and the FA's were very cheerful and smiled throughout the early morning flight.  We landed on-time at NBO and parked at the terminal and deplaned; those with connections were told to take the stairs up to the terminal while passengers staying in Kenya were asked to board a bus to take them to the luggage and customs.

Our next flight was 3hr 10min flight - KQ450 - on a Boeing 737-800.  This plane looked nice from the outside, but unfortunately it looked old and used from the inside.  I know that Kenya Airways was in the process of upgrading their fleet, and I don't think this plane had received its upgrade.  The seat pitch was tight, the seats were not leather but were cloth and seemed worn out, and there were no personal screens (how can a 1hr flight on an Embraer be so nice while a 3hr flight on a Boeing 737 be so bad --- i have experienced this on other airlines and it shocks me every time!)  The plane did have video screens running down the main aisle, but nothing was shown on it except for the flight path.  

On this flight, we were served lunch about 20 minutes after we took off and the lunch was decent.  Drinks, tea, and coffee were served as well, but after the trays were cleared there wasn't really that much to do for the remaining 2+hours (water was served drink refills were available upon request).  The seat pitch was very tight and the seats were uncomfortable so it also made sleeping uncomfortable as well.  We landed at SEZ on time at 13:15 and proceeded to deplane and walk to the terminal (Kenya Airways operates one flight from NBO to SEZ and only flies 4-times a week - Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun - so this plane has one hour to deplane, clean, and reload passengers before it returns back to NBO).

Transit:  Note: most of the planes at NBO are parked at stands and are not connected to jet-bridgets.  Only the European-bound flights seemed to be using the jet-bridges while everyone else deplaned using the stairs and took the stairs up to the terminal.  When we were to board, we took those same stairs back down to the plane.  There is not a lot to do in NBO.  There are many gates and a lot of passengers, but the terminal seems very narrow.  While it never felt claustrophobic, it certainly did not feel spacious (note: this was the time when a terminal at NBO had caught fire so all the flights had to be put into a single terminal so everything was a bit more cramped than usual, but never chaotic).  In this terminal, there was free wi-fi and while it wasn't the greatest speed it was free and did provide enough strength to send a basic email.  The terminal resembled a long hallway - with coffee shops/restaurants on either end.  note: the duty free shops accepted international currency and sold coke/sprite/diet coke at cheaper prices than the restaurant!  When you walked from one end to the other, on one side was the runway and the gates along with some duty-free shops, and on the terminal side were the restrooms and connections for passengers coming in from the outside. (note: the restrooms were small/tiny and did feel claustrophobic, especially when a plane came in and all the passengers went to the restroom at the same time!)   The duty-free shops were small and basic, but provided local souvenirs that you could purchase.  Other than that, there was nothing much to do but wait (if I had a longer wait time, I think I would've become very board very quickly!)  After a while, they called our flight and we proceeded to the boarding area (through another security check) and waited for our flight.   This is where a bit of confusion took place.

Once you enter security, you can either proceed to the right or left depending on what gate you departing out of; however there was no clear direction as to where passengers should be sitting or going so those who should have sat on the right were sitting on the left and vice versa.  This meant that different flights were being called on the announcement and then airline representatives were going through the gates announcing the correct flights they were boarding (it happened many times that they called 'boarding' but failed to mention which flight was boarding until you got down the stairs and they checked the boarding passes, which meant fighting the other crowds who were coming down to go back up to sit in the waiting area --- i'm sure it had to do with the terminal fire and the chaos surrounding that, but it was still a mess.)  Finally, our flight was called and we proceeded down the stairs to the runway and then walked to our waiting plane.

Overall:  In the end, it was a nice and pleasant journey on Kenya Airways.  I got to experience both the new and old Kenya Airways, and while I prefer the new airplane, both had good customer service and attentive and smiling FA's - and to me that is what matters most.  Yes, new planes with fancy gadgets is very nice (and makes the time go by so much quicker) but I would much rather have good, quality customer service on the ground and in the sky and that is what Kenya Airways has.  I am not sure if Kenya Airways will start operating to the U.S. - their Dreamliner 787 is coming into service shortly so service to the U.S. may be in the near future - and I am not sure it is the right move for them as they are the smaller of the African 3 (South African, Ethiopian, and Kenya).  If they do expand, hopefully they will be able to maintain their good customer service both on ground and in the sky.

Trip Report: Ethiopian Airlines, Washington Dulles to Dar Es Salaam via Addis Ababa (January 2014)

Trip Report: Ethiopian Airlines
Washington Dulles to Dar Es Salaam via Addis Ababa 
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

The New Spirit of Africa

Ethiopian Airlines bills itself as the 'new spirit of Africa'.  My family and I recently traveled from the U.S. to Tanzania and decided to try out and see if Ethiopian Airlines lived up to its motto.  Ethiopian Airlines is one of a few African Airlines which travels the world - others being South African, Kenyan, EgyptAir, and Royal Air Maroc. Out of this list, only Ethiopian and South African provide good connections from Europe and America to other cities in Africa (via their hubs). Additionally, Ethiopian has been prominent in competing with Middle Eastern airlines by upgrading their service, expanding to new destinations, and increasing focus on safety and comfort. Ethiopian is part of Star Alliance and is the first African airline to fly the Boeing Dreamliner (Kenya Airways was the second) and is in the process of adding more Dreamliners.  In addition to competing with the Middle Eastern carriers, Ethiopian is also competing with South African on flights from North America.  From North America, Ethiopian flies from Washington, D.C. (in competition with South African) and recently started flying to Toronto, Canada. 

Our trip to Africa started because we wanted to go and see Tanzania and Zanzibar.  Looking at what airlines to both the U.S. and Dar Es Salaam, it was a choice between the Middle Eastern Carriers, Ethiopian, South African, or Kenyan.  Ethiopian had the best travel time and the lowest fare so I decided to go with them.  As they are part of the Star Alliance, I thought I could book travel via United from New Orleans to DAR via United (MSY to IAD) and Ethiopian from Dulles to DAR via Addis.  

I went to Ethiopian's website, which is very nice and easy navigate, and the site provided me the details from IAD to DAR but could not connect to any domestic U.S. cities.  When I called the D.C. office to ask them for assistance, they informed me that even though they are part of the Star Alliance they cannot book tickets partnering with United.  In order to have everything on one ticket, I would have to go through a travel agent.  This is something that Ethiopian needs to work on if it really wants to compete in the international market - especially since Kenya Airways allowed me to book the flights in partnership with their SkyTeam partner Delta (they had to many connections and too many stops so that is why I did not choose them).   

Why go through the hassle of booking everything on one ticket and not two separate tickets - a couple of reasons:

1. luggage - internationally, the U.S. allows 2 bags of 50lbs/23kilos as part of free checked luggage.  Domestically, any checked bags require a charge and two bags can cost about $60 per passenger (and we were 3 passengers total).
2. luggage transfer - if everything is booked on one ticket, then the luggage is booked to the final destination and is automatically transferred during your connections; you do not have to go out, collect your luggage, and recheck them in.
3. if something goes wrong - if you have booked everything on one ticket, and should something go wrong with one of your connections, then the airline will automatically assist you in getting back to your home destination.  For example, if one plane is delayed and you miss your connection then the airline will automatically assist you in getting on the next flight to your destination - booking two separate tickets, while sometimes cheaper, does not avoid these potential headaches.

In the end, I went to an online travel site (cheapoair.com - very reasonable prices) and booked my flight on United from MSY to Dulles, and then connecting to Ethiopian from Dulles to DAR via ADD.  Note - Ethiopian only has one flight from Dulles to ADD, but has many flights from ADD to other destinations to double check your connection times.  After I booked the flight, I emailed the DC office to confirm the flights as well as to confirm seat assignments (they were very responsive and accommodating).

The flight from MSY to Dulles was the night before so I had about 12-hour layover in Dulles (there are many hotels, inexpensive, near the airport) but due to the long-layover my bags had to be rechecked in Dulles as the airline can only keep the bags for 6-hours or less (we arrived at 9pm and flew the next day at 10am).  

Ethiopian flight ET501 was scheduled to depart 10:15am which meant that we had to be at the airport by 7:30am.  When we arrived to the airport, there was a long line of people to check-in (the DC area has one of the largest Ethiopian populations outside of Ethiopia so be prepared for crowds).  It took a while for us to check-in as the lines were long, each passenger had lots of luggage, and many needed to pay extra.  Additionally, each passenger received a color-sticker on the boarding pass to indicate at which time they would board the plane (this took a long time)

After we received our boarding passes and luggage, we proceeded to security and the gate.  There were LOTS of people at the gate and it was very chaotic.  Even though the flight was supposed to depart at 10:15am, we didn't start the boarding process until 9:45am/10:00am (which meant we were going be delayed taking off as well).  Each passenger received a colored sticker on their boarding card and there was a sign as the order in which you were supposed to board -- nobody followed that.  Once they announced the boarding, it was a rush to board the plane (very chaotic and haphazard).  

The plane taking us to ADD was Ethiopian's new Boeing Dreamliner.  This would make the direct flight in 12h30m.  The seating is very comfortable in a 3-3-3 layout (as opposed to the 3-4-3 layout).  The 3-3-3- layout made the plane seem very big and spacious (not as spacious as the A380, but still good).  Since we were 3 people - we got 3 seats together and the seats were nice and comfortable.   Each seat had its own personal tv set, a leg rest (nice touch), a coat hanger, and a usb charging port (also a nice touch.

After majority of the people had been boarded and seated, there was an issue - apparently the same seats were assigned to two different people.  This happened to a number of people on the plane so even as we were pushing back from the gate - not all passengers were seated and not all luggage compartments closed.  My recommendation, get to your seat early in boarding.  Because of the delay in boarding and pushing back, and still not ready as we pushed back, we didn't take off until almost 11:45a/12pm (so almost 1.5hours after the scheduled time).



Once we were airborne, we received complimentary headsets (that you could take with you) along with an amenity packet of eyeshades, socks, and toothbrush - a nice touch.  Once we reached our cruising altitude, everyone adjusted in their seat for the long flight.  We were served drinks, then lunch, then drinks again, along with tea and coffee.  The service was decent and efficient, with the meals also decent.  The entertainment system was also pretty decent.  It's not as nice nor has as many selections as emirates, but it is pretty good and has enough selections and variety to keep you occupied for at least 8-10 hours.   

The new-ness and capability of the plane was well-apparent as the seats were very comfortable, the cabin looked new, and the bathrooms were nice and spacious.  Even though it was a full-flight with over 300+ people on it, the plane did not feel cramped.  Some snacks were served during the flight and prior to landing we were served breakfast, as we were landing around 7:45am in Addis.  Again, breakfast was decent and the service was efficient.  

We landed on time and taxied not to a gate, but rather to a parking stand across the taxiway from the gates & terminal.  We had to deplane via stairs, but then waited on the tarmac for the buses (which were late).  Once we boarded the buses (which looked pretty old) we were transported to the terminal for our 2.5 layover.  3/4 of the passengers were Ethiopians coming home for the holidays (we left in late December) while the rest of us were transit passengers to other parts of Africa.

There is not a lot to do in ADD - the duty free is pretty scarce and there are not that many restaurants or lounges.  There a lot of souvenir shops and other such places, and there is one internet cafe, but that is about it.  If Ethiopian really wants to build up their brand, they should really update their hub airport.

About an 1.5 hour prior to departure, we left the main hall and went through security to get to our holding gate for our departure to DAR.  Ethiopian does a loop from ADD so it goes ADD - DAR - ZNZ - ADD.  You can board at ADD and depart at DAR or ZNZ, or board at DAR or ZNZ and depart at ADD.  We were going to board at ADD and depart at DAR (so the first stop).

After we passed through security, we went downstairs to the holding area for the buses to take us to our waiting aircraft (again, no bridge terminals but buses.  There were bridge terminals there but not used for this flight).  The holding area was very small, cramped, and very hot and there were many passengers there waiting for multiple flights.  This led to a lot of confusion as the announcements were not made over the speaker, but rather yelled out so many people were confused.  We boarded our bus (again, very old bus) to our plane to take us to DAR.  

The plane to DAR - ET0805 was also nice, but an older plane (boeing 737-800) and it was a bit disappointing when coming from the Dreamliner.  The seats were comfortable and the plane decent, but you could tell it was an older plane.  The flight took off late - we were supposed to take off at 10:45am and took off around 11:15am - and there was a lot of waiting inside the aircraft (which seemed to be a theme on Ethiopian).  The flying time from ADD to DAR was 2.45 in which, again, complimentary headsets were handed out and we received lunch.  The food was decent and the service was efficient and friendly on this full flight.  The first stop was DAR so those passengers who were continuing on to ZNZ had to wait for us to deplane, and wait for passengers who were going back to ADD to board the plane.  

We landed at DAR, went through immigration and customs (very hot, very noisy and haphazard, and very cramped), then proceeded to gather our luggage (again very chaotic as bags were thrown everywhere), and then left the terminal.

Our return flight from DAR to ADD and then to IAD was a little different.  First, the flight took off very early in the morning  - at 2:10am - so it was a long day exploring and then a long night waiting at DAR airport (which does not have a lot to do).   As stated earlier, Ethiopian does a loop so ADD to DAR to ZNZ to back to ADD - we had got on on the DAR sector so that meant we had a pretty empty plane to ZNZ, but we had a long wait on the ground as passengers were boarded in ZNZ.  It was only supposed to be 30 minutes on the ground, but it ended up being over 1h20mins on the ground (again -- see a theme).  We landed in ADD and again had to take a bus to the terminal. 

Our flight landed at 7am into ADD and our next flight to IAD was not until 10:15pm - I did not purposely create the long layover, this is what the travel site had given me but I used it as an opportunity to explore Addis. 

Usually, with long layovers, the airline gives you a hotel or accommodation to rest.  Ethiopian had said that because I had chosen the long layover - which I actually was given the long layover - and that they had multiple flights from DAR to ADD that required less layover, they would not provide accommodation.  I had been told this by the DC Ethiopian office so had already arranged accommodation for myself and family.  I looked online and U.S. citizens do not need a transit visa - they can get a visa on arrival for Ethiopia.  I had all this information ready when I proceeded to the immigration counter - who sent me to the transfer desk and thus started the whole process.  

The transfer desk sent me to the visa on arrival, who sent me back to the transfer desk, who sent me back to immigration.  After an hour of going up and down from one place to another (and all this on 2 hours of sleep) I had enough.  I explained to the immigration supervisor what I had been told and what was needed, and he agreed with what I had but said that I needed to get the stamp from the transfers desk.  He went with me to the transfers desk - which was completely full and inundated with people and only one person to help at least 25 people; can we say INEFFICIENT!!! - and explained the situation to the lady but she still insisted I pay for my visa (which was supposed to be free).  As I said, it had been a long day and I was with my family so I just decided to pay $200 for our three visas to get us out of the airport and in a bed (when I returned to the U.S. I had emailed the DC Ethiopian Office, explained what happened, provided the evidence, and 2 months later received a check in the mail for the $200)

We went through customs and immigration and proceeded to our hotel --- we stayed at the Hilton Addis.  Our return flight from ADD to Dulles took a little longer and was not as comfortable as it was on a Boeing 777 instead of the dreamliner (which was still decent but not as comfortable) and because the return flight stops in Rome and has a crew change *passengers do not get out of the plane.  Again, it is only supposed to be an hour wait in Rome but we were on the ground for almost 2.5hours (very inefficient).  The only good thing was that the AC and the entertainment system was on the entire time.  Even though we were delayed, we still made our arrival time into Dulles.  Dulles now has a separate area for international transfers so this made the process a lot easier and smoother.  

Overall, Ethiopian is a good airline but there are little things that need to be improved to make it a great airline - timeliness, efficiency, customer service, and an improved hub airport.  With these updates, Ethiopian could be a great airline.

Trip Report: Precision Air - Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar (December 2013)

Trip Report: Precision Air - Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar

         comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

We were travelling in Tanzania and needed to get from Dar Es Salaam (DAR) to Zanzibar (ZNZ).  There are ferries that cross daily between the city and the island and operate many times during the day.  I have had friends take them and say they are perfectly fine, but a) I have heard too many stories of overloading on the boats; b) the water is very rough naturally and if its the rainy season (as it was when we went there in late December) than the water gets even more rough; and c) why take the chances when you can take a 15-minute flight. Having said that about the ferries, the airlines also don't have the best reputation for safety or timeliness; however, based on the research I did, the people I talked to, and my family's preference, we choose to fly.  

I booked my flight online through Precision Air.  Precision Air is a Tanzanian-based airline that flies to many destinations within Tanzania, and to other African countries in partnership with Kenya Airways (Kenya Airways owns 49% of Precision Air).  While they do have fares and schedules available online, the website is not the most user-friendly, does not look trustworthy, and requires patience and perseverance to navigate and complete your transactions.  After I booked my flight online, I emailed Precision Air to confirm the booking and they responded very quickly.  I was very impressed with their response times to emails and their customer service in this aspect.  After I had booked my travel, I needed to make a change to the flight and that was done free of cost (Precision Air offers a one-time, free of charge, booking change) and all through email and received the confirmations.  Very efficient.

I had a couple of days in DAR after my international flight and before my flight to ZNZ, and even though I had the confirmation emails, I noticed that at DAR airport Precision Air has a stall (outside the immigration and security when you exit the doors).  I went to the stall to confirm my booking and to ensure the flight was online (Precision Air was known to have some timeliness issues).  I was assured that my flights were confirmed and everything was on time, and was told to be at the airport 3-hours in advance.  Precision Air does have multiple flights a day to Zanzibar, but they are not as frequent and are scattered throughout the day so if you have an international connection, I would plan accordingly.

On the day of the flight, we arrived at the airport 3-hours in advance but there was nobody at the counter.  We waited and 2-hours prior to departure the counters opened and we checked in and received our boarding passes.  I did notice that a lot of the passengers who were flying were connecting passengers; i.e passengers who had just come off of an international flight and were connecting to Zanzibar on Precision Air and all via one-ticket.  We proceeded up to the domestic waiting lounges and waited for our flight (we had about 1.5 hour to wait).  

the plane @ ZNZ

There is not a lot to do at DAR airport.  The domestic side has a lot of seats in the middle and then the doors to the gates against the wall.  In the back of the chairs is a cafe/coffee shop, but that was about it (the international side wasn't much better, and to read about that, check out the post on kenya airways).  Mainly you just sit and wait, and do some plane-spotting. 

There are about 3 or 4 Tanzania-based airlines which fly around the country (and sometimes to other parts of the continent) and the one that has gotten most of the attention is 'fastjet', the startup founded by easyjet's stelios.  fastjet does fly to zanzibar, but not from DAR to ZNZ.  From DAR it flies to some northern cities, but mainly to other cities within the continent (very inexpensive fares to South Africa). 

About 30 mins prior to the departure time, we were called for boarding.  It was a little haphazard and there was no boarding announcement; they just opened the door to the gate which is was supposed to go through and people just started going through.  

entrance via the rear of the plane

The plane is a turboprop and you enter from the rear of the plane (the front of the plane has no entrance).  Boarding went fine and we were all seated and ready to go by the scheduled departure time.

The seats on the plane were generally comfortable and the pitch was pretty decent (I am 6'1 and I did not have an issue).  As it is a small plane, there is not a lot of storage space up top or underneath your seat, so keep that in mind.  

The flying time to ZNZ is 15-minutes, yep, 15 minutes so there was really no time to experience the service of Precision Air.  When we landed at ZNZ, some passengers got off while others were continuing on.  Precision Air usually does a loop so it goes from DAR to ZNZ to NBO and back to DAR; or DAR to ZNZ to another African city and then back to DAR - it picks up passengers at each stop (if you are on the first stop, very convenient, but if you are on the last stop then very inconvenient).  We landed at ZNZ on time and were let out on the runway to walk to the airport.  

For our return, we needed to change our flight again so we went to the Precision Air office in Zanzibar city (near Muzammil building with all the other airline offices) to change our flight.  The wait time was somewhat lengthy, but the agent was very nice and easily helped us change our flight (for a fee this time since this was our second change, the first is free and the second costs money - not that much though; about $30 for 3 passengers).  The return flight went equally smoothly and there were already passengers on board from Precision Air's earlier leg.  

baggage pick-up @ ZNZ

Overall, the price was pretty good, the plane was nice and in working order and it was a 15-minute flight which I am glad I choose (when we got to Zanzibar, we were told that due to the rainy season the waters had been extremely choppy so many ferry services were cancelled for days).  Yes there can be delays and there can be issues (there was an in-flight magazine with a letter from the Airline's CEO which detailed the financial trouble the airline was in and how it had to return two boeing planes, which it had required for expansion outside the country, which it is no longer doing).   Having said all that, the flight was smooth, it was fast and efficient, and it was a decent price so what more can you ask for :)