To complete the journey to Bangkok, I booked a business-class e-ticket on Kenya Airways.  On arrival at HKG from Dallas, TX  in first class on an American Airlines 777-300, I had to wait an hour for the transfer desk to open to get the boarding pass for the flight to BKK on Kenya Airways.

Transfer desks at international airports allow travelers to get boarding passes and address other issues with travel without having to go through customs and immigration and exit security.  The business-class boarding pass was my ticket to the Skyteam Lounge where I passed the time before boarding Kenya Airways Flight KQ861 to BKK.

KQ661 was scheduled to depart at 21:10 and arrive at 23:20, a flight time of three hours and 10 minutes.  The great-circle distance between HKG and BKK is 1,050 miles.

Boarding started about 20 minutes after the scheduled departure time.  Business-class passengers boarded through the forward door while economy passengers used the second door.

Kenya Airways 787-8 Business Class Seat

Kenya Airways 787-8s have 30 business-class seats divided between two cabins and 204 seats in economy.  Business-class seats are arranged 2-2-2, and economy seats are 3-3-3.  According to SeatGuru, the business-class seats are 31 inches wide and have 74 inches of pitch.

My seat was 3A.

The seats have plenty of room, but they don’t look or feel 31 inches wide.  On the other hand, 74 inches of pitch might be an understatement.  The seat reclines to an angled, full-flat position.  The lack of a 180 degree recline and direct aisle access was no problem on this flight because it was short and the load in business was light enough so that everyone had an empty seat beside them if desired.

Controls are located on the console between seats.

The seatback in front holds the video screen, ottoman and a few storage spaces.

A 787’s best feature is the electronically dimmable windows.

Amenities

Amenities for the flight included, amenity kit, slippers, blanket, pillow, and stereo headsets.

slippers, eyeshades, earplugs, comb/brush and dental kit

Hong Kong Departure

While at the gate, the flight attendants (FAs) offered a selection of international newspapers and pre-departure beverages.

On the climb out, glimpses of Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong appeared through gaps in the low layer of broken clouds.

The Service

The service began at the gate with newspapers and pre-departure beverages.  Then, for passengers going to Bangkok, the FAs distributed cards for Thai immigration and the Premium(Priority) Lane.

The immigration form consists of an arrival card to be presented when entering the country and a departure card to be presented when leaving.  Keep the departure card in your passport, but if it is lost, you can fill out a new one.

Kenya Airways serves a light meal between HKG and BKK.  Here are the menus:

I chose the chicken thigh for my entree.  The FAs served the meal about 35 minutes after departure and offered beverages before and during the meal.

The meal was very good although it reminds me of the meals US airlines used to serve in coach back in the day.  That was it for the scheduled service on this two-and-one-half-hour flight.  The FAs remained available to respond to individual requests.

To avoid sleeping before the late-night arrival at BKK, I watched some video and perused the Kenya Airways inflight magazine.

Kenya Airways is partially owned by KLM and belongs to the Skyteam alliance.  It  participates in the Flying Blue frequent-flyer program.  The Kenya Airways fleet:

The current route maps:

Bangkok Arrival

Time on this flight seemed to go by quickly.    Because the airline pads the schedule by an hour over the required flying time, we arrived at the gate at BKK only slightly delayed.

I used the Premium Lane card to breeze through Thai immigration in the Priority Lane.

Overall Impression

Kenya Airways did a nice job on this flight.  The FAs provided efficient and pleasant service.  The food and beverages were in line with my expectations for a short-haul international business-class flight.  The seating configuration was not all-aisle-access and fully lie-flat but that was not an issue with business class being mostly empty.  I’d gladly take this airline again on this route especially if the price for business class is as low as it was for this flight.