On Sunday the 28th October 2018, Kenya Airways finally launched its maiden flight into the US airspace. And CHAMS media team was part of this journey and managed to capture the various interesting moments experienced during the whole trip to and fro.
This report captured the experiences in both KQ002 to John F. Kennedy International Airport and KQ003 to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
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Cabinet Secretary, Foreign Affairs, Monica Juma
The historic take-off finally became a reality with a nearly full flight with the chief guest being the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Monica Juma. Also on board were KQ CEO Sebastian Mikosz, US Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec, 3 senators and 8 members of National Assembly and many other celebrities and business people.
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According to the CS Foreign Affairs, the timing of the flight is great where one leaves in the evening and arrives in New York in the morning.
Everything about the flight proved to be interesting starting from the food and who actually handled it. This is celebrated chef Kiran Jethwa who was preparing meals for the business class. He explains that all of the produce he uses comes from Kenya.
Chef Kiran Jethwa
“The inspiration here is to take Kenyan food and give it a contemporary taste,” he said. “We are on Kenya Airways, 30000ft above the ground, it’s all about Kenya.”
Apart from the lip-smacking meals on board, Alex Chamwada, CEO CHAMS media also got a chance to converse with KQ CEO and US Ambassador.
They both agreed that this flight was significant in creating opportunities for Kenya to trade and relate with the US.
Other persons on board also managed to express their delight and explain to CHAMS media team just how much this flight had been a thrill. Among them were the hosts of Capital FM Breakfast show; Amina Abdi and Maqbul Mohammed who agreed that the trip had been fantastic and that they had eaten to their fill.
Other celebrities also on board were Simon Kabu and his wife, the CEO and MD Bonfire Adventures, Robert Nyasimi, CEO RENTCO East Africa Ltd, winners of various awards among many other people. Richard Quest, CNN International anchor and reporter was also a part of the flight.
By the time the journey came to a halt at John F. Kennedy International Airport, everyone was delighted.
Richard Quest, CNN International news anchor
During the return flight back to Kenya, the feeling of amazement and excitement was still in the air. Passengers still agree that this is one of the best things that has happened to Kenya after a long while now. From over 24hrs on air to 15hrs or less, this is the best thing anyone could ever ask for.
The excitement after the landing of the flight
By the time the flight landed back to JKIA, the captain had surprised everyone on board by announcing that it was one hour ahead of schedule. Thanks to this new development, there now exists an everyday flight to and from New York. This flight was one of a kind.
Finally, the captains who made both trips possible invited everyone to be on board in the flights to come! Indeed, this is a great opening for Kenya.
Captains behind the flights
