I should have known something was up when I wasn’t able to do online check-in and got a message to handle it at the airport or something to that effect. We were booked on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in business class so I was expecting a really comfortable experience like this.
So we were dropped at the airport and went to the business class check in, then went to the business class lounge to wait. It was attractively furnished and the Christmas tree was a nice touch and we grabbed some snacks while I went online.
When it was time to board THIS is what we saw. A 737! Where the hell was the Dreamliner I signed up for? None of the staff knew, they just said it was changed with no further explanation.
Instead of the posh business cabin above, THIS is what we got! Needless to say, I was not happy, this was not worth spending extra miles on. We could have split the redemption on United and used J for the outbound and Y on the return and saved 70k for us both. Anyway it was too late now so we shoved our backpacks into the overheads and settled into the meagre 737 seats.
The food was mediocre as well though the crew were very nice. We were given yellow amenity kits which I forgot to take photos of.
Yeah, finally something to make me forget where we were! The cabin was half empty so we each had a row of two seats to ourselves. I had already seen the movie on the overhead tv (yes, you heard me – an overhead tv in business class)!
I might as well throw in the next leg, Addis Ababa – Kilimanjaro. After our overnight layover, we passed through the usual formalities and headed to the Cloud Nine Lounge to wait.
We weren’t hungry since the hotel voucher included breakfast which is just as well since the food was mediocre. There was another security check between the lounge and the gate which was annoying.
You guessed it – another 737. Sigh! I decided not to take photos. The amenity was a yellow neck pouch which was actually nice for budget travelers, we use these a lot for docs and money. We put them inside our clothes in pickpocket zones.
At least this was a short flight and the wonders of Tanzania lay ahead!
