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Browsing Tag: Embraer

Flight Review: Kenya Airways – Flying “The Pride of Africa” to Nairobi

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On the way to Nairobi, on a clear day you can se Mt Kilimanjaro, sadly not today Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter

En route to Nairobi, on a clear day, you can see Mt. Kilimanjaro; sadly, not today – Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter

As part of a recent trip to Africa, I had to take a commercial flight from Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) to Nairobi (Kenya). There are essentially two options for this route; either the direct flight with Kenya Airways or via Zanzibar with Precision Air. Normally, I would take the more adventurous option, but as my trip was time-critical, I chose the direct Kenya Airways flight.

As Kenya Airways is part of the SkyTeam alliance, I was able to take advantage of my elite status on the flight. This not only included an additional baggage allowance, but also access to the local lounge (Tanzanite Lounge) in Dar Es Salaam. The lounge access was well worth it, as it was the only room in the whole terminal to be air-conditioned.

Boarding the pride of Africa to Nairobi Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter

Boarding “The Pride of Africa” to Nairobi – Photo: Jacob Pfleger | AirlineReporter

Boarding was on-time and, as expected in true African fashion, was chaotic with no priority boarding enforced. Upon boarding the Embraer E190, I was surprised to find an actual business class cabin in a 1-2 layout. My second surprise came in the form of individual in-seat IFE at every seat, including economy. Whilst the size of the screen was relatively small, the selection of TV programs and movies was more than sufficient for the 90-minute flight.

Airline Livery of the Week: Azul Brazilian Airlines

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Click any photo for larger version

The word “azul” in Portuguese means “Blue.” This is odd for two reasons. First, this special livery is pink and the airline was created by David Neeleman, who was the founder and former CEO of jetBlue.

The airline started service in December of 2008 and has a fleet of 28 aircraft, consisting of Embraer 190s, Embraer 195s and a few ATR 72-600s. They fly to 30 destinations with more than 200 flights be day.

In the next few months, they will be taking delivery of 20 new ATR 72-600s and recently, ATR delivered a pretty-in-pink aircraft to Azul to help promote breast cancer awareness. In a recent ATR press release, they state, “On its fuselage, the aircraft will promote FEMAMA, a Brazilian non-profit organization dedicated to fighting the disease. In addition, ATR and its suppliers involved in the organization of the delivery of the aircraft will contribute funds for the Toulouse Cancer Campus.”

Although pink is not my favorite color, I think it looks good with Azul’s livery and actually I think the pink makes the plane pop a bit more than their standard blue livery.