Our plane was late as we waited at the airstrip for almost 40 minutes before it arrived. The flight to Nairobi was the standard 11-passenger plane and was almost full. The flight was over an hour and was smooth. We landed at Wilson airport and had to take a car (waiting for us) over to Kenyatta Airport which was where international flights depart. That drive took only about 20 minutes but gave us the impression that Nairobi was not a destination we should put on our bucket list.
So, we entered Terminal 2 of Kenyatta Airport at about 1:15 pm. We had hoped we could check-in and then go to the business class lounge to get a bite to eat and wait for our flight. That plan did not materialize. Our Qatar flight was scheduled to depart at 5:55 pm and we found out from a Brit waiting for the same flight that they would not open the check-in until 3 hours before that, meaning we had about a 45-minute wait. Further, we found out that the lounge was dismal. And the terminal was not well air conditioned (read hot).
Around 2 pm, the staff started to setup the economy check-in in the middle of the area but, we were behind our Brit “friend” so second in line for business class check-in. Check-in had the usual batch of paperwork, Covid test results, passport, etc. Once checked in and insured that our luggage was checked through to JFK, we went through security to find the business class lounge. At the lounge, we found that our tickets did not qualify for the lounge but for a mere $35/person, we could stay in the shitty lounge. We opted NOT to stay, instead finding a seat near an air conditioner and waiting it out for boarding. What was interesting is that business class boarded LAST, not first, which caused us some confusion especially as the “PA system” was a guy speaking indistinctly at the front of the waiting area.
Once boarded, all was fine. We had only a 2-hour layover in Doha and knew where the lounges were, so it was all good back to JFK.
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