Excitedly I present my passport to the Nigerian customs agent, who promptly request a visa. After asking where to a purchase visa, I'm told it must be acquired prior to landing. Thirteen hours later, I'm deported, not to Rwanda, from where I came, but to Ethiopia. Why Ethiopia? Because Kenya Airways replaced their larger plane that had mechanical problems with a smaller plane in which business travelers had priority. Six hours of terminal sightseeing and I'm rerouted through Ethiopia. Arriving about 1:00 a.m., millions of Ethiopians were asleep when Kenya Airways distributed vouchers to hotels. Once we arrived, the musty hotel had no electricity and we were escorted to a sparsely candled restaurant to eat the remains of an earlier banquet. About 2:30, the lights were on to expose stained carpet and tattered wall paper. After listening to a woman fuss at a man that brought her food, we were dispersed to our rooms. There I found a stained bedspread and torn curtains. Hesitantly I retired and was awakened at six for breakfast and departure to Nigeria. Kenya Airways would not return me to Rwanda and insisted that I purchase a ticket to another destination. I waited for a supervisor that would assist me in returning to Rwanda. Another four hours of terminal sightseeing and the only assistance I received was a man that made false promises and that tried to trick me into using my return ticket to the states as passage to another destination. Once I returned to the Kenya Airways main office and explained what happened, the office supervisor said the ticket agent that sold me my ticket to Nigeria was responsible for informing me of the visa requirements for each country I visited and I should therefore be reimbursed by that airline. He felt this way until he was told the agent that sold the ticket was in his office. The buck stopped at him and the conversation ended with his need to investigate the matter and calling me latter. I never received the call or the three hundred and fifty dollar reimbursement. I did learn that information on the internet changes in foreign countries without warning or it's simply inaccurate, thus the reason for the ticket agent to responsibly inform the traveler of a countries requirements. Kenya Airways cost me two days of terminal sightseeing and three hundred and fifty dollars on that part of the trip and damaged luggage as well as removed items from my luggage that were not replaced. The Pride of Kenya is with the lions not Kenya Airways. For eighteen hundred and eighty nine dollars I visited five countries, Nigeria was the sixth, I didn't and don't think the price was exorbitant, but I do think Kenya Airways were unjust in their dealings with me. Upon speaking with other airline heads, I'm told, no one wants to accept vouchers from Kenya Airways because of their dishonorable business practices.


Recommended: Yes