Kenya Airways (KQ) has shed light on why passengers aboard a half-empty flight are not allowed to switch seats.
KQ was responding to a British customer who asked why travelers aboard a London-bound KQ flight were prevented from moving to their preferred unoccupied seats.
“I’ve always flown @KenyaAirways through thick and thin…but they are going down tubes. Today London flight half empty but colleagues who wanted to move to empty seats stopped from doing it…no reason…they will be going BA next time,” Kevin Marsh tweeted.
In response, Kenya Airways said that passengers in non-full flights are arranged in a manner that achieves the plane’s balance.
“Hi, seat allocation for a flight that is not full is done in such a way to balance the aircraft in flight. The center of gravity has to be kept at all times for the safety of all on board,” Kenya Airways explained.
KQ is 100% right on that.
KQ is 100% right on that.
This is not new, or unique…
This is not new, or unique to KQ. Even in flights that are almost full, one has to ask a flight attendant, before moving to an empty seat. It is for an even weight distribution in the plane. The Briton should expect the same, even with BA.
Lame excuse. Planes are…
Lame excuse. Planes are designed with balance in mind.
KQ why don’t you weigh…
KQ why don’t you weigh people to make sure the weight is balanced. Fat people might be sited on side and thin people on the other side
@ Kenya, good point.Iguess…
@ Kenya, good point.Iguess is that at one point the gravity issue was critical.Now some planes dont even have assigned seats…
Great answer but low analogy…
Great answer but low analogy, so it means even 1 person shift will make the plane topple?? Come on KQ, get someone with creative uwongo to lie intelligently period. If that is thw case, then they should mix big with small, short with tall to achieve the so called “balance”. Anyway I love KQ forever(Mama yangu)
@Tingatinga, your weight is…
@Tingatinga, your weight is declared in your passport, and accommodated automatically, when you book a ticket. Changing seats is something that Airlines have limited control over. I know this because I once asked to change from where I was seating. The Air hostess explained about the seating determining the plane’s ‘balance’. She had to make an inquiry, before I was allowed to change seats. And it was not KQ.
Rubbish because they know in…
Rubbish because they know in advance which passengers will not show so that if a plane is full it is fully balanced why let a mere air hostess handle your PR KQ see your life now
@Raia, you may Rubbish it,…
@Raia, you may Rubbish it, but the flight crew don’t have control over it. It doesn’t matter whether you agree with it, not. Their Training forbids them to allow passengers to change seats. We don’t know how they ‘balance’ the plane. Maybe the System puts more ‘baggage’, or fuel, where there is less weight. An Aeroplane has Instruments, which tell the Captain of everything that is going on. Fuel is stored in the Wings, and body of Aeroplane, while some of the fuel, and all the luggage, is stored in the fuselage. The Instruments show the Captain if any change is needed. Again, this is not unique Kenya Airways. KQ is just following instructions from the Aeroplane Makers. And they are the same people who make Aeroplanes for BA. You Rubbish it, only if you know better than the manufacturer, how the Plane operates.
@Raia, you talk from a point…
@Raia, you talk from a point of Ignorance. I don’t think that you would talk like that, if you have ever flown in an Aeroplane.
Fuel and luggage is…
Fuel and luggage is distributed in the Aeroplane, according to its actual weight and distribution, before takeoff. U will get where you are going to, without any problems, if you remain in your seat(unless ofcourse,you are going to the bathroom). It is foolish to expect Airlines to explain the laws of Aerodynamics to passengers. KQ buys its Aeroplanes from Boeing. They are not ‘made in Kenya’, and the flight crew are not ‘trained in Kenya’. They are trained according to International Standards. Ps, Outside Kenya, hakuna ‘Ujirani’. The System calculates the Weight and distribution of the Passengers, and Calculates how the Cargo(read baggage), and fuel, is going to be distributed in the Wings, and fuselage. I don’t even think that KQ should have attempted to explain this. You are told, before boarding an Aeroplane. You either accept the rules of the flight, or you don’t board the plane. There is no provision in the ticket for boarding the Aeroplane, and following your own rules.
@ settles nomad stop wasting…
@ settles nomad stop wasting yr time explaining to this black white kenyans regungees living abroad who r always negative about their country n anything kenyan gava comes up with.Am waiting for that day most of we the blacks will come out from such negativity mentality kila wakati.Kwani how foolish or brainwashed do we become when we move to majuu???Na venye watu wamesomaa!May our God of kirinyaga helps us.But we will not get tired of educating or instilling wisdom to our pple .
Deported Halisi, you really…
Deported Halisi, you really aren’t too smart.it is unlikely the Kenya govt. came up with the regulations. More likely, these protocols have been developed for safety and legal reasons long before KQ or EAA existed. I’d be willing to bet those aren’t diasporans since most diasporans fly more than you due to the vast distances they have to cover. They are quite familiar with FAA regulations which are stringent to the point where failure to obey flight crew instructions will lead to arrest. Furthermore air hostess is not a term you hear used much by diasporans. Try flight attendant. Every time I think I’ll give you credit, you show your abysmal ignorance.
Hahahahaha who gave that…
Hahahahaha who gave that answer? BS
@mundumugo am not here to b…
@mundumugo am not here to b given points.Thiii ukiumaga bratha.Can u prove they rnot diasporas then i will apologise for always mentioning diaspora refungees????
@ Halisi I can no more prove…
@ Halisi I can no more prove they aren’t from majuu than you can can prove they aren’t kenya based. Which is why I won’t make assumptions as you did. By all means, berate someone for not understanding airline rules and thinking they deserve special consideration but don’t use the diaspora as an excuse.
Haiya yawa I have never read…
Haiya yawa I have never read such stupidity and others continue to pile it on. I refuse to argue with fools Ati you will not switch seats to disrupt the balance upuzi . Kwani when you get up to use the bathroom in a plane does the plane tilt towards the front or the back depending on where the bathroom is and then another idiot said when you check in the weight is automatically added since it is on your passport ujinga kiasi so what happens if I gain weight by overeating on the plane or am traveling on a stolen passport . When you let a form four or standard eight drop out handle your Public relations this is what happens. Seriously the mind is a terrible thing to waste. KQ see yah life now I did not know some diasporians were so thick another one asking me if I had been on a plane do not worry your simple mind I travelled here by swinging on bushes and shrubs.Yenyewe if some of you are that ignorant it is best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Haiya yawa I have never read…
Haiya yawa I have never read such stupidity and others continue to pile it on. I refuse to argue with fools Ati you will not switch seats to disrupt the balance upuzi . Kwani when you get up to use the bathroom in a plane does the plane tilt towards the front or the back depending on where the bathroom is and then another idiot said when you check in the weight is automatically added since it is on your passport ujinga kiasi so what happens if I gain weight by overeating on the plane or am traveling on a stolen passport . When you let a form four or standard eight drop out handle your Public relations this is what happens. Seriously the mind is a terrible thing to waste. KQ see yah life now I did not know some diasporians were so thick another one asking me if I had been on a plane do not worry your simple mind I travelled here by swinging on bushes and shrubs.Yenyewe if some of you are that ignorant it is best to let sleeping dogs lie.
I’m neither aeronautical…
I’m neither aeronautical engineer nor pilot so I claim no expertise on the effects of weight distribution due to seat swapping on the flight handling characteristics of a plane. I suspect after reading the following that it has to do with both revenue and safety. Suffice it to say if the crew deny your request, then forget your delusions of privilege and accept it with grace.
http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20170202-when-is-it-okay-to-switch-plane-seats
Mimi huwa siulizi,…
Mimi huwa siulizi, wananikuta nimelalia 3 empty seats snoring