I am considering using an award ticket to travel from the UK to South Africa next June. Since I will be using Delta Sky Miles, it seems that my options will be Air France and South African Airways. OS, SN and SR will all have probably left the program by then and South African Airways will probably have joined it by then. It will be in economy class and I am most interested in legroom and seat comfort.

Thanks a lot for any help!!

I remember reading that free tickets on SR are good for a year after they are issued- as long as they are ISSUED before SR cancels its agreements with Delta. Thus, I think that as long as you have the miles in advance, a trip on SR to South Africa in June is possible.

While I've never taken SAA, I understand it is well known for its great food and service up front and I have heard from other friends/colleagues that they also do a very respectable job in economy as well. I'd try SAA since they also seem to have somewhat fewer strikes as summer approaches!

Thanks, Doc and Doug - much appreciated. I'm a big fan of SR so that's good news that I could fly them. However, I've also heard that SAA is good so I would like to give them a try. I suppose given the usual scarcity of award seats, I'll take what I can get, but my first choice will be SAA followed by SR. Presumably, since SR tickets are still valid for a year after they're issued - even if travel is after the end of the DL agreement, the same applies to OS and SN. My understanding is that TP is still a partner, but given that they are a member of Qualiflyer, they may be leaving soon too.

So, I'll take SAA if I can. Otherwise, if I act soon before the deadline, they'll be more choices than if I book later. As of right now, I think I can use AF, SR, SN, OS and TP to go to South Africa with SAA joining the list soon.

Thanks a lot for all of the input!!

Depending on your preference, SN has daylight flights BRU-JNB which none of the other airlines has.