Africa - Enough connection time in JNB for customs/immigration? (ORD-DUR, via GRU & JNB)

I'll be flying from ORD to Durban on SAA (connecting in GRU and Johannesburg). I understand I'll have to go through customs/immigration at JNB (and not in DUR) since it's my first arrival point in South Africa.

My proposed connection time at JNB is 1hr 20 min. One agent told me it's too little and another said it's fine. Anybody with experience on this transfer have any tips? Will it be enough? (Full itinerary will be on one ticket through United using miles; next option is 4 1/2 hr layover at JNB)

Thanks.

The minimum connection time for international to domestic at JNB is 90 minutes so it's surprising that any agent would allow, or even be able to book, less than that.

Personally I think 80 minutes is just too short. You must check your luggage onto the domestic leg at least 30 minutes before departure. That leaves just 50 minutes to clear immigration, collect luggage, clear customs and get to a check-in desk. It's certainly doable but it really doesn't leave much room for anything going wrong.

The minimum connection time for international to domestic at JNB is 90 minutes so it's surprising that any agent would allow, or even be able to book, less than that.

Personally I think 80 minutes is just too short. You must check your luggage onto the domestic leg at least 30 minutes before departure. That leaves just 50 minutes to clear immigration, collect luggage, clear customs and get to a check-in desk. It's certainly doable but it really doesn't leave much room for anything going wrong.

Thanks for the reply. Due to mileage availability, my only choices for my JNB connection (to DUR) are 80 minutes or 4 1/2 hours. If I risk the 80 min choice and I miss the connection, is it usually easy enough to get put on the next flight without charge (which is 1 hr later)?
thanks

I have no recent experience of that I'm afraid. I do know that the reverse (i.e. trying to get onto an earlier flight - even when it's wide open) results in them asking for a fee nowadays. If it's a legal connection SA should accommodate you, I would think. But is it a legal connecting time?

On the fence about keeping this post going/bump v. new thread since my originating and final destination airports are different but the root question "enough connection time in JNB?" is still the same.

Scene:
December 2011
Mr & Mrs. jsnydcsa and two small (in Dec. 2011, 3 year old, 1 year old) kids. Tons of luggage (we're muling over stuff for Father Christmas). FWIW - priority tagged at IAD (it's been 50/50 for me on whether the bags come out first in JNB, or even if one or two do, other bags are at the end).

We've never directly connected over to another SAA flight. We've always laid over in JNB for a few days-week to visit friends, family, etc. So, pre-mega JNB/World Cup airport renovations, during the renovations and after the renovations, we never really cared about connection time. And, of course, in the past, didn't have two kids and Father Christmas' bags.

So, is 90 minutes still enough. Cheetah is right. 90 minutes is the "legal" limit (just confirmed with SAA USA by phone).

But, there's a difference between legal and practical. And, for the life of me, I just can not recall seeing "re-check" desks in Int'l arrivals that would at least help (rather than Mr. jsnydcsa and porter(s) hauling the luggage over to JNB domestic).

While the entire itinerary is on the same ticket and we'd be "checked in" in IAD all the way through to CPT. I'm still concerned (in a TIA, TIA SAA way) that we'd get jammed and be stuck 'til a later JNB-CPT flight. We're landing at JNB on a Saturday evening, it'll be slow, people will not be as "attentive" / I can only imagine the attitude of the baggage handlers, etc. etc. on a Saturday afternoon.

So, while the originating and final destination points change. The same thread question remains under the facts/queries above, is 90 minutes enough.

FWIW - This is all due to the fact that SAA has bumped the arrival time of SA208 from 5:05 p.m. arrival to 6:00 p.m. arrival. Whereas prior to this change we had just a hair over 2.5 hours of connection time, now it is - exactly - 1.5 hours (90 mins) between the arrival of 208 and our JNB-CPT departure.

At least 90 minutes is legal and you're on one ticket with SA all the way. So if anything goes wrong you know SA will look after you.

90 minutes is quite doable provided nothing goes too badly wrong. That would include late arrival or, as happened to me recently, 90 minutes from wheels down to bags on carousel. (And that was at 8 in the morning. I think there is a lot more pressure in the mornings with all the flights arriving from Europe and Asia.) Add to that the fact that the 19:30 is SA's last departure for CPT on a Saturday. So if things do go pear shaped SA would presumably put you up in a hotel and fly you out next day.

So the question you need to answer is: how much of a disruption to your plans would that be compared to the alternative of booking yourself into an airport hotel and flying the next day anyway?

So the question you need to answer is: how much of a disruption to your plans would that be compared to the alternative of booking yourself into an airport hotel and flying the next day anyway?

Don't know if you have two kids (who'll be just over three and about 11 months) and all the attendant garbage (flame-on re: traveling too heavy, I know), but the actual disruption of spending a night in a JNB hotel and flying out the next morning is the least of the problems whether booked by me (in advance) or by SAA (if they cared when the inbound flight / off-load / etc. go messed up).

I'm going to hold for now. As I often book this trip 9+ months out (we know we're going to SA from DC at least 1-2x year), I've seen the skeds change. So, I'm going to wait.

Thx!