Africa - Are SA and DL the only airlines that go non-stop from US to SA?

Well, are SAA and DL the only airlines that go non-stop to South Africa from the US?

SAA has only JFK-JNB nonstop. IAD is direct with fuel stop in Dakar Senegal.

Delta NS from Atlanta.

Would these be the most pain-free flights from the US?

Would these be the most pain-free flights from the US?

That really depends on your departure city and class of service you´re intending to fly.

If your departure city is JFK or ATL, it´s hard to beat the non-stop flights.
If you live on the west-coast (say SFO or LAX) I´d personally choose SFO/LAX-ZRH-JNB, particularly when flying C or F.

That really depends on your departure city and class of service you´re intending to fly.

If your departure city is JFK or ATL, it´s hard to beat the non-stop flights.
If you live on the west-coast (say SFO or LAX) I´d personally choose SFO/LAX-ZRH-JNB, particularly when flying C or F.

Going out of SFO, but I am planning to go standby to SA. So I want it as pain free as possible.

LH may be another good option from the west coast. My routing was SEA-FRA-JNB and worked out well.

In Business Class it is really hard to beat the ATL - JNB non-stop flight. (Decent service and really comfortable, in my opinion, lay flat seats) You should be able to get to ATL from virtually anywhere in the US non-stop. The only way I'd go on South African would be if I was flying from JFK or Dulles and could thus avoid a connection. Connecting in Europe works OK, but sometimes the connections are pretty long. For example, DTW - CDG on Air France and then CDG - JNB on Air France means a 12 hour layover in CDG. But, the CDG - JNB flight is on an A-380 which some people may want to take. You'll also have to go through security in the European airport if you decide to connect in Europe.

I recently flew the JFK-JNB route on SA in business...lie flat seats, great food and pretty decent IFE. The 15 hours actually went by pretty quickly. Agree with the others on doing all you can to go direct. I was using miles and it took a bit of work to get 2 round trips on that flight, but very worth it. I was offered a number of other routings (via Frankfurt or Addis Abba) that had lots of seats, but the layovers were 8-24 hours depending on the route.

In Business Class it is really hard to beat the ATL - JNB non-stop flight. (Decent service and really comfortable, in my opinion, lay flat seats)

Not sure what you mean, as I only know of "flat beds" and "recliners".

I just booked LAX-LHR-JNB for the holidays (3 J awards on UA/SAA). It ends up being a 10.5 hr flight, 4 hr layover, and then an 11.5 flight for 26 hours total. I like the two red-eyes being split up evenly.

That said, I probably would have booked through JFK had awards been available. It was something like a 5 hr flight, 4 hr layover, and then the 15 hr flight for 24 hours total LAX-JFK-JNB. SFO must be similar. I did book my return JNB-JFK-LAX.

I believe one of the nice aspects of the Delta flight is that it leaves later, so you could do SFO-ATL-JNB leaving early AM and only have 1 red-eye. Of course you arrive into JNB in the afternoon vs. morning, so really depends on your schedule and preferences.

No idea what considerations going standby throws into the mix?

Are you flying standby buddy pass thing?
If you are and flying BACK from SA on Delta, and it's a holiday period ( either us or SA holiday periods)
You could be bumped off flight for weight and balance issues.
They often fly with many open seats because of WnB issues
You on a buddy pass will the lowest on the totum pole
It happened to a friend last year
Ended up buying a ticket on another airline

Are you flying standby buddy pass thing?
If you are and flying BACK from SA on Delta, and it's a holiday period ( either us or SA holiday periods)
You could be bumped off flight for weight and balance issues.
They often fly with many open seats because of WnB issues
You on a buddy pass will the lowest on the totum pole
It happened to a friend last year
Ended up buying a ticket on another airline I'll second that, any time. Just flew JNB-ATL. There were folks who had been waiting days, but we left woth empty seats and no nonrevs. I'm told the DL flight is almost impossible ex-JNB.

What about North American Airlines?

What about North American Airlines? They flew Ghana and Nigeria, but discontinued a few years ago when DL pushed in.

There are many paths to Johannesburg, and taking the one that may result in being grounded for some time because of weight and balance issues may not be the optimal.

According to the O R Tambo International (JNB) Airport website today (and some more):

Direct from United States
Delta
South African Airways

Other airlines flying to Johannesburg OR Tambo

Air China
Air Namibia
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
EL AL Israel Airlines
Emirates
Etihad Airways
Ethiopian Airlines
Kenya Airways
KLM
Lufthansa
Malaysian Airways
Virgin Atlantic

probably a few others and a slew of codeshares ;)

According to the O R Tambo International (JNB) Airport website today (and some more):

Direct from United States
Delta
South African Airways

Other airlines flying to Johannesburg OR Tambo

Air China
Air Namibia
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
EL AL Israel Airlines
Emirates
Etihad Airways
Ethiopian Airlines
Kenya Airways
KLM
Lufthansa
Malaysian Airways
Virgin Atlantic

probably a few others and a slew of codeshares ;)

The other airlines that serve JNB:

1Time (T6)
Air Austral (UU)
Air France (AF)
Air Botswana (BP)
Airlink (4Z)
Air Madagascar (MD)
Air Mauritius (MK)
Air Seychelles (HM)
Arik Air (W3)
Comair (BA)
Egypt Air (MS)
Federal Airlines (7V)
InterAir South Africa (D6)
Korongo Airlines (ZC)
kulula.com (MN)
LAM-Limhas Areas de Mocambique (TM)
Mango (JE)
Qantas (QF)
Qatar Airways (QR)
Rwandair Express (WB)
Saudia (SV)
Singapore Airlines (SQ)
Sol Air (ZS)
South African Express (XZ)
Swiss (LX)
TAAG Angola Airlines (DT)
Thai Airways International (TG)
Turkish Airlines (TK)

Thanks, Austinrunner.

Nigeria's Arik Air doesn't look half bad, and it could actually be quite an interesting way to get from SA to the US.

The 787's will certainly be a welcome boost to the fleet when they arrive, but the A340's they currently have sport a 34" Y pitch and a great J offering - with an onboard bar even (obviously from the old Virgin Nigeria days).

Check out a story on Arik Air on my blog:

http://flymefunky.com/2012/09/random-airline-of-the-week-arik-air/

Nigeria's Arik Air doesn't look half bad

Looks can be deceiving.

I'd pick virtually any of the other airlines ahead of Arik.

Looks can be deceiving.


Sure - but for a little-known random airline it packs a punch compared to others in the same category. The arrival of the 787's will boost the airline no doubt and i'm sure frequent flyers would jump at the chance to give them a whirl.

I've been flying between Tanzania (which is admittedly not South Africa) and the West Coast for the last three years. I strongly prefer to connect in Europe (usually ZRH) and then fly direct to the West Coast. This allows me to avoid having to connect and deal with security etc in the US, and also let's me stay on international flights / non-US carriers for the entire trip. YMMV of course.

Sure - but for a little-known random airline it packs a punch compared to others in the same category. The arrival of the 787's will boost the airline no doubt and i'm sure frequent flyers would jump at the chance to give them a whirl.

In case you didn't hear, Arik suspended all operations on the day you posted that - hence my comments. They are allegedly due to restart tomorrow.

UA also flies IAH-LOS.