Trip Reports - S. African Airways JNB-CPT-JNB-FRA in C/F

Took a trip a few weeks ago on LH from LAX-FRA and then on LX from CDG-ZRH-JNB in F. Since I'm short on time I'll only post a report on the return SAA flights as I haven't seen any posted here in a while.

June 23 SA#333 JNB-CPT 747-300 Seat 2A
I haven't flown on SAA in ages and was not expecting much as I had heard horror stories from some people. I could have flown back to Europe on LX but decided to give SAA a try. As this was a domestic flight I wasn't expecting much. Used the separate Biz. check-in in JNB. Very courteous and efficient. Priority tags were attached to my bags and they actually came off first in CPT. Went to the Biz. lounge for 15 mins. Fully stocked bar and snacks (potato chips, nuts) were offered. Went to the gate and we were bussed to the plane. Was seated in the First Class section even though F is not offered. Kind of felt like I was on a Pan Am 747 in the 70's. Plane really made alot of noise taxiing around and esp. when the wheels retracted. I could tell this plane had been around the world alot but it was comfortable nonetheless. Seats reclined quite a bit but not flat. Cabin crew were very professional and friendly. They even suggested a few restaurants in CPT and a few nice bottles of wine to buy in CPT. Somehow two bottles from the plane ended up in my bag http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Cocktails and macadamias & pecans were served first. Lunch was either a beef fillet or fish. Starched linens and heavy silverware were presented incl. real knives. Beef was nice and was served with a small salad, cheese & crackers and a strawberry napoleon. 3 different white wines were offered. Not a red fan so not sure how many they had. Food was good and much better than a comparable US flight would offer. Flight time was 1:50 and was on time.

June 24 SA#?? CPT-JNB 747-400 Seat 2K
Check in was fairly quick. Luckily I noticed my bag had been checked on a LH flight from FRA to DAL. It should have been DFW and they corrected it. Went to the Biz. Lounge for some Cape Velvet. Its like Baileys but only better. They also had a staffed bar just like in JNB. Boarding started 30 mins. before departure and there was only a general call. We had to walk from the gate to the plane which was fine by me. Its kind of a rare treat to walk around a 747-400 and climb the stairs to board. This plane is used on their services to London as it has the flat business class seats to compete with BA. Again, I requested the First Class seats and had a single seat in the middle. The seats are the same as Swiss uses for their First Class. Very comfortable indeed, esp. for a 1:45 min flight. The flight attendants were most friendly and addressed everyone by their last name. (and they didn't have a list in front of them to read from) Drinks & nuts in individual bowls were offered. Snack consisted of either stir-fried beef & veggies or chicken & pasta. Chocolates & cookies were also on the tray. Food was decent for a snack but the luxurious surroundings made up for any shortcomings. I even managed to take a 30 min. nap when I reclined my seat fully. I checked out the biz. section and it is probably the most spacious one in the air. Tonnes of room between the seats and the seats themselves looked really comfy.

June 24 SAA# ?? JNB-FRA 747-300 Seat 1B
Didn't have much time between flights so after my Duty Free shopping was completed and I exchanged my Rand for US$ I had to make a dash for the flight. Wanted to check out the FC lounge but I'll just have to go back. Was expecting the same tired 747-300 I flew down to CPT on but this one seemed to be a bit fresher. Seats reclined quite a bit but not flat. 2 big linen pillows were on each seat. Leatherette amenity kit containing lotion, socks, eyeshades, lip balm, eye gel,toothbrush, and comb were passed out. Crew were again most professional and courteous. DVD players were offered as well. Dinner was pretty good. Not overly elegant but fairly top notched just as well. Dessert was nice and 6 cheeses were offered. Nice place settings with individual salt & pepper grinders and butter sculptures were on the tray. Was impressed when the flight attendant took the napkin and twisted it in the air and presented it so it could be attached to the button on my shirt. Then it neatly rolled down my shirt. After the dinner a big fluffy duvet was handed out. Really made the seat very comfortable. Flight time was 10 hours. I'll list the dinner menu:

Smoked Chicken, Duck & Beef
and/or Marinated Veggies

Seasonal salad

Grilled Fillet of Beef or
Roasted Chicken Breast or
Canadian Salmon or
Rondinelle Pasta (Pasta stuffed w/ Veggies)

Apple Strudel w/ nutmeg creme, ice cream and berries

Selection of 6 Cheeses

Chocolate Pralines & Teas, Coffees

Breakfast consisted of the following:
Fruit juices, coffees, teas

Sliced fresh fruit

Yoghurts and cereals

Boiled Eggs, Cheese Omelet, Beef Sausage, Streaky Bacon, Macaire Potatoes, Stuffed Tomato, Cold Cuts & Cheeses & Assorted Breads

Wines:
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Grand Cru

Jordan Blanc Fume 2000
Bushmans Creek Sauvignon Blanc 2001

Blauklippen Zinfandel 2000
Kleine Zalze Cab. Sauvignon 2000

Plus all the other booze normally seved on a F flight.
Overall I must say I was really impressed w/ SAA. Wouldn't mind flying them again at all. I know they have ordered several new Airbus 340's and heard they will not offer First on those aircraft. Plus S.Africa is a great place and very cheap for foreigners at the moment.


[This message has been edited by MileTex (edited 07-10-2002).]

Excellent report MileTex!
I've always wanted to travel to CPT and JNB but never have had the chance so far.

One day I hope to make the trip. I have flown SR in F IAD to ZRH and I always wish I was continuing on to CPT/JNB on SR. I just love the F suite seat.

I am equally impressed with the menu/service on SAA in F. Nice to hear.



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US-CP; UA PE; Hilton Gold VIP; Crowne Plaza Gold

THe F lounge in JNB, which is also used by LH, is really very good - seat service meals from a nice menu.

Thanks for the trip report.

I flew SAA in C JFK-JNB and CPT-MIA. While the conditions were better than Y, they weren't anywhere close to being as nice as what you experienced on your South Africa domestic flights!

But, SAA doesn't sour me on returning to South Afica which I hope to do sometime in the future when the kids are old enough to come along. We will just have to take CX or SQ the long way around (and hopefully in F!!).

And yes, the Rand is REALLY cheap compared to the dollar right now, you almost feel as if you have to go to South Africa to take advantage of the exchange rate!

[This message has been edited by onedog (edited 07-10-2002).]

Just returned from CPT and JNB. I agree that it is extremely inexpensive for visitors. People are VERY friendly. Flew BA from CPT to JNB and QF from JNB-SYD. Am very interested to fly SAA next year from JNB-JFK. Thanks

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by B Watson:
THe F lounge in JNB, which is also used by LH, is really very good - seat service meals from a nice menu.</font>
SAA is allowing LH to use this lounge now? I was refused entry a few months ago (flying LH in F) and they made several phone calls to check. Zero passengers in the lounge at the time. Gorgeous wood panelling in the new lounge (it was nice when it was downstairs, now it is even nicer construction). Do they still have home-made cakes? There were 2 elderly ladies on staff who would bake a cake every day and bring it in to the F lounge to augment the food service. Quite good and an unforgettable touch.

Just while they refurbish the LH lounge

Excellent report -- sounds like improvements have been made.

Thanks for your excellent report, MileTex. As always, I am especially appreciative of the time and effort put into transcripting the menu. Always a bonus!

SAA's domestic service looks supurb! As well, their Business Class meal service appears pretty decent. I have a couple of older SAA F Class menus in my collection. I would be curious how today's First Class stacks up on a longer run such as JNB-FRA...

Hey Seat 2A, the last flight I reported on was from JNB-FRA http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

That was First Class?! Sorry, I thought you were still in Business but got to sit up front. Obviously, that wouldn't happen on an international segment. No wonder I thought the Business Class fare looked so good! I'll have to make my morning coffee a little stronger!

To quote my ol' pal Anna Roseanna Danna:

"Never mind"

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Seat 2A:
That was First Class?! </font>
That was SAA. Their F service is a bit ragged (only on the LHR route is it better).
Used to be a pretty good airline (and might yet be good once again ... I certainly hope so). As an aside, a lot of SAA's current problems stem from ... their ex-president, a hotshot American (sic) who did much more harm than good. The SAA F lounge in JNB is remarkable (very, very good), even today.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by number_6:
The SAA F lounge in JNB is remarkable (very, very good), even today.

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We flew CX out of JNB in December, so used the SAA lounge. At that time, the F lounge was very tired and tatty, and had no computer terminals. We went to the SAA biz lounge, which had recently been renovated. It was terrific. It was spacious, had shower rooms, computer terminals, comfortable seats, and some food. Perhaps the SAA first lounge has been renovated by now; if not, use the biz lounge instead.

I think there is an old and new SAA First lounges in JNB, hence differences in reports.

Not surprising. When American managers took over Air France and Swissair, their service plummetted. So I am not surprised the same happenned to SAA.

thanks for the report!

i did fra - jnb - fra on saa in c class some 4 weeks ago.
in business, the age of the planes (747-300) really comes into play... you take a look in their inflight magazine where they tell you about their great seats and service (as well on the website) and are seated in really old seats with only few recline and terrible footrests (2 pax broke their footrests when trying to "unfold" them where nothing is to be unfolded...).

seats are not equipped with personal video either (watchmen are offered though with limited choice of films). my seatmate broke the armrest cover when checking out where the screen is...

as i was on a kind of "fly in - fly out" business trip and needed to sleep, saa was the wrong choice... but obviously i can only judge the fra routes as the updated c class looks good on any pictures they show you... while you suffer in the 747-300.

just wanted to share that with you.

Is the F class lounge also available for *-Gold´s?

I will be travelling to CPT in October in C for the second time this year.
The last time we weren´t able to find the C class lounge in JNB during our short stop there. So any help where I can find it?

Tim

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SanDiego1K:
We flew CX out of JNB in December, so used the SAA lounge. At that time, the F lounge was very tired and tatty, and had no computer terminals. We went to the SAA biz lounge, which had recently been renovated. It was terrific. It was spacious, had shower rooms, computer terminals, comfortable seats, and some food. Perhaps the SAA first lounge has been renovated by now; if not, use the biz lounge instead.</font>
You didn't use the SAA F lounge, you used the F lounge that SAA provides for other airlines....and it is sub-standard (CX uses the BA Terraces lounge now, instead, much nicer). The SAA F lounge is only for passengers flying SAA (and also LH this month), and it is quite lavish and empty. Has a full dining room service among other amenities. The SAA C lounge is nothing compared to their F lounge.