Umhlanga
Aug 30, 06, 2:03 pm
My apologies for taking a few weeks to post this. I also apologize for the lack of pictures, but my wife was embarrassed when I told her that I was going to take pictures for an online trip report. Being a good husband, I put the camera away. :)
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Segment 1
Washington (Dulles)-Johannesburg
28 July 2006
South African Airways, SA208
Aircraft: A340-600
Seats: 2A&C
Although I hate waiting around airports, my wife gets nervous when we cut it too close. Since this trip was a delayed honeymoon, I played by her rules, and we got to the airport at 10:15am for a 12:50pm departure. The SAA check-in was handled by SAS groundstaff at Dulles. Check-in was fairly straightforward, except that the agent accidentally pulled my wife's JNB-IAD ticket instead of the IAD-JNB ticket. After checking the tickets and boarding passes, we spotted the error, corrected it, and were on our way.
IAD was very dead at 10:30am on a Friday. The security lines were very short, and even if they had been long, we were able to use Dulles' new lines for premium passengers. In any event, we were through security and on our way to Concourse B in less than 2 minutes.
We walked to the Virgin Clubhouse, located just across from our boarding gate, B32. We had plenty of time to relax, enjoy the snacks, and read before a boarding announcement was made around 12:00pm. My wife had to send a few last-minute e-mails, so we were among the last to actually board the plane.
After settling into our seats, we had 1 glass each of the sparkling wine. The plane pushed back from the gate on-time, and everything was in order...until we reached the end of the runway. The pilot told us that we'd be holding due to thunderstorms along our route. 25 minutes later, he announced that the storms had cleared, but that we had to hold because of an inbound aircraft in distress. 15 minutes later, we could all see flashing lights speeding along the taxiways on the right side of the aircraft. The distressed plane (I believe it was a JetBlue plane) landed, taxied out of view, and then the emergency crews were gone. On our way! Not so fast...The pilot again: 'Folks, there is another inbound aircraft in distress.' Two in one day! So we waited about 10 more minutes. This time I was unable to see the other aircraft. Finally, around 1:45pm, we took off, bound for DKR.
The flight was uneventful. I apologize for not taking the menu, so I can't tell you much about the food. I can tell you to avoid the duck carpaccio (too greasy), and can tell you that, aside from the Backsberg Pumphouse Shiraz (a good, fairly inexpensive wine), none of the featured wines listed in SAA's in-flight magazine were available on any of our flights. Very odd, but the wine that was available was quite good.
The business class cabin was nearly full. I counted 3 empty seats out of 42. Most passengers seemed awake for most of the flight to DKR. Not surprising, since it was so early in the day. The in-flight AVOD system worked well, except that my wife's had to be reset twice before she was finally able to use it.
We landed in steamy Dakar in the dead of night. A few DKR-bound passengers left the aircraft. But not enough. After over an hour on the ground, the purser from the first crew (crews changed in DKR) got on the PA system and ordered all DKR-bound passengers to leave the plane. Apparently, several pax held tickets for JNB, but had to catch the JFK-DKR-JNB flight, due in DKR several hours later. Some of these pax tried to get clever, remain on the IAD-DKR-JNB flight, hoping to arrive in JNB a few hours early. Because of them, however, we were nearly 45 minutes late leaving DKR.
When we finally left, I tried to sleep. The SAA seat is comfortable, and I have slept well in it before. But this time, the seat's hardness bothered me. I was unable to get comfortable. That, combined with the near-constant turbulence we experienced over west Africa, plus the fact that I wasn't actually tired (my body told me it was only 10pm), kept me from sleeping more than 1 hour the entire trip.
We landed in JNB 30 minutes late, at 12:30pm. We landed on the eastern runway, and taxied past the main terminals to the remote parking area to the north. Taxiing past the main terminals gave me a good view of the new construction underway on the northern pier for JNB's international terminal. I do not know the exact numbers, but the pier will substantially increase the amount of airside terminal space in the overcrowded JNB international terminal. I also noticed 3 empty jetways, but we taxied past them! Does anyone know how ACSA (JNB's operator) allocates jetway slots? At any event, we taxied to the remote stands, boarded a bus, and went to the main terminal.
Immigration went smoothly, although the clerk was brusque to say the least. 'Purpose of visit' were the only words the man uttered to us, or any of the 3 people in the queue ahead of us. Having cleared immigration, we went to the baggage claim - the same baggage claim hall I used on my first visit to South Africa in 1988! Good memories...bad art on the wall!
At this point, it was after 1pm, and we had a 1:50pm flight to DUR. More and more passengers streamed into the baggage hall, but no bags. Around 1:20pm, an announcement was made. There were problems with the aircraft's hold doors, and the bags were stuck inside. Finally, at 1:35pm, bags appeared. We got our bags at 1:45pm and hustled to the domestic terminal.
ACSA really need to do something about the aggressive 'helpers' who swarm all over passengers just outside the customs area. 5 different men offered to help us find the domestic terminal. Some were 'gracious' and only wanted R10 in return! No thanks, I know my way. And even if I didn't, there are signs.
After the long walk to the domestic terminal, we arrived just in time for our flight to DUR.
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Segment 2
Johannesburg-Durban
29 July 2006
South African Airways, SA 559
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seats: 3A&C
We were literally the last passengers on board the aircraft. We practically ran down the jetway, and the cabin door was shut less than 1 minute later. A few minutes later, the plane pushed back, and took off on-time. We took off on the western runway, headed north, banked right, and then made a beeline for the Natal coast, crossing the beach somewhere north of Ballito. We then flew parallel to the coast, going quite a ways south of the Durban airport before banking right again, and returning north to land.
SAA's domestic business class seat is little better than a domestic economy class seat. The service, however, was very good. A light meal was served, the crew were pleasant, and the flight passed quickly.
We landed in DUR 5 minutes early. We walked to the terminal and waited for our bags. Since the plane pushed back from the gate less than 10 minutes after we had checked our bags at the SAA counter in JNB, it's not surprising that our bags did not make it. Thanks to the very friendly SAA baggage enquiries crew, however, we were told that our bags would be on the next flight. This was fine, however, since it gave us time to collect our rental car. The bags arrived as promised, and we were on our way out of the construction site formerly known as DUR airport.
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Segment 3
Durban-Johannesburg
17 August 2006
South African Airways, SA562
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seats: 3A&C
The DUR airport passenger drop-off area is currently a large construction zone. Once the new parking garage is complete, the situation should improve. In the meantime, plan to arrive at the airport early. From the time we left the freeway to the time we entered the rental car return, it took us 20 minutes.
Check in went smoothly and we made our way to the business class lounge upstairs. Boarding was announced 35 minutes later, and we walked to the plane for an on-time departure.
The short flight was uneventful, and we arrived at JNB 10 minutes early, pulling up to one of the jetways at the south end of the domestic terminal.
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Segment 4
Johannesburg-Washington (Dulles)
17 August 2006
South African Airways, SA207
Aircraft: A340-600
Seats: 4A&C
After leaving the plane from DUR, we walked up the moving sidewalk to the domestic departures level. At the rear of the domestic departures hall is a very handy short-cut to the international terminal. If you already have your boarding pass, and your luggage is checked through to your final destination, you can bypass the entire zoo that is the JNB international departures hall. The short-cut has its own security checkpoint and its own passport control area. VERY nice!
We walked to the international departures area and browsed the duty-free area. The prices were not an absolute rip-off by American standards. But no one expects American prices in South Africa! Tip: buy your liquor elsewhere. There were a FEW good deals on wines, but due to the new American carry-on restrictions, we could not buy any wine.
We then went downstairs to the business class lounge. What a shock. I have never flown SAA international business class out of JNB before. The business class lounges in CPT and DUR are better than this hole. For starters, there are no windows. Not an awful thing in and of itself, but windows are a nice touch. What is bad is the size. Considering that SAA let Star Alliance partners use the lounge, and considering how many international business class & premium passengers SAA themselves carry, this lounge should be several times larger. No joke, the DUR lounge is more comfortable in terms of space per person. From my seat, I could see the door, and in 40 minutes I counted 20 people who walked in and left without finding a seat. And this was at 5pm, not 7 or 8pm when the lounge will no dout be packed with Europe-bound passengers. Hopefully SAA have plans to expand this disgraceful lounge once the JNB airport expands.
Oddly, there was no boarding announcement for our flight, which was due to depart at 5:50pm. The TV monitors finally indicated boarding at 5:45pm, so we went to the gate. There were 2 long squeue of passengers (divided into separate male & female queues) waiting to be frisked. Rather than go back to the standing room only lounge, we waited in the line. We were among the very last people to enter the queue. Thankfully, things moved quickly, and we were walking to the plane in less than 10 minutes.
The load on this flight was light. Business class was 1/2 full (I'm being optimistic ). At JNB, each passenger was handed a numbered head-count card as we walked down the jetway. I was 242, and my wife was 243. After we got to our seats, I turned around to count how many more passengers boarded. 5. 248 souls on board. We left for DKR about 45 minutes late.
Dinner was decent. I had a good steak, and a fairly tasteless pasta. The steak was downright good. The pasta, however, had the same cardboard taste found in economy class. The wines listed in the magainze were not available, but the wines onboard were just fine. (I had a red blend whose name escpaes me.)
After dinner, we settled into our seat-beds to get some sleep. I was able to sleep about 2 hours. We landed in steamy DKR about 30 minutes late.
As usual, all passengers had to submit to the American rules requiring that all carry-on luggage be matched to a passenger. This means that everyone must wake up, remove their carry-on bags from the bins, and place the bags on their laps while the crew pass through the cabin to make sure no unclaimed bags remain. A further security sweep meant that all empty seats were searched thoroughly, and then the caterers & cleaners went to work. SAA claim that these DKR stops last 'about an hour', but in both directions we were on the ground for at least 90 minutes.
Using the tail-mounted camera, I was able to watch the goings on outside the plane. I counted 6 people leaving the plane and boarding a bus for the terminal. 30 minutes later, another bus from the terminal dropped off 5 passengers. Very little activity to or from DKR on this particular flight.
We finally left DKR, and had an uneventful flight to IAD. I managed to sleep another 5 hours before breakfast. There may be many difference between business class and economy, but the quality of the eggs isn't among them!
We landed 25 minutes late at IAD. Baggage claim was a real mess. As we stood waiting for the bags to arrive, there was a series of conflicting announcements as to where the bags would arrive. First we were told carousel 4. Then carousel 5. Then carousels 4 AND 5. Eventually, we were told to check 4, 5, and the floor area between the two! 1 hour after entering the International Arrivals Building we passed through customs and went to find our ride home.
All in all, SAA get high marks for service, as well as for the A340 business class seat (though it could be softer). SAA get very low marks for the JNB business class lounge. Baggage handling was a real mess in both JNB and IAD, but the trip was not ruined by any means.
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Segment 1
Washington (Dulles)-Johannesburg
28 July 2006
South African Airways, SA208
Aircraft: A340-600
Seats: 2A&C
Although I hate waiting around airports, my wife gets nervous when we cut it too close. Since this trip was a delayed honeymoon, I played by her rules, and we got to the airport at 10:15am for a 12:50pm departure. The SAA check-in was handled by SAS groundstaff at Dulles. Check-in was fairly straightforward, except that the agent accidentally pulled my wife's JNB-IAD ticket instead of the IAD-JNB ticket. After checking the tickets and boarding passes, we spotted the error, corrected it, and were on our way.
IAD was very dead at 10:30am on a Friday. The security lines were very short, and even if they had been long, we were able to use Dulles' new lines for premium passengers. In any event, we were through security and on our way to Concourse B in less than 2 minutes.
We walked to the Virgin Clubhouse, located just across from our boarding gate, B32. We had plenty of time to relax, enjoy the snacks, and read before a boarding announcement was made around 12:00pm. My wife had to send a few last-minute e-mails, so we were among the last to actually board the plane.
After settling into our seats, we had 1 glass each of the sparkling wine. The plane pushed back from the gate on-time, and everything was in order...until we reached the end of the runway. The pilot told us that we'd be holding due to thunderstorms along our route. 25 minutes later, he announced that the storms had cleared, but that we had to hold because of an inbound aircraft in distress. 15 minutes later, we could all see flashing lights speeding along the taxiways on the right side of the aircraft. The distressed plane (I believe it was a JetBlue plane) landed, taxied out of view, and then the emergency crews were gone. On our way! Not so fast...The pilot again: 'Folks, there is another inbound aircraft in distress.' Two in one day! So we waited about 10 more minutes. This time I was unable to see the other aircraft. Finally, around 1:45pm, we took off, bound for DKR.
The flight was uneventful. I apologize for not taking the menu, so I can't tell you much about the food. I can tell you to avoid the duck carpaccio (too greasy), and can tell you that, aside from the Backsberg Pumphouse Shiraz (a good, fairly inexpensive wine), none of the featured wines listed in SAA's in-flight magazine were available on any of our flights. Very odd, but the wine that was available was quite good.
The business class cabin was nearly full. I counted 3 empty seats out of 42. Most passengers seemed awake for most of the flight to DKR. Not surprising, since it was so early in the day. The in-flight AVOD system worked well, except that my wife's had to be reset twice before she was finally able to use it.
We landed in steamy Dakar in the dead of night. A few DKR-bound passengers left the aircraft. But not enough. After over an hour on the ground, the purser from the first crew (crews changed in DKR) got on the PA system and ordered all DKR-bound passengers to leave the plane. Apparently, several pax held tickets for JNB, but had to catch the JFK-DKR-JNB flight, due in DKR several hours later. Some of these pax tried to get clever, remain on the IAD-DKR-JNB flight, hoping to arrive in JNB a few hours early. Because of them, however, we were nearly 45 minutes late leaving DKR.
When we finally left, I tried to sleep. The SAA seat is comfortable, and I have slept well in it before. But this time, the seat's hardness bothered me. I was unable to get comfortable. That, combined with the near-constant turbulence we experienced over west Africa, plus the fact that I wasn't actually tired (my body told me it was only 10pm), kept me from sleeping more than 1 hour the entire trip.
We landed in JNB 30 minutes late, at 12:30pm. We landed on the eastern runway, and taxied past the main terminals to the remote parking area to the north. Taxiing past the main terminals gave me a good view of the new construction underway on the northern pier for JNB's international terminal. I do not know the exact numbers, but the pier will substantially increase the amount of airside terminal space in the overcrowded JNB international terminal. I also noticed 3 empty jetways, but we taxied past them! Does anyone know how ACSA (JNB's operator) allocates jetway slots? At any event, we taxied to the remote stands, boarded a bus, and went to the main terminal.
Immigration went smoothly, although the clerk was brusque to say the least. 'Purpose of visit' were the only words the man uttered to us, or any of the 3 people in the queue ahead of us. Having cleared immigration, we went to the baggage claim - the same baggage claim hall I used on my first visit to South Africa in 1988! Good memories...bad art on the wall!
At this point, it was after 1pm, and we had a 1:50pm flight to DUR. More and more passengers streamed into the baggage hall, but no bags. Around 1:20pm, an announcement was made. There were problems with the aircraft's hold doors, and the bags were stuck inside. Finally, at 1:35pm, bags appeared. We got our bags at 1:45pm and hustled to the domestic terminal.
ACSA really need to do something about the aggressive 'helpers' who swarm all over passengers just outside the customs area. 5 different men offered to help us find the domestic terminal. Some were 'gracious' and only wanted R10 in return! No thanks, I know my way. And even if I didn't, there are signs.
After the long walk to the domestic terminal, we arrived just in time for our flight to DUR.
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Segment 2
Johannesburg-Durban
29 July 2006
South African Airways, SA 559
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seats: 3A&C
We were literally the last passengers on board the aircraft. We practically ran down the jetway, and the cabin door was shut less than 1 minute later. A few minutes later, the plane pushed back, and took off on-time. We took off on the western runway, headed north, banked right, and then made a beeline for the Natal coast, crossing the beach somewhere north of Ballito. We then flew parallel to the coast, going quite a ways south of the Durban airport before banking right again, and returning north to land.
SAA's domestic business class seat is little better than a domestic economy class seat. The service, however, was very good. A light meal was served, the crew were pleasant, and the flight passed quickly.
We landed in DUR 5 minutes early. We walked to the terminal and waited for our bags. Since the plane pushed back from the gate less than 10 minutes after we had checked our bags at the SAA counter in JNB, it's not surprising that our bags did not make it. Thanks to the very friendly SAA baggage enquiries crew, however, we were told that our bags would be on the next flight. This was fine, however, since it gave us time to collect our rental car. The bags arrived as promised, and we were on our way out of the construction site formerly known as DUR airport.
-----------
Segment 3
Durban-Johannesburg
17 August 2006
South African Airways, SA562
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seats: 3A&C
The DUR airport passenger drop-off area is currently a large construction zone. Once the new parking garage is complete, the situation should improve. In the meantime, plan to arrive at the airport early. From the time we left the freeway to the time we entered the rental car return, it took us 20 minutes.
Check in went smoothly and we made our way to the business class lounge upstairs. Boarding was announced 35 minutes later, and we walked to the plane for an on-time departure.
The short flight was uneventful, and we arrived at JNB 10 minutes early, pulling up to one of the jetways at the south end of the domestic terminal.
----------------
Segment 4
Johannesburg-Washington (Dulles)
17 August 2006
South African Airways, SA207
Aircraft: A340-600
Seats: 4A&C
After leaving the plane from DUR, we walked up the moving sidewalk to the domestic departures level. At the rear of the domestic departures hall is a very handy short-cut to the international terminal. If you already have your boarding pass, and your luggage is checked through to your final destination, you can bypass the entire zoo that is the JNB international departures hall. The short-cut has its own security checkpoint and its own passport control area. VERY nice!
We walked to the international departures area and browsed the duty-free area. The prices were not an absolute rip-off by American standards. But no one expects American prices in South Africa! Tip: buy your liquor elsewhere. There were a FEW good deals on wines, but due to the new American carry-on restrictions, we could not buy any wine.
We then went downstairs to the business class lounge. What a shock. I have never flown SAA international business class out of JNB before. The business class lounges in CPT and DUR are better than this hole. For starters, there are no windows. Not an awful thing in and of itself, but windows are a nice touch. What is bad is the size. Considering that SAA let Star Alliance partners use the lounge, and considering how many international business class & premium passengers SAA themselves carry, this lounge should be several times larger. No joke, the DUR lounge is more comfortable in terms of space per person. From my seat, I could see the door, and in 40 minutes I counted 20 people who walked in and left without finding a seat. And this was at 5pm, not 7 or 8pm when the lounge will no dout be packed with Europe-bound passengers. Hopefully SAA have plans to expand this disgraceful lounge once the JNB airport expands.
Oddly, there was no boarding announcement for our flight, which was due to depart at 5:50pm. The TV monitors finally indicated boarding at 5:45pm, so we went to the gate. There were 2 long squeue of passengers (divided into separate male & female queues) waiting to be frisked. Rather than go back to the standing room only lounge, we waited in the line. We were among the very last people to enter the queue. Thankfully, things moved quickly, and we were walking to the plane in less than 10 minutes.
The load on this flight was light. Business class was 1/2 full (I'm being optimistic ). At JNB, each passenger was handed a numbered head-count card as we walked down the jetway. I was 242, and my wife was 243. After we got to our seats, I turned around to count how many more passengers boarded. 5. 248 souls on board. We left for DKR about 45 minutes late.
Dinner was decent. I had a good steak, and a fairly tasteless pasta. The steak was downright good. The pasta, however, had the same cardboard taste found in economy class. The wines listed in the magainze were not available, but the wines onboard were just fine. (I had a red blend whose name escpaes me.)
After dinner, we settled into our seat-beds to get some sleep. I was able to sleep about 2 hours. We landed in steamy DKR about 30 minutes late.
As usual, all passengers had to submit to the American rules requiring that all carry-on luggage be matched to a passenger. This means that everyone must wake up, remove their carry-on bags from the bins, and place the bags on their laps while the crew pass through the cabin to make sure no unclaimed bags remain. A further security sweep meant that all empty seats were searched thoroughly, and then the caterers & cleaners went to work. SAA claim that these DKR stops last 'about an hour', but in both directions we were on the ground for at least 90 minutes.
Using the tail-mounted camera, I was able to watch the goings on outside the plane. I counted 6 people leaving the plane and boarding a bus for the terminal. 30 minutes later, another bus from the terminal dropped off 5 passengers. Very little activity to or from DKR on this particular flight.
We finally left DKR, and had an uneventful flight to IAD. I managed to sleep another 5 hours before breakfast. There may be many difference between business class and economy, but the quality of the eggs isn't among them!
We landed 25 minutes late at IAD. Baggage claim was a real mess. As we stood waiting for the bags to arrive, there was a series of conflicting announcements as to where the bags would arrive. First we were told carousel 4. Then carousel 5. Then carousels 4 AND 5. Eventually, we were told to check 4, 5, and the floor area between the two! 1 hour after entering the International Arrivals Building we passed through customs and went to find our ride home.
All in all, SAA get high marks for service, as well as for the A340 business class seat (though it could be softer). SAA get very low marks for the JNB business class lounge. Baggage handling was a real mess in both JNB and IAD, but the trip was not ruined by any means.