Thinking very much ahead to October 2013 when I've booked 2 weeks' leave from work, Hubby & I are thinking about Cape Town. We've been before but wanted to go again when the weather would be more summer-like.
Anyway, I had a look at flights earlier and to buy WT+ & UG using Avios, the only availability showing was via J'Burg, which we don't want to do, that adds hours to the flight and J'Burg is somewhere we've never fancied visiting.
Booking CW flights direct to CPT now is very expensive - over £5k return each, which we don't want to pay. So, are we stuck with using a different airline (God forbid), or should we wait for a sale or see if availability might come up early next year, or checking more regularly? Is going via a different route worth thinking about? I'm not sure what other options there might be via BA.........
Thinking very much ahead to October 2013 when I've booked 2 weeks' leave from work, Hubby & I are thinking about Cape Town. We've been before but wanted to go again when the weather would be more summer-like.
Anyway, I had a look at flights earlier and to buy WT+ & UG using Avios, the only availability showing was via J'Burg, which we don't want to do, that adds hours to the flight and J'Burg is somewhere we've never fancied visiting.
Booking CW flights direct to CPT now is very expensive - over £5k return each, which we don't want to pay. So, are we stuck with using a different airline (God forbid), or should we wait for a sale or see if availability might come up early next year, or checking more regularly? Is going via a different route worth thinking about? I'm not sure what other options there might be via BA.........
Thoughts would be most welcome.
Hi,
I think availability is very hard to come by on the CPT route and the impression I am getting is that it is always rammed. Am waiting for a sale (hopefully december/january time) so that WT+ becomes a bit cheaper, as I'm looking to fly in February. I've given up on any Avios upgrades becoming available!
(And I'd quite like to get my 100 tier points each way!)
For the third year running I will be going to Capetown via Jo'burg. It really isn't that much bother, particularly if you have domestic lounge access. You can usually pick up a domestic ticket in Y for £70 or so each way, or else use the reward flight saver option.
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This is interesting. I have managed to get reward availability (in F and J) to and friom CPT before twice - and also via JNB. You have plenty of time yet to keep checking - availability to CPT may come. However, the JNB option is not bad at all. It's only a short hop from there to CPT and, actually, Joburg is an interesting place to be for a day or two. Might add value to your trip.
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I booked using miles to CPT 3 days before travel in 2011 and used my GGL joker to use the GUF2. Availability does open up. We did go via J'burg on the way back but it was painless
Thinking very much ahead to October 2013 when I've booked 2 weeks' leave from work, Hubby & I are thinking about Cape Town. We've been before but wanted to go again when the weather would be more summer-like.
Your lack of flexibility is very likely a problem - just getting award seats to and from CPT on random dates is difficult these days. The topic was mentioned also in this thread.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LadyB
Anyway, I had a look at flights earlier and to buy WT+ & UG using Avios, the only availability showing was via J'Burg, which we don't want to do, that adds hours to the flight and J'Burg is somewhere we've never fancied visiting.
If you can actually find UUA availablility via Jo'burg I'd grab it. You will not have to venture out into Jo'burg itself, only walk from the international half of the terminal building to the domestic (and its a nicer airport than CPT). Its a two hour flight - I did it myself a few days ago, the other way, when I couldn't get a flight to Jo'burg - and if you book it on Comair as a BA flight you'll get 20TPs as a bonus.
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Although I am the first to admit that Jo'burg is probably one of the dullest cities on earth, transiting through OR TAMBO Airport on the outskirts of the city is really quite painless. The airport is very modern and relatively efficient and as some of the previous writers have noted, you can get excellent lounge access in the Comair SLOW lounges at both Jo'burg and Cape Town airports. Remember, though, that you will require to clear immigration and customs at Jo'burg before connecting to Cape Town.
I have lived in SA for over thirty years, almost five of which were in Cape Town and the rest in Johannesburg. Don't waste time and effort visiting Jo'burg; it is a dead city with a CBD that lost its residential, office and retail enviroment long ago and in all likelihood it will probably never return.
If you feel like you want to say you've "been there", take the excellent Gautrain from the airport right into the heart of Sandton (14 minutes travel), walk around the rather glitzy Sandton City for an hour or so and then take the Gautrain back to the airport. Gautrain costs R115 each way plus a small fee of around R11 for the Gautrain Gold Card, which is similar to the London Underground Oyster Card.
It's only a two hour flight on the excellent BA-branded Comair to Cape Town, which has a new airport, built mainly for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Large, bright and modern, Cape Town airport is not especially user-friendly, with a massive walk from baggage collection to the exit. Grab one of the many golf carts on offer to take you on that part if you have lots of luggage.
I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy Cape Town, as the scenery is outstanding and the wine farms and food are excellent. Prices are on a par with the UK in October but become significantly more expensive during Jan, Feb and Mar. If the rand keeps on weakening, however, you may get an advantage.
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As others have said, if you can find Cape Town in J through Jo'burg, I'd take it. The domestic leg on the BA franchise Comair is fine and transfer through Jo'burg airport isn't difficult but I'd keep all valuables in hand luggage.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gcuk
As others have said, if you can find Cape Town in J through Jo'burg, I'd take it. The domestic leg on the BA franchise Comair is fine and transfer through Jo'burg airport isn't difficult but I'd keep all valuables in hand luggage.
Good point. Luggage theft is very prevalent at OR Tambo airport, though BA and EK appear to have a lower incidence than SAA for example. Nevertheless, this is good advice.
Hi, you should be here today, great weather, having a burger and a beer in Observatory, Cape Town, wonder if Qatar might help in time for October... Wish their entry could happen faster, otherwise as many mentioned, going via JNB is not all bad
SAA stopped flying direct to CPT earlier this year, since then, there has been no availibility on the direct flight to CPT for MFU until the last 24-hours before the flight departs, and BA are the only ones offering direct flights from end-March to end-October
Also October is a typically busy time, as the weather in CPT is improving, and its half term for the kids. If possible wait until November, when BA has 2-flights per day, and Virgin offer a 3xweekly direct flight and Air France/KLM (God forbid) offer reasonably timed connecting flights via GDG/AMS.
Going via JNB while a pain, you do get good service from Comair.
Mrs Escape & myself have done it several times, and are going via JNB to CPT in a couple of weeks at the front of the bus. We leave LHR at 18:00 instead of 19:30 and arrive in CPT at 11:05 instead of 09:00 on the direct flight
The upside of a busy J has been that I've been on the receiving end of many opups to the pointy end on the CPT route (and JNB for that matter) (Unfortunately my ability to locate OF in a sea of NF seems to be outstanding)
Well, I don't know what to do now. I haven't checked again today yet to see if the flights are still available to ug with Avios. I can't change my dates either. I wanted September but due to our stupid annual leave policy at work, I can't take any time at all then, so just took October instead. I think we should avoid school half term (I can't find an academic year calendar for 2013/14 yet).
I think I'll chill out about it, have a look over the weekend and see what hubby thinks to booking this early.
Thanks for the tips though and the advice, it's much appreciated.
