Originally Posted by
Santander
15 hours? You could get to SYD from LAX in that time. Try 9-12 for Japan/Korea/China/Taiwan... LAX-HKG-JNB is not that much worse than LAX-FRA-JNB. It's 2 long-hauls either way. If you were flying out of NYC, the difference would be a lot bigger.
To be fair to OP:
LAX-SYD 14:40 (UA)
LAX-FRA 10:50 (LH)
FRA-JNB 10:40 (SA)
LAX-HKG 15:00 (CX)
HKG-JNB 12:40 (CX)
Although, there is longer layover in FRA than in HKG...