November 09, 2013
Turkish Airlines Kigali - Entebbe 215a – 410a 737-900 Business Class
South African Airways Entebbe - Johannesburg 710a – 1025a A319-100 Business Class
South African Airways Johannesburg – Port Elizabeth 100p – 245p A319-100 Business Class

At 2:10am the doors were closed and the engines spooled up. By 2:15am we were airborne again for the short hop up to Entebbe on the shores of Lake Victoria. This is a flight I would have loved to have flown during daylight hours but instead I a good cup of Turkish coffee and watched my Sky Map as we made our way north.



Sky Map – Kigali up to Entebbe

After a short flight of just 45 minutes we touched down smoothly at Entebbe International Airport. Oddly enough this airport has two jet bridges, both of which were unused because they had Ugandan Airways CRJ-200s parked in front of them. We parked between the CRJs and then disembarked down the covered stairway for the short walk into the terminal building. There was no transit desk open when we arrived though I shouldn’t imagine many people who come in off this flight are actually continuing on to international destinations. For sure I was the only one this morning. A couple of officials checked my passport and then I was led upstairs to the departure section of the terminal.

My generation is pretty familiar with Entebbe. Back in 1976 four terrorists hijacked an Air France A300 and had it flown to Entebbe. Upon arrival, the hijackers were actually welcomed by Ugandan strongman Idi Amin. Jewish and Israeli passengers were held hostage while the rest of the passengers were released. Over the next few days, commandos of the Israel Defense Forces put together a rescue mission. They then flew down to Uganda and launched a raid eight days after the initial hijacking. All of the hijackers, three hostages and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed. Additionally, thirty MiG-17s and MiG-21s of Uganda's air force were destroyed. Right on!

For no particular reason I can pinpoint, this airport terminal reminded me a lot of the one at La Paz, Bolivia. I flew through there on a Lloyd Bolivian milk run between Santiago and Miami back in the early nineties. That’s where I discovered what I consider to be the best beer in all of South America – Paceña Pilsner. Because of the airport’s high elevation at 13,800’, I couldn’t drink too much of it but man, was it good. But I digress.

I had a three hour layover here and so was thankful for the presence of the Karibuni Lounge, which had very conveniently opened at 4:00am. I informed the receptionist of my lack of a boarding pass for the SAA flight to Johannesburg and she said she’d put in a call to their counter when they opened at 4:45. She then ran my Priority Pass card on an old fashioned credit card machine and welcomed me into the lounge.



Karibuni Lounge at Entebbe

At this hour of day, it was just myself and the lounge attendants. They were busy making sandwiches at a service island that was located at one end of the room. That island also doubled as a bar with stools along one side. A large television in the corner blared out continuous coverage of the typhoon that had hit the Philippines earlier that day. I watched for a few minutes and then picked out a bottled water and retired to the single computer terminal to put in a bit of internet time.

At about 5:15 a uniformed representative of Entebbe Ground Services arrived to discuss my flight to Johannesburg. He then collected my passport and headed down to the counter to get me a boarding pass. To be honest, I felt a bit nervous about relinquishing my passport to him but he was in uniform, was familiar to the lounge attendant and recognized that PLZ was Port Elizabeth. When he returned about ten minutes later with passport and boarding passes in hand, I breathed a big sigh of relief.



Entebbe International Airport – Departures Level

Dawn was just coloring the sky over Entebbe when I left the lounge and headed over to gate 2. A security and paperwork check was performed and the representative, upon noting that my Yellow Fever vaccination was less than ten days old, advised me to make it clear to the South African authorities that I had never set foot in Uganda if I were asked.

I noticed that one of the jetways was now occupied by a Qatar Airways A320. I can’t imagine why we didn’t rate one with our A319 – perhaps there’s an extra fee for their use. In any event we all piled on to a couple of busses and drove a couple hundred yards across the terminal to our waiting A319.

I like SAA’s livery a lot but even so I’d love to see one or two of their aircraft painted in the retro orange and blue springbok livery. I always thought that was a damned fine livery though its association with the apartheid days might render its return a moot point.

SAA’s A319s have a 5 across configuration up front with three on one side and two on the other. The seats are about as wide as what you’d find in First Class on a Fokker or a DC-9 with a seat pitch of about 35”. There’s a wide plastic armrest/drink table between seats and each seat is also equipped with a universal plug in for laptops.



Business Class Seating on South African’s A319-100

Ideally the flight attendants would be offering coffee and juice up front but the only pre-departure service was limited to having jackets hung and offering newspapers. The newspaper of choice was The Star, which was big on sensationalism but a bit lacking on proper news coverage.

By 7:05am we were buttoned up and ready to go. It was a pretty full load in the back, but maybe only 15 out of 25 up front. As we taxied out to the runway I saw what was probably the United Nations MD-80 that I saw last night in Kigali taxiing into the terminal. We also passed an unmarked IL-76 freighter parked just left of the terminal. Soon enough we were thundering down the runway and climbing out over the broad African savannah bound for Johannesburg, 1830 miles to the south.

Once we’d leveled out, attractive gold breakfast menus were passed out. I was surprised to see that they were even specific to the route. Here’s the transcript:


BREAKFAST

Starters
Selected fruit juices
Sliced fresh fruit
Fruit flavored yogurt
Cereal

MAIN COURSE

Scrambled Eggs
Accompanied by beef sausage, hash brown, sautéed mushrooms and tomato concassé

Cheese Frittata
Served with bean casserole and spinach & mushroom mix


I thought the cheese frittata looked pretty good. Unfortunately, so did most folks up ahead of me so I settled for the scrambled eggs. The breakfast was presented in two courses with fruit, yogurt and cereal being served first. A bountiful bread basket made the rounds and the flight attendant encouraged me to select two if I so desired. I did. The hot dish came out next and was remarkable for the presence of hashed browns, which I rarely see in this part of the world. It was all delicious, my only complaint being that I never did find out what exactly a tomato concassé was because we were served a colorful pepper medley instead. Perhaps the chef didn’t know either. One other odd service point was that coffee wasn’t offered until after breakfast. Is this a cultural thing?



Fruit Plate Starter



Scrambled Eggs Breakfast

Once my tray was cleared away, I moved to the completely empty row 4C-E so I could recline my seat without disturbing the guy behind me. I slept well, too. When I awoke we were just beginning our descent into Johannesburg.

As we taxied in to the gate, I was sorry to see the grounded remains of the onetime South African discount airline 1Time. I logged a couple of flights with them over the years and their bright red aircraft and low fares will certainly be missed. Speaking of low fares, I didn’t see any of the colorful green planes of South Africa’s other low fare carrier Kulula either, though they could have been lurking on the other side of the airport.

Despite the recent arrivals of a couple other flights, most notably a Turkish A330 and a Lufthansa A380, immigration was a breeze. I made mention to the officer that I’d experienced quite a climate change over the past couple of days, coming from Alaska all the way to South Africa. He gave my passport a cursory once over and never did ask which flight I’d come in on. This was only a potential issue, you’ll recall, because yellow fever certificates don’t become valid until ten days after they’re issued. Mine was only eight days old.

SAA has a small arrivals lounge just as you exit customs. It offers limited seating with a few snacks and drinks. Most notably however, it also has four or five spacious shower suites and that’s exactly what I needed to wash off the torpor from the long overnight journey from Istanbul.

From the arrivals lounge I made my over to the other side of the terminal complex where most domestic flights depart from. I’d been looking forward to my first visit to SAA’s highly regarded Baobab Lounge. It’s a good looking lounge that I liked immediately. Orange, beige and ochre are the predominant colors that work very well with the wooden floors and muted lighting. There were a number of food stations spread out around the lounge, not all of them offering the same thing. I had sandwiches, crudités, cheeses, soup and a couple of nice looking salads to choose from and managed to put together a tasty little plate of deliciously spiced couscous salad and veggies. A quick stop at the bar added a Hansa Premium Lager to my collection and soon I was refueled and ready for my final flight of the day.



South African Airways Baobab Lounge at JNB



South African Airways Baobab Lounge at JNB



South African Airways Baobab Lounge Bar at JNB



South African Airways Baobab Lounge Salad Station at JNB

Waiting down at gate D-6 was ZS-SFI, a nine year old A319-100 that didn’t look a day over three. Also waiting were two orderly lines – one for Business and Elite flyers, the other for everyone else. It was a far cry from the crush of humanity that had accompanied most of my boarding scenarios of late.

My seatmate explained that today being Saturday, there were just two SAA flights between Joberg and Port Elizabeth. So that’s why every seat is filled. Once again I’d snagged a window seat on the two seat side (That’s because I called SAA from Alaska last week and got that taken care of in advance) and settled in comfortably for the one hour and twenty-four minute hop down to the coast.

Service began with a very gracious cocktail service from the trolley that included a description of the wines on board with time taken to sample those wines if you so desired. Our flight attendant described a pair of locally produced reds including a 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon that sounded pretty good and indeed was quite good. Luncheon was a choice between a chicken salad with veggie wrap or a veggie pasta salad. Both seatmate and I chose the chicken and were not disappointed. Coffee and tea were offered afterwards and as one hour and twenty-four minute flights go, this was one of the better ones I’ve been on of late.



Snack Service Between Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth

We made a very pretty approach into Port Elizabeth, swinging out over the multi-hued Indian Ocean before flying low past the beautiful beach and hotels that make Port Elizabeth such a popular vacation destination. We kissed the tarmac at 2:35pm local time and parked in front of the terminal building. Finally, after seven flights, thirty six hours and 10,920 miles after leaving New York I had arrived at the bottom of Africa. It was a gorgeous day – sunny and about 75°. It sure is good to be back!



On Approach over the Indian Ocean to Port Elizabeth



Welcome to Port Elizabeth

My accommodations this evening will be at the Treetops Guest House, located in Walmer, just a short distance from the airport. My host Steve drove out to the airport to pick me up and, after I short nap, I headed up the road to a nice bar/restaurant where I joined a lively crowd watching the rugby match between the Springboks and Wales, recent two time winners of the six nations championships. The Boks looked to have the match pretty well in hand by the time I paid my bill and headed back to the Treetops for a comfortable night’s sleep.


November 10, 2013
Shosholoza Meyl Port Elizabeth - Johannesburg 300p – 1135a Premier Class

Trains are a great way to see the country as you travel through it rather than over it it. This is especially true down here in South Africa where beautiful scenery combined with a favorable exchange rate against the Rand make train travel a very affordable alternative to flying or driving. I know, I know – who’s got the time? But then, what’s your hurry? Besides, where else can you watch nature’s beauty glide past large picture windows while sitting in a comfortable lounge car sharing the good times with fellow travelers over a cold drink and a plate of hors d’oeuvres?

Most people traveling by train in South Africa have two options: Shosholoza Meyl – the regular everyday passenger trains that offer economy class seating and basic sleeping accommodations or the all-First Class Premier Class trains that offer much nicer sleeping accommodations plus a lounge and dining car with complimentary food service. I have ridden both and given the favorable exchange rate, the Premier Class trains are well worth the extra expenditure.

This is my fourth trip aboard a Premier Class train, but my first time riding one between Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. I was looking forward to seeing the scenery while enjoying a First Class rail experience on the twenty hour ride up to Johannesburg. Well on this trip, the scenery was very nice indeed but unfortunately the First Class service was not.

The journey got off to an inauspicious start when the station staff couldn’t find the key to open the door to the special reception room reserved for Premier Class passengers. Once they did get the door opened, the three of us gathered so far entered a room that had some folding metal chairs, a couple benches along the wall and two big display tables much as you’d find in any hotel conference room. Along a far wall were some metal lockers and boxes of papers and files of some sort, apparently being stored there for lack of a better spot. Then again, this room was a great place to store those files but perhaps not such a great place to store the three of us.

The promotional brochure for the Premier Class trains indicates that coffee, tea and cookies will be available in the reception room at the station. A plate sparsely adorned with four cookies was brought out but no coffee or tea ever materialized. My two fellow passengers were a retired couple from Los Angeles, California who, like me, were expecting a quality train ride up to Johannesburg. The lady commented that this certainly didn’t look anything like the lounge pictured on the railroad’s website. I told her the lounge on the website was the one in Capetown normally used for passengers riding South Africa’s ultra-luxurious Blue Train. We all looked around in bemusement at our dismal quarters. The lone plate of cookies looked kind of silly sitting all by itself atop an empty chair and, though we didn’t know it at the time, it and the reception room would serve as an apt indicator of the quality of service yet to come.



Port Elizabeth Station



Station Platforms at Port Elizabeth

About fifteen minutes before departure, a uniformed member of the train staff arrived to lead us out to the train. On my three prior experiences aboard Premier Class trains, each of them had operated independently of the Shosholoza Meyl schedules. Not so today. We were led past eleven brightly painted coaches, dining car and sleepers before finally reaching our three all purple Premier Class cars at the front of the train.

The first sign that something was wrong came when I saw that some of the windows were open on our sleeper. If the air-conditioning were working in this car, those windows should be shut. Sure enough, the air-con was out but our car attendant – a big lumbering man who never did manage to find his uniform throughout the trip – assured us that his technician was working on the problem. In the meantime, we were led to compartments that were stiflingly hot and had not even been properly set up prior to our arrival. Normally those compartments would already be stocked with towels, slippers, a robe, shower amenities, a bottle of water and a welcoming letter. There was nothing - just a hot, empty compartment.

Next door, my neighbors – the couple from California – were equally baffled. When the car attendant ambled back through the car a couple minutes later, we all asked about the air-conditioning and if there were a different sleeper available. No – this was it. Aside from the air-conditioning problem, we certainly didn’t need another because as it turned out we were the only three people riding Premier Class today.

A uniformed lady showed up and introduced herself as the chief purser on board. Would we follow her please and she would show us the layout of the train. She led us first up to the lounge car where she explained that drinks and snacks would be available upon our departure but that there would be no beer or soft drinks since today was Sunday and the stores that sold those items were closed in Port Elizabeth. Her delivery was halting and unsure, as of this was her first time being chief purser and she wasn’t too confident about her readiness. I quickly figured nothing good would come from asking her why sufficient quantities of these things couldn’t have been brought down on the train from Johannesburg. I mean, with loads this light it’s not like they’re going to have to carry a lot. She went on to explain that High Tea would be served at 5:00pm (a bit late for High Tea isn’t it?) and that other beverages would be available upon request throughout the trip. When asked whether or not the big 48” wall mounted flat screen television worked, she replied that they didn’t have any reception between cities. Again, I thought about asking “So… that means the televisions were installed only so that passengers could watch them while in the station?” but thought better of it. Oh, and there was no air-conditioning in this car either.

We continued on to the Dining Car where she explained that dinner would be served at 7:00pm and that the main course would be salmon. “Do they still have a menu?” I asked. She seemed perplexed at the very notion of a menu and I remembered that they had also been absent on my last Premier Class train between Capetown and Johannesburg two years ago. Breakfast would be served at 7:00am. I mentioned that in years past breakfast ran between 7 and 9am and we could show up at any time. Was that still the case? No, she said, but we could make it 7:30 or 8 if we all agreed on the time. The California couple (Benny and Helen) looked at each other and then at me and we all decided that 8:00am might be a more amenable time.

The air-conditioning in the dining car was also not working. I asked if it was fixable and she responded that they’re working on it but once we got going it should cool down. Once we got going? So that means the breeze through the open windows is what’s cooling the train? The poor woman was clearly uncomfortable, a single black woman old enough to have experienced some of apartheid being stuck with trying to explain to some white passengers why things that you’d take for granted on a “luxury rail experience” such as air-conditioning and basic drinks were seemingly not available. We didn’t push it.

The perpetually out of uniform car attendant came through again and Benny asked him how it was going with the air-conditioning. He laughed and said he was having a problem finding his technician and that he wasn’t very good with repairing air-conditioning anyway. Jeez! Do these guys just make it up as they go? This car attendant was little more than a genial idiot. All he did was laugh and make up excuses. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the air-conditioning on these three cars hasn’t worked for some time now but nobody really cares or knows how to fix it and in the meantime the staff just tells the passengers whatever they need to say so that they’ll not bother them anymore. At least we departed on time.

The three of us spent the first three hours of the trip in the lounge car. There were windows that could be opened on each end of the car and that helped cool it down a little bit. Unlike past trips, the windows on this train had not been washed between trips and from all appearances had not been washed for quite a few trips. Sigh… at this point we were resigned to make the best of it but you could cut the disappointment with a knife. So far at least this trip was turning out to be nothing like the product advertised.



Languishing in the Lounge Car



High Tea Service



Enroute Ostriches



Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg Scenery


We did however have a dedicated waitress and out of all the staff on this train, she was the lone bright spot. She did serve a nice High Tea consisting of carrot cake and tea or coffee and when dinner came round, our tables were properly set and we were served the full five course dinner including appetizer, soup, main course, cheese and dessert. We were each served individually with food brought out on a silver platter before being transferred to plates. The meal was the exact same one I’d had two years ago (Fried Hake appetizer, Cream of Broccoli soup, some kind of pork roast, cheese and Malva Pudding) but it was still quite good. However, when Helen asked about wine with dinner we were told that it was available but that the bar man couldn’t be located. In fact, the bar – which is located at one end of the lounge car and includes a sizeable bar back, counter and stools – was never set up and sat empty the entire trip. Helen never did get her wine, either.

Honestly, it’s just no fun writing about such shoddy service so I’m going to wind this up here and say that on a positive note the water was hot in the shower, we were served a nice breakfast in the morning and we arrived into Johannesburg only a half an hour late.

As for Shosholoza Meyl’s Premier Service, this trip strongly suggests that it has fallen on hard times. While in Johannesburg I heard some folks in the station talking about their recent ride up from Capetown and it didn’t sound a whole lot better. When I rode Premier Class two years ago there were service items missing then as well, though nowhere near as egregiously as on this trip. As for the equipment, I suspect it hasn’t been properly maintained and now that it’s breaking down the railroad is at a loss as to how to deal with it. PRASA (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa) – the company that operates these trains – wouldn’t be the first company or utility taken over in South Africa by poorly educated people sorely lacking in the skills required to do the job properly. Trips like we just experienced are just a manifestation of that situation’s inevitable consequence. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Premier Class trains are no longer operating within a year or less. I’m thankful that I had a couple of opportunities to ride these trains when the service was as advertised, but if what I experienced on this trip is any indication of the future, it’s just as well the charade came to an end.



My Room in Johannesburg