Originally Posted by
nivsy
Is the carrier Kulula not the only operator on some BA sectors in SA? Been checking some options ex JNB for next year and it is looking kind of confusing and expensive! SAA seem cheaper....but what is the difference between Comair and Kulula? Any benefits for BA gold and silver card holders?
The easiest way to think about this is to forget Comair, on the basis that it's a bit like IAG - essentially irrelevant for the purposes of picking an airline.
Instead, simply think of them as two of the airlines operating domestic sectors in South Africa: British Airways and Kulula. You can buy a ticket on a British Airways flight, which will have a BA flight number (and, for almost all purposes, it's the same as a British Airways flight operated by BA itself). Or you can buy a ticket on a Kulula flight, which will have an MN flight number. And that is all you need to know.
Many travel websites confuse the issue by misdescribing these flights. Ignore them and remember the above.
If you book a Kulula flight, you can earn a few Avios through avios.com. But as it's not a oneworld airline, there are no TPs. More here:
And (to return to the topic of this thread) the domestic SLOW lounges will in some circumstances welcome BA Golds and Silvers even if not flying on a British Airways flight - the
webpage says it's when they're flying to a South African destination which is not served by "BA Comair", which I interpret as meaning domestic British Airways flights.