swingaling

I caught a taxi to the airport and it took around 20 minutes to get there. Upon arrival, there was a new, very annoying security process. Before being allowed to enter the grounds of the airport, every car wishing to enter was stopped. Passengers and drivers were required to get out and proceed through a metal detector. The now empty cars were then fed one by one through a large vehicle x-ray scanner and/or subjected to sniffer dogs. Security personnel then sometimes searched bags that remained in the car afterward; this happened to me. Overall, the process added 15-20 minutes to the airport experience. Thankfully, the airport is small and not very busy. I can't imagine this process being carried out successfully at a busy airport. Frankly, I found the entire process absurd and a huge waste of time and money.

Once inside the airport, check-in, immigration and security were a breeze. The lounge was very full and solidly average. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed by almost an hour due to late arrival of the incoming aircraft; it had just come in from operating CAN-BOM-KGL. Despite the schedule padding, we ultimately were unable to make up all of the time so we arrived at JNB 25 minutes late. No big deal.

Post-Security Waiting Area


Gate Areas



When we eventually boarded, there was no bus from the gate to the plane. Instead we walked the short distance across the tarmac to the A330 parked nearby. It was really cool to walk right up to a widebody at ground level. It seems so much bigger than when boarding from a jet bridge.


9XR-WN



Despite the late departure, one of the pilots came through the J cabin and explained the reason for the late departure and personally apologized to each passenger individually. While entirely unnecessary, the gesture was very much appreciated. Frankly, I was shocked, especially since the delay was entirely beyond his control. Additionally, the crew apologized for the lateness over the PA each time we took off or landed. The crew was really great and they definitely took a great deal of pride in their airline.

Once inside the cabin, I finally got to test out the hard product and it was excellent. This plane was not yet 3 years old and it still felt quite new. While I do slightly prefer a reverse herringbone layout or, ideally, an enclosed suite like the QR Qsuite, this seat was quite good. Lots of storage space, fully flat, decent sized foot well, brand new IFE system. Kudos to WB for choosing a good hard product.

J Seat


J Seat


I'll concede I didn't love the lack of haptic feedback on seat controls. The seat cushion wasn't padding, but an air bladder, which was a bit weird. I wouldn't want to sit in this seat when the air bladder breaks. Additionally, the IFE controller was a pretty basic and outmoded design. Not major issues.

However, there were 2 USB ports and a power socket. Plus good storage space.

Storage and Controls


Big Screen


Sharp Display
Unfortunately, the IFE wasn't really overflowing with choices. There were around 30 episodes of TV and a similar number of films. Not terrible, but perhaps not enough for their flight to CAN.


Legroom and Foot Well


The cabin crew then handed out menus and explained the sticker system. The sticker wasn't really necessary on a short morning flight, in my opinion.

Sticker


Menu


Menu


Menu


Menu
Breakfast was served on the KGL-LUN segment


Menu
Snack was served on LUN-JNB segment


Storage
The pocket next to the display easily fit my iPad



Once airborne, the meal service began. There was a single FA who took orders and brought food for the entire cabin. I believe there was 1-2 additional FA(s) in the galley preparing everything behind the scenes. I wasn't really hungry, but I wanted to see the meal and taste a few bites.

Breakfast
Fruit was good. Passion juice so-so. The fresh squeezed passion fruit juice at Marriott was way better.


Omelette
I had a couple bites and it was so-so. The dodo was the best part.


After a short while, we began our descent into LUN.

Approach into LUN


LUN is also getting a new terminal. Not ready yet, but it looks really nice.

New Terminal at LUN


We stopped for almost an hour taking on new pax and letting others off. I remained on the plane during the stop. Mercifully, the captain kept the APU on, so A/C flowed the whole time.

Old Terminal


Once airborne again, the lunch snack was served. I elected the veggie option and it was actually quite tasty.

Snack


Bread
A roll like this was also served with breakfast, though there were several different types to choose from. This seeded roll was pretty tasty.


This was a great flight. Bottom line: I'd definitely fly WB again without hesitation, especially their A330 product.

Eventually it was time to land at JNB. We disembarked from 2L onto a jet bridge. Immigration was a breeze; there was no one else in the "no visa" lane. The longest part of arriving was walking. I went to get cash from an ATM in the arrivals area. The ATM I went to happened to have around 5,000 ZAR just sitting in it; apparently the last person to use it had forgotten to take their cash. Luckily, the ATM belonged to a currency exchange desk, so I gave them the cash to return to its owner.

Once I got my own cash (only needed 1,000 ZAR myself), I headed to the Gautrain and caught the train to my hotel.