Originally Posted by PATRLR
Hmmm...
LH573 departs at 19:20 so you are advocating a 3+ hour advance.
I'm not disagreeing, I've done KLM on my past trips and that is probably a good idea for those flights too.
This time however, I'm on LH573 after connecting from CPT via SAA 346. Gets me to JNB at 5:05. I've never connected through JNB before, let alone domestic to International like that. Any idea if I will need to reclear security or passport control or anything like that? What I am wondering is if I should get on an earlier flight out of CPT?
Yes yes yes. As nice as the 346 is, I highly recommend against it. Here is why:
The 346s cannot park at the domestic terminal but park way out there near downtown Jo'burg. So you have to be bussed to the domestic terminal (involves waiting for the bus, etc.), drive right under your LH 747 ( and no, you can't ask to be dropped off
) , get off the bus at the domestic terminal and THEN walk back to the far end of the international terminal.
If your CPT flight is late, you WILL be short.
It's happened to me on that same flight. We were one hour late already (late incoming 346), and with that remote parking nonsense, I almost missed my LH flight. Security/ immigration at that hour is long. Running through the outdated, crowded JNB terminal is NO FUN.
Take a smaller aircraft like a 320 or a 737 out of CPT ( there is at least one every hour), you'll get to the domestic terminal by jetway, and you'll take a leasurely walk to LH.