As far as I know Air Botswana does not allow/provide online check-inn :(

Some advice please...

My wife and 2 month old daughter arrive on EK761 at 10:50am and leave to BLZ the day after at 10:20am on SA172, Note the booking is on two separate PNR's.

The check-in agent in MAN initially advised she may not be able to interline the luggage as JNB has changed policy on a few occasions over the past few months but she would try. She did manage though and also issued the SA boarding pass too. So she is technically checked in all the way and bags tagged all the way too.

I have done this route previously on separate pnr's and had no 'major' problems (had a few cases broken into but nothing of high value stolen).

However, on this occasion the check-in agent (non-ek) advised that on her system it shows a 'restriction' which means she will have to re-check the bags in JNB.

Also note she will be staying overnight in JNB landside.

My question:

1) Is the agent correct that she must collect and re-check?

2) Is it possible to stop by the SA luggage counter after immigration rather than the transfer desk and show them the boarding pass and luggage tags so they can make sure the bags make the connecting flight the next day and therefore not have to physically collect the bags and re-check or will she HAVE to collect the bags and re-check herself.

I am aware of the theft issues at JNB but would still prefer the cases stayed overnight in JNB as the wife will definitely struggle to handle 3 large case along with my daughter.

A speedy response and any other advice would be much appreciated as she will be taking her flight (EK761) in the next few hours.

Thanks in advance.

EDITED: Point to add, the check-in agent did mention the collecting and re-checking process was like a custom clearance process.. I thought you only would do that if connecting international to domestic.

Update for those who are interested:

The check in agent was incorrect, there was no need to collect and re-check.

EK ground staff at JNB confirmed that the bags were correctly tagged and will reach the final destination without the need to collect and re-check.

SA lounge staff also confirmed the same the morning of the flight.

Finally, 2 out of 3 bags arrived at the final destination (BLZ) on the correct flight, the last bag arrived on the next flight into BLZ. All bags had not been opened or damaged which was a pleasant surprise.

Flying SAA JFK-JNB-WDH in May.
Probably won't be able to pack carryon only and will have to check a bag.
Arrive JNB around 8:30 am and depart for WDH not until 5:30 pm.
I assume bags will be checked through? does SAA permit short checking?
Should we worry about the security of the bag with the long layover?
Is the transit lounge ( Protea) ok ?

Quick question regarding int´l -> int´l connections at JNB: Is it possible to follow the signs for int´l connections even if you don´t have a BP yet for the onward flight?

(I´d be arriving at JNB in the morning and departing LH late at night, no probably no way to have the BP printed until a few hours before departure)

I´d be travelling with hand baggage only, so no need to worry about that.

Shouldn't be a problem. They have desks for issuing BPs in the flight connections area. (I once stupidly forgot to check in for a connecting flight to DUB when on my way to LHR. I was taken from the JNB departures lounge to this flight connections area and they printed the onward boarding pass for me.)

Not sure if there is some limit on how long before your flight they will let you pass through, though. I can't imagine why they would care.

Nobody has mentioned lounges in JNB. Who has the best lounge? Is there any shopping/dining to be done at JNB while connecting if you are NOT going to a lounge?

Cheers

We were in a bit of a blur after the 15 hour flight in, but the Baobab lounge was nice. Clean, comfortable, good food and quite nice showers which were a godsend after the flight. I don't remember there being a lot else to do (shopping/dining) other than the lounges.

Connecting INT/INT or INT/DOM?

As far as dining is concerned, I'm not too impressed by what's offered in the terminals, whether airside or landside. The Quills restaurant at the Intercontinental across the street does a really nice breakfast, and lunch and dinner are rather good too. Not outrageously expensive either.

Johan

Guide to Connecting at Johannesburg / JNB
 

Greetings from the SA lounge @ JNB. It's fine. Wifi works well. Best lounge chocolate cake I've stumbled into. Too bad business class doesn't get me into their higher end lounge (to the left)

There’s plenty of lounges at JNB, and every one i’ve been to is solid. What’s quite nice is that JNB has several lounges that are accessible with priority pass (three in the international Terminal A and two in the domestic terminal). I have yet to try the Air France lounge, the Emirates lounge, or the First Class SAA lounge, but otherwise I've been to most of them.

The Baobab Business lounge is very solid and has all one really needs including showers, decent food (soup is good), a bar, and great views of the tarmac. Wifi isn’t great, but it works well. There’s also a children’s room, and smoking room. It can be crowded depending on when you go, but there’s usually space. One big issue to be aware of is lack of power ports.

There’s also three priority pass lounges in the JNB international terminal.

The Shongololo lounge there is nice. It was named priority pass lounge of the year for Africa/Middle East. It has nice chairs and seating, showers, and a few iMacs available with printing. I presume the food must be good, but i’ve never tried it. It was crowded the one time I was there.

The Mashonza lounge is very, very small. Haven’t tried the food there, but there’s a good selection of drinks. It’s located right next to the Emirates lounge and across from the Baobab lounge.

The Bidvest premier lounge is a nice lounge located right after security. It’s low-key and near the beginning of the terminal whereas the rest of the lounges are at the other end. The food there is minimal and questionable, but it has showers, a solid selection of drinks (self-serve :)), and good wifi. There’s also more than ample seating. I’ve visited a few times at various points in the day and I’ve never seen more than a handful of people.

As far as which lounge is best, it depends. If I’m flying business/first on Star Alliance then it’s the Baobab lounge for me. Otherwise, the BidVest lounge or the Shongololo lounge if it’s not too crowded.

I’ve never properly eaten at JNB, so I can't speak to that, but there’s ample shopping if you’re looking for that. Lots of clothing stores, jewelry, and even a Ferrari shop.

Give it a miss.

Johan

+1

They are still offering free wrapping. It's definitely worth wrapping your bag in SA in my opinion, even if you have to pay for it. I recently traveled with about 20 local people from my Johannesburg based distributor to Durban, and they ALL paid to have their bags wrapped.

We've been transitting JNB for years from CPT to LHR & never had a problem, flying with Comair onto BA. The last time was in March with 4 hours at JNB.

Maybe the choice of airline makes a difference???