trojanman

Flying from JNB to CPT, which airline has the nicest premium class? I seem to have narrowed it down to South African vs. British Air, with SA being cheaper by USD$60 per person.

It's a relatively short flight so it doesn't matter that much; still, I am looking for the nicest option.

Shumba

I don't think there is any real difference.

In the past, SAA used to use their 747's occasionally on this route, so there was a possibility of sitting in the F section, but they have now been retired.

dodgeflyer

They do still use the A340 for repositioning so you can get that, which means a flatseat for the two hour flight

jsnydcsa

No real difference in my opinion. Unless there's something odd that I've never noticed (like carry-on or checked luggage allowance) that is relevant to you. If you care about FF mileage accrual SAA is with Star Alliance and BA Comair is with OneWorld.

Cheetah_SA

Yeah, it's always fun to test drive a good seat (and this is a very good seat!) even if you don't get to sleep in it.

Note that there have been reports of BA substituting all Y craft without notice from time to time. Never happens with SA AFAIK.

On the other hand I see from my flights yesterday that SA has reduced the domestic service: no hot towels, no pre-flight drinks, only one white and one red wine... Given what they're charging it's pathetic really.

o0herbie

My personal preference is the A319s on SAA for Y flights internally - the seats are more comfortable than on the A340-600s

trojanman

What kind of connection time do I need to allow for a Federal air shuttle arriving into JNB and a SAA Express flight from JNB-CPT?

My travel agent says allow 3 hours, but that just sounds excessive!

o0herbie

I assume the Federal air is domestic? Sounds extreme.

Fed air say 2 hours themselves: http://www.fedair.com/html/premier_s...ion_times.html

Just be aware that during summer months (Oct onwards), it's the rainy season and severe thunderstorms can really mess the airport up.

Is it SAA express or normal SAA for JNB-CPT?

trojanman

Thanks!

cs19

trojanman I see your other thread was bumped about your "Whirlwind" trip. Out of curiosity, what did you end up deciding for CPT vs. JNB vs. Safari in terms of length of stays. I'm also curious which Safari you chose.

As for this... remember two things. First, Federal Air has their own "terminal" which is about 180 degrees around the circle that is JNB Airport. So, keep in mind that you will have a 10-minute or so transfer from your Federal Air to the actual normal JNB terminal for your next flight. I don't know how often those transfers or shuttles go.

Also, Federal Air is a charter operation with lots of stops at Safaris. I would not expect them to be very strict on their timing. Things could take longer, you might have another safari to stop off at on the way back. I would be safe and go with 3 hours. Keep in mind that if you do fly in J on SAA you will have access to their JNB lounge. You mention an SAA Express flight, so I'm not sure if you're still flying in J or not as you indicated in your original post.

johan rebel

Given that they drive the long way round, it generally takes somewhat longer. If traffic is bad, it could take a lot longer.

Shuttles depart directly upon arrival of incoming flights, i.e. within five minutes or so. Occasionally, when they have several flights arriving within a short period of time, they will ask the pax arriving first if they are willing to wait in the lounge for the others before proceeding to the ACSA terminals.

I've personally never experienced more than one stop en route to my destination. Usually, the hops between lodge strips are very short (five or ten minutes) and do not add all that much to the total travel time.

They actually run a very slick show, but delays are indeed not uncommon. Normally they do not exceed ˝ hour or so. Weather can be a real problem though, especially in summer. Federal Air operates an eclectic fleet of aircraft, and although the Caravans are equipped with weather radar, only their single PC12 is pressurized and can fly above the weather. The combination of thunderstorms and small aircraft can make for some very interesting flying, as I can assure you from personal experiece, even without adding heavy rain and hail into the mix!

Johan

rollthere

Returning JNB-LHR on BA, but will be coming up from either DUR or CPT on either BA/Comair or SAA. What is the transit like? Any long distances or terminal changes? Horror stories either way?

All thing being equal I'd prefer BA due to my Oneworld status, but will probably come down to price. Does SA or SA Express charge for checked baggage? Yet another cost to consider these days!

Any thoughts appreciated.

Cheetah_SA

There is a terminal change but it's pretty painless. All under one roof now so you exit domestic, walk for about 5 minutes and you're at international. The route you take will depend on whether your luggage is checked through or not.

Both SA and SA Express have a free baggage allowance as their web sites will show. Just be aware that on domestics the hand luggage allowance is very low (7 or 8kg) and often strictly enforced.

rollthere

Thanks Cheetah, any advice as to BA v. SA? Or are they pretty much on par with each other? All domestic (at least BA & SA) arrive in the same domestic terminal and all international depart from int'l terminal, correct?

Cheetah_SA

That's correct.

BA & SA are much of a muchness. All things being equal I choose BA these days because I prefer their lounges and catering. But usually I let price and/or convenience decide. If I were connecting to BA long haul, I would lean towards using BA/Comair for the domestic leg.