LHR to JNB / CPT 744
May 4, 2017, 6:30 am
#1
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LHR to JNB / CPT 744
Hi
Can anyone confirm whether the 744s to SA are the refitted super Hi J or not.
Wife and I have a companion voucher to use and we're going there later in the year. Really struggling to get J seats for the dates we want, especially to CPT which would be the preferred option...
Can anyone confirm whether the 744s to SA are the refitted super Hi J or not.
Wife and I have a companion voucher to use and we're going there later in the year. Really struggling to get J seats for the dates we want, especially to CPT which would be the preferred option...
May 4, 2017, 6:45 am
#4
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However, the current plan for northern winter 2017/8 appears to be that both JNB flights will be 388s. And the current published timetable for northern summer 2018 appears to be back to one 388 plus one 744 (with a mixture of configurations) but personally I would not be treating this as reliable at this stage.
May 4, 2017, 6:49 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2011
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Old, mid-J 747's to Cape Town, some Super Hi-J on JNB, but not always. Current broken 747 BNLK is mid-J, which has been converted from a Hi-J in 2015
As for the 241, good luck with getting flights to CPT they get snapped up very quickly.
There is the clapped out old 777 option from LGW for the Northern Winter schedule, and that seems to have more availability, but not around Christmas/NY
As for the 241, good luck with getting flights to CPT they get snapped up very quickly.
There is the clapped out old 777 option from LGW for the Northern Winter schedule, and that seems to have more availability, but not around Christmas/NY
May 4, 2017, 6:59 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2015
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However, the current plan for northern winter 2017/8 appears to be that both JNB flights will be 388s. And the current published timetable for northern summer 2018 appears to be back to one 388 plus one 744 (with a mixture of configurations) but personally I would not be treating this as reliable at this stage.
May 4, 2017, 9:12 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2009
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The A380 cargo capacity is, notoriously, poor. Isn't there a fair bit of cargo on the LHR-JNB route? Is that going some other way (third parties, Iberia, etc) or am I wrong and IAG Cargo doesn't carry a lot to/from JNB?
Is self-loading freight paying better than hold freight on this route?
Edit to add some googling results:
http://www.aircargoweek.com/iag-carg...-south-africa/ claims that IAG Cargo has capacity LGW-CPT and MAD-JNB as well as LHR-JNB
and other results (eg here from 2014) suggest use of the A380's precise hold temperature control to carry lower volumes of higher revenue cargo.
So, there's more to it than just LHR-JNB.
Is self-loading freight paying better than hold freight on this route?
Edit to add some googling results:
http://www.aircargoweek.com/iag-carg...-south-africa/ claims that IAG Cargo has capacity LGW-CPT and MAD-JNB as well as LHR-JNB
and other results (eg here from 2014) suggest use of the A380's precise hold temperature control to carry lower volumes of higher revenue cargo.
So, there's more to it than just LHR-JNB.
Last edited by flatlander; May 4, 2017 at 9:19 am Reason: if only someone made a service to search things on the Internet...
May 4, 2017, 12:43 pm
#10
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Agreed. The non refurbed 747s are terrible.
May 4, 2017, 12:53 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2006
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I personally would fly to JNB then CPT given the choice if I wanted reward availability.
As for the argument that BA 747s are falling apart or LGW 777s are crap, I would suggest that there is far too much macho posturing on this board getting in the way of the facts.
If you want a brand new plane guaranteed every flight, BA (and most airlines) are wrong for you. If you want a safe, well maintained plane that is likely to be clean and functional, then you won't have a problem.
Now let's wait for that to be shot down in flames by those who fly BA less frequently than I do and for far fewer years.
May 4, 2017, 1:17 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,838
You are not a heretic at all. UD J or F on any 747 is superior to the A380.
I personally would fly to JNB then CPT given the choice if I wanted reward availability.
As for the argument that BA 747s are falling apart or LGW 777s are crap, I would suggest that there is far too much macho posturing on this board getting in the way of the facts.
If you want a brand new plane guaranteed every flight, BA (and most airlines) are wrong for you. If you want a safe, well maintained plane that is likely to be clean and functional, then you won't have a problem.
Now let's wait for that to be shot down in flames by those who fly BA less frequently than I do and for far fewer years.
I personally would fly to JNB then CPT given the choice if I wanted reward availability.
As for the argument that BA 747s are falling apart or LGW 777s are crap, I would suggest that there is far too much macho posturing on this board getting in the way of the facts.
If you want a brand new plane guaranteed every flight, BA (and most airlines) are wrong for you. If you want a safe, well maintained plane that is likely to be clean and functional, then you won't have a problem.
Now let's wait for that to be shot down in flames by those who fly BA less frequently than I do and for far fewer years.
May 4, 2017, 1:33 pm
#13
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: North Leeds
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Posts: 43
We flew back from JNB on Sunday night, we had a Mid J Config, WTP deplaned before the CW main deck. I noted that the plane was clean and the service was very good. IFE was not great, I had the latest releases and 5 maybe 6 older movies on my screen. I will definitely pay for seat selection next time, I was in one of the middle 2 with hubby on the aisle. A swap put us both in the middle which was preferable to sleeping with a stranger 
Just for info, if flying onwards with SA Airlink to Mozambique or Nelspruit the checked luggage allowance is 20kg though I expect you can buy extra luggage capacity. When I booked I checked and was certain that it was 23kg but that is for the general SA Airways - oops
We had a hi J config on the LHR/JNB flight on 12/04, service not great but slept well.
Just for info, if flying onwards with SA Airlink to Mozambique or Nelspruit the checked luggage allowance is 20kg though I expect you can buy extra luggage capacity. When I booked I checked and was certain that it was 23kg but that is for the general SA Airways - oops
We had a hi J config on the LHR/JNB flight on 12/04, service not great but slept well.
Last edited by leedstraveller; May 4, 2017 at 1:38 pm