soxfanndc

I want to use an award ticket to Cape Town, SA in March of '13 and I live in the DC area. I have a choice between Delta from BWI-ATL-JNB then buy an inexpensive ticket on South African Airways for the JNB-CPT portion OR I can do KLM from EWR-AMS-CPT and would not need to buy the connecting ticket. (I should add that neither flying out of EWR nor buying the connecting ticket are "dealbreakers" at all - i dont really care about those minor inconveniences for this itinerary My only question, though, is in the Biz Class products between DL and KLM. I'm kinda intersted in taking DL's 777 from ATL-JNB but wondering if thier BE product is really so much better then KLM on the aforementioned route to warrant the excruciatingly long haul on DL? so any advice is apprecited on their two biz class products. Thanks in advance.

Erasmus

I think you'll find it quite difficult to get ATL-JNB for a reasonable amount of miles. KLM, however, has historically released a reasonable number of seats AMS-CPT, so I suspect that is far more likely to be a viable option. There's also AF CDG-JNB, which is probably the easiest flight of the three to get, but would still require you to purchase your own JNB-CPT ticket (cheap, as you say).

I'd be remiss not to point out the KQ option from NBO as well, but IMHO is far inferior to the previous options.

macwellgh

Do JNB-CPT on a domestic airline that isn't South African Airways, such as One Time, or my personal favorite, Mango. They'll show you a great time, and the schedule is very flexible. Not SkyTeam, but I typically fly that route for $80 to $100—it may be worth the difference in total cost if CPT is too expensive.

Alpha Golf

One Time's gone out of business.

I've flown the JNB-ATL. It is really quite good in J. KLM is decent too, though for such a long trip I found the DL hard product very good. As Erasmus noted, don't forget AF too, at least to JNB, on A380.

But for award travel, as he noted too, I'm not sure you'll find many options unless you're willing to part with a LOT of miles. I would jump on any avail on any of the three.

dll

I suspect you'll find the best availability on the AF segment CDG-JNB (A380). Might try searching for those first then filling in around it to get the flights you want and need. You can also check Kenya Airways. Their seats in business are very spacious and comfortable, probably my favorite of all the SkyTeam carriers to Africa in fact. Service is meh and the NBO transfer is a pain in the a*s, but the onboard product is really excellent for sleeping. Very plush.

travelingsalesgal

I booked two biz class tickets for my parent's safari next summer IAD-CDG-JNB then switched to MSP-CDG-JNB pretty successfully. AF metal.

roknroll

How many seats are you looking for? ATL-JNB can be had for low miles if you are flexible on dates, and the 777 in J will definitely be better than AF and KL. The advantage of AF or KL is being able to fly directly to CPT and not having to purchase a ticket. If you can get direct from DC to either AMS or CDG, then your total travel time will probably be less than flying DL into JNB.

My advice would be to just take whichever fits best into your desired dates and flight times. Each option has advantages and disadvantages that sort of cancel out. To me, schedule and availability would be the decider.

dean1121

not even close, DL ATL-JNB all the way. Get seat 7a and you are golden.

mwawi

Keep in mind about the wait too, I think if you go through AMS, you'll be waiting for a while before the next haul,
ATL-JNB is an 18hr flight, I took that flight. Was a fun flight and better one long leg than 2 crazy ones.

Medeski

ATL-JNB is 15 hours or at least it was when I took it 6 weeks ago.

JNB-AMS was 10

soxfanndc

thanks to everyone who took the time to reply, I really appreciate all the great info. I was able to book J class today on DL mettle from BWI-ATL-JNB R/T and now I'll purchase the domestic portion on Mango as someone mentioned. I realize too that i could've done AF into CPT but I try to avoid AF at all costs. I've never been served well by them so the DL routing on DL bird suits me better. I was actually able to score a low award on the outbound and medium award on the return so I'm pretty satisfied. Thanks again. Travel safely.

FederalFlyer

Great deal but just remember, since you're PM, keep checking to see if a low level return becomes available closer to departure and call in for it if it does!

Stgermainparis

Hello, I'm trying to piece together a similar Skymiles award trip, though will start in CDG to JNB. Would like to get to CPT straightaway upon arrival. I see that flight VS 8327 and KLM 3761 (codeshare with AF) fly between JNB-CPT. Anyone ever done that? I'd love to take the 380 from CDG rather than the 777 via AMS for CPT. Of course, I can always buy the hop over to CPT ticket, but for 5 people it'd be a lot cheaper to tack it on to the award ticket.

mikehillwig

I have a friend (PM) who flies BOS-JNB rather regularly.

She typically flies BOS-ATL-JNB outbound and then JNB-AMS-BOS on the return. She says that doing the redeye to Europe and then continuing onto JNB is brutal. Instead, she tries to get it over with in one really long TATL flight. Keep in mind that she typically does this all in Y except the BOS-ATL flight, which her PM status scores her an upgrade. Most recently, she did get upgraded AMS-BOS.

On the return, she says that when she flies JNB-ATL, you leave late at night and land in AMS in the AM. Then she does the WB AMS-BOS flight which is pretty pleasant.

This works for her.

Stgermainparis

Thanks for the reply, but I actually will be in Europe already for two weeks before departing to JNB. We are going Bus class, so that should help. I still am curious about the JNB-CPT tag on, if anyone knows.