SSF556

Was checking for flight to JNB in May 2021 and I am seeing that the A350 has been added.

JNB to ATL is showing up as a NonStop...this was for May 10th

RIP 777!

NOLAnwGOLD

I wonder if you can book the CPT flight via that

NOPE! Can't book CPT at this point on DL

BenA

The A350 flights have also been loaded for SYD after 1/1, so if you have a reservation for 2021 make sure to double-check that you still have the seats you want assigned.

N830MH

No, they do not have a flight to CPT anymore. They tried and it did not work. That's from the past. Due to low demand. This is where DL flew it before. JFK-DKR-CPT.

Scudsone

I think nolanwgold is referring to the this thread that speculated that with the upcoming 777 retirement flights to JNB will have to have a stopover at CPT on the return trip. ATL to JNB is within the maximum range of the A350 with the help of the jet stream tailwind but JNB to ATL is not due to that same jet stream headwind on the way back. CPT is close enough for it to work, so there is speculation that the whole route would be a circle ATL -> JNB -> CPT -> ATL.

I’d personally love it if DL would sell RT ATL-CPT. It’s long been on my list of places to go.

dfw88

delete

FlyBitcoin

CPT is definitely coming back once approved.

Delta Plans to Offer New Service to Cape Town, South Africa | Frequent Business Traveler

N830MH

The article is wrong. It should says 777-200LR, not -200ER. The 777-200ER does not have enough range. Only -200LR.

Sam Drucker

I seem to recall this issue from long ago . . .

Johannesburg airport has an elevation of around 5,700 feet. No problems getting there, but the elevation reduces aircraft performance at take off, and airlines often can't load up with enough fuel (too heavy) to make it back to North American destinations. At least, not the combination of fuel, passengers, and freight they might need to make for a profitable flight.

Capetown airport is near sea level, so on the return flights (to North America) they schedule a short hop to Capetown, where they can load up on fuel there for the long haul back. Apparently the performance difference between the 777-200LR and the A350-900 is just enough to require the added stop when A350's take over the route.

VFR

Supposedly the A350-900s that DL currently has cannot make JNB-ATL with a full enough payload, but the future deliveries DL has scheduled will have a higher MTOW that will allow them to fly JNB-ATL nonstop. Therefore, they will be flying a triangle route ATL-JNB-CPT-ATL, though unfortunately they do not have domestic traffic rights to carry passengers solely on JNB-CPT. It is not currently obvious whether the CPT stop will stay once they get more A350s.

Last year the JNB-ATL flight on a 777-200LR had to divert due to headwinds... to JFK! It's a quirk of the geography that JFK is actually closer than ATL.

ATOBTTR

It's often not that the aircraft couldn't load up with the required fuel and physically takeoff normally even under those conditions but due to having to account for single-engine climb performance in the event of engine failure during takeoff/climb at hot/high altitude conditions and reduced engine performance at hot/high altitude conditions, this often drives the lim-fac at hot/high altitude airfields. Airports like SLC and PHX have had issues and seen load restrictions during the hottest part of the day, even for shorter domestic routes due to limits driven by single engine climb performance.

N830MH

No, sometimes they diverted to Brazil or any other South America country or any other entire country.

VFR

South America would be a mid-flight, likely emergency diversion, it seems this diversion was actually planned prior to the flight's departure, in which case it's much easier to divert to a Delta hub where you have a plethora of ground staff and existing facilities.

ATOBTTR

And BOS is even closer than JFK is. Maine is actually the closest US state to Africa. Not always easy to tell when looking at a 2D map versus a globe but as you note, that’s the quirks of geography!

DCAhome

Bumping this thread. Delta has pushed back the start date for the JNB/CPT service to June 1, and could bump it further according to the latest I could find on the topic.

(https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-...jnb-cpt-route/)

I'm scheduled to head down to CPT in November. Delta One service was a surprisingly good price when I booked. Now I see Delta wants around $13K for Delta One to CPT round trip in November.

Could this be a pre-cursor to them bumping the service start date back into 2022?