lmk

DH and I successfully made it into South Africa after being stranded in NZ since March. The lack of clarity regarding South Africa's border reopening did not make it easy, but in the end things went smoothly.

At check-in in AKL, QR required us to show documentation of our negative COVID tests, and took a photo of them. QR also required us to show documentation of travel insurance. (South Africa is purporting to require proof of travel insurance covering the cost of COVID testing and 10 days of quarantine, should it be necessary.) The insurance document was requested to be shown but was not scrutinized. We filled out a health form and were also given additional forms to fill out and present on arrival in South Africa -- asking where we are coming from, where we've been over the past 14 days, if we have any symptoms, etc. AKL airport was a ghost town, with every single restaurant and shop in the International Terminal closed and shuttered, except for one newsstand, and no lounges open. We were the only passengers in business class on this leg of the flight. Masks and face shields were handed out and required for boarding. Once on board, face shields were no longer required, and because we were in the Q-Suites and the plane was so empty, staff told us we did not have to wear the masks while seated, only if moving about the cabin. Service onboard was exceptional as would be expected when you have plenty of staff and only two passengers in J. I had an Asian chicken dish with thin vermicelli noodles which was tasty but nothing special. The menu was limited but wine list excellent and extensive. There was a particularly delicious Austrian Gruner Veltliner on offer. No amenity kits, just a packet with mask, wipe, and hand sanitizing gel. This flight had the Q-Suites which we really enjoyed -- the entertainment screens are massive and there is plenty of storage space. There were air nozzles over our middle seats which we always appreciate.

We were required to put our masks and face shields back on and deplane for a 90-minute refueling stop in BNE, go through security again, and immediately re-boarded the same aircraft, which seems strange. There were no additional hurdles in BNE before departure for DOH, as we remained airside the whole time. Business class on the BNE-DOH leg was perhaps half full, give or take. There were PJs, slippers, and amenity kits handed out. Wine list was the same as the AKL-BNE leg, but the food menu was more extensive and the food was quite good. We like the dine on-demand system used by QR. I had the crayfish starter, which was fine but not mind-blowing, followed by vegetable gyoza (tasty but more than I could eat). DH had a lamb dish which he enjoyed. I do not care for desserts but there was a chocolate-raspberry pudding with whipped cream which was crazy delicious. We were both able to get a decent amount of sleep. I had a cheese plate for a snack mid-flight. There were also beef dumplings on offer which sounded delicious but we were both too full.

We were required to don the masks and face shields for deplaning in DOH and went straight to the Al Mourjan lounge, which was absolutely massive and relatively empty except for what seemed like hundreds of staff standing around offering to show us around and be of general assistance. Neither of us were hungry so we proceeded to one of the private quiet rooms and had a whole space to ourselves with leather sofa, several armchairs, and coffee tables. It was nice to spread out and check email in peace. The layover was only three hours.

We were required to put masks and face shields back on when boarding our flight to JNB. There were only five passengers in J besides us so it was quite empty. This flight did not have the Q-Suites but the seats were still quite comfortable, although entertainment screens smaller. DH and I shared an order of beef and chicken sliders and chicken tikka masala accompanied by champagne before sleeping away most of the rest of the flight. Service was, if anything, a bit over-attentive. About an hour prior to arrival, one of the attendants admonished DH to put his mask back on, which was a bit strange as they had not said anything about it before, and only said it to him, not to me or other passengers. But he complied and it was fine. Again, we had to wear masks and face shields when deplaning.

At JNB we were only required to wear the masks, not the face shields, once off the aircraft. Passengers were required to hand over copies of negative covid tests prior to being permitted to deplane. We also had to hand over health forms filled out on board stating where we were coming from, where we had been for the past 14 days, whether we had any symptoms, etc. No one ever asked about travel insurance. Our temps were taken prior to going through immigration. The immigration officer located our temporary residence visas, stamped our passports, and we were through quickly. JNB was as empty as I've ever seen it, and everyone was wearing masks, without exception. At the City Lodge hotel adjacent to the airport, our temps were taken again, we were required to scan a QR code and register remotely, and filled out another health form before checking in. Pens were sanitized in front of us before being handed to us. Plexiglas separates guests from staff at check-in and everyone is masked. Similarly, at dinner at the Intercontinental JNB our temps were taken prior to being admitted inside, and we filled out a log with names and contact numbers etc., using pens sanitized in front of us. There were only a few occupied tables, spaced far apart, and everyone was masked except when dining.

We will arrive home in Hoedspruit tomorrow after nearly eight months in New Zealand. I hope this helps anyone else contemplating a similar journey.

CodeAdam10

All I can say is Wow !

Thanks SO much for sharing. This has been very informative.

Can I ask you something? I assume you guys are citizens of South Africa, right? Were citizens not allowed re-entry either until recently? Sorry there's just too many ever-changing rules and I know I can Google it probably.

Mwenenzi

Thanks for the report.
Good you made it back to RSA

ente_09

2 questions

was there any cut back in J service? I hear that some European carriers have reduced service in J
Were all the lounges open? Qatar website still lists many of the lounges as closed.
We will be flying J LAX-DOA Colombo then Malaysia- DOA-LAX in February and hope all the lounges are open.

Milliemoo

Thanks for the review. We're doing EDI-DOH-AKL with the tech stop and was wondering if we had to disembark. Was rather hoping we got to stay put, nevermind.

So glad you finally got home x

plunet

My guess is that deplaning at BNE might be something to do with the risk assessment of refueling a plane with passengers onboard.

bhatnasx

Did you have to keep the face shields on the whole flight for BNE-DOH-JNB? I've booked SYD-DOH-IAD and was curious about the experiences.

ISTFlyer

If you're flying J, you are allowed to remove your face shield and mask in your Qsuite but you need to wear them when going to the lavatory or moving throughout the cabin.

lmk

They only asked us to put the face shields on when boarding and deplaning each QR flight. No one wore the face shields during the flights, only masks, and even then, not all the time. In the Q-suites we were told that we only needed to wear the masks when outside the suite e.g. using lavs. Flight attendants wore masks and goggles the entire flight.

Sorry but I don't know if any of the lounges in DOH were open other than Al Mourjan.

Re: citizenship: No, we are not citizens of RSA, but we have temporary residency visas as retired persons which are valid until 2023. In March when South Africa closed its borders to non-citizens it effectively "cancelled" existing long-term visas like ours, and just recently announced it would reinstate them and begin reopening borders effective October 1.

lmk

Forgot to mention: My breakfast selection on the BNE-DOH leg was scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and avocado toast -- delicious. Also, on that flight the attendants handed out little boxes of Godiva chocolates just prior to landing. The champagne selections were excellent on all flights. I would fly QR again in a heartbeat.

Agent69

Congrats on avoiding the omelette