Domestic Business - disappointing
 

I know one flight may not be representative, but after a fully packed BA JNB-CPT evening flight and a near empty return evening SA CPT-JNB both in Business, I’d choose BA any day. The BA crew worked the front cabin constantly - drinks, food, tea, towels etc. SA crew did a drinks service and delivered the meals then retreated to the galley for quality chat time with their colleagues. No checking on drinks or offering tea / coffee. I was hoping for a nice (attentive) flight since the cabin had only 5 pax in it - instead I was able to “maximise my personal time”. Its an easy choice next time .....

Agree , with the same price on the routing and such a difference in service the choice is really clear .... BA all the way. BA in J is truly fantastic , actually had one of the best crews I've ever had on a BA flight on the CPT-DUR via PLZ sector. I did notice that it seems SAA crews work a harder roster thou , however the overall feeling is still meh on SAA, even on good days, while even on the odd bad experience with BA it leaves you feeling somewhat satisfied. I only wish both would get separate J busses for when boarding is at remote gates thou :rolleyes:

Flying too much EK are you? ;):)

Yeah , specifically placing myself on EK773/EK770 and EK762 as i have had a 90% chance in the past of being a remote stand , sometimes even trying to jump on the F bus ! :D

When using the stairs at door 1L for F and at 2L for J, it seems easy for them to stop getting the 'wrong people' on the F bus....
Maybe if you force yourself through the curtain :eek:. And then being #9 on the bus will make the deceit quite obvious. :rolleyes:

(OT: I have only flown CPT/DXB in F once. And I was sort of disappointed to arrive at a 'proper' gate and 'miss the F bus'. Same thing at an op-up DXB/CPT: walked straight onto the plane. The GA tore up our J BP's and handed us new ones without saying a word so I did not immediately realise it was an op-up and not a seat change. Only when walking down the jetway did I notice and break the good news to the mrs.)

I recently flew Business from JNB-CPT and I thought it was leaps and bounds better than the long-haul flight I had just completed. FA's were attentive, very friendly, food and wine good, drinks refilled and lots of cabin visibility by the crew. Pretty much polar opposite from my HKG-JNB flight. I'm glad I didn't drop $4k for the ticket and used UA miles. Even then, it was somewhat painful.