Cathy really is a tremendous airline. I flew them to JNB in December of last year and had the pleasure of being the only passenger in First Class. To say the least I got tremendous service -the best flight that I have ever been on.

In Ghana I took an internal flight from Kumasi to Accra operated by the Ghanaian Air force. It was about thirty-five minutes but one of the most interesting flights I have ever been on.
The airport in Kumasi is typical for Africa. The road leading to the terminal building is four tarred lanes wide (only tarred road in the city) and manicured shrubs and streetlamps (sans bulbs) line the road. The terminal building is impressive-I mean there is an actual building which was dedicated by the ex-President Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings (picked about the habit of adding titles to his name from Idi Amin in Uganda) in 1993. The airport has two huge fire trucks for the three weekly 30-odd seat F-27 flights that come from Accra (a comment on the skill of the pilots perhaps). The airport had very modern baggage scanning devices but they were not plugged in and had they been it would not have mattered since electricity was in short supply.

Anyway I got to the airport at 4:30pm for a 5:30pm flight. At about 5:15pm we were told that the flight was delayed till 6pm. No problem still quicker than driving. Six rolls around and we were now told that the flight would leave the following morning at 6:45am because there was weather in-between Accra and Kumasi and then plane could not get around it (what about over). I head back into town with the airport manager who is kind enough to give me a lift. He is also kind enough to pick me up the following morning before he headed out to the airport to meet the flight (I was impressed with how friendly Ghanaians were throughout my time there).

The flight arrives at 7:30am and I board and take a seat in the first row of the plane and hanging on the wall is a notice, that I nicked because the wording is wonderful, which stated that the airline had paid its insurance premiums for the year. There was no flight attendant on this flight just an air force officer who sat in the passenger compartment. So we take-off and it is an uneventful flight down to Accra. As we start our decent into the Accra area a horrible smell wafts over the cabin. Turns out an old man in full Ashanti(sp?) dress (loin cloth) has had an accident (#2). He is in the row behind me and as I exit the plane I have to set over some of it. Well needless to say instead of suing for having to endure the smell and disgust of having to see the man with fecal matter running down his leg I asked the pilot how often this happen and he just bust a gut laughing at the incident. Needless to say I did not demand a reimbursement for my ticket because they got me to Accra-fourteen hours late but alive and in Africa (and in general) everything else is just icing.

Moondog,
Totally right from a PR perspective SAA has probably lost a multiple of 20K, however if they pay him off then everyone will start suing over small problems. I think the website was a success because many people have had a bad experience with SAA and were looking for an outlet to vent, he created such a venue. His complaint is not serious but it highlights what poor service SAA delivers. SAA handled the situation poorly and has paid the price as a result.

"Cathay really is a tremendous airline. I flew them to JNB in December of last year and had the pleasure of being the only passenger in First Class. To say the least I got tremendous service -the best flight that I have ever been on. "

YEAH!!!
THIS IS MUSIC TO MY EARS, THANKS ...


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MD
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold

Globalflight, thanks for that info!

I love to hear about Africa, and even more so about flying in Africa. Any more stories? I am listening .

Yes, I would agree that when it comes to Africa, just getting there is important.

I had read a fascinating article in African Business, I also like the magazine New African, both of which are hard to get here in LA( I know of one newstand in West LA that has them), on ATC in Africa. They said in regard to Zaire/now DRC, that planes will keep in contact as long as possible with the previous country or jump ahead to the next country.

I was just so amazed how long it took to fly over Zaire( I prefer that name over DRC, especially when there already is a Congo ). Completely pitch black dark and not one light on the whole time, ugh...

I want to hear more.

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MD
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold

I disagree with the statement that flying in Africa is necessarily less comfortable than elsewhere. There certainly are ATC issues and some airlines are much less desirable than others, however I believe that service levels for once are usually higher than in the USA or Europe. This might not refer to the aforementioned flight on Ghana's Air Force, but certainly to Africa's quality airlines: SAA, Comair, Air Namibia, Kenyan Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines.

Generally I find the service warmer and more friendly, not to mention the fact that food actually is served on domestic flights in economy class. Ethiopian Airline runs an efficient and professional hub operation in the unlikely city of Addis Abeba, as does SAA in JNB or Kenyan Airlines in Nairobi. With the exception of the 'essential air service' type of operations, flying in Africa reminds one more of what flying must have been like in the 50s and 60s in the USA and Europe. Certainly, that's the kind of service you are getting. Old fashioned? Sure! No e-tickets, no PTV, few fancy lounges. But then: hot towels, decent food and gracious service in economy class.

Having lived in Europe, Africa and the United States, I will take a flight on Ethiopian Airlines over United's domestic service at any time.

Oh good, more American bashing!!! We haven't had enough of that. Get real!

I have flown African Airlines and heard so many bad things in addition to my personal experiences. To say they are better than US airlines is about all the insults toward my airlines that I care to see.

I flew Kenya Airways for one. It was fun, but had several problems with the plane. It was a short flight and again, a special experience, LHR-AMS.

If you look up in the schedules, i.e,
www.oag.com, there are only a handful of flights out of major airports, with flights on important routes going 2X a week, save to and from South Africa, which has more of a European standard of service.

Flights are sporadic, service is terrible, planes are always breaking down, flights are always cancelled, and the crime/corruption in relation to these airlines, more so in Nigeria, of course, is unacceptable. It is said that you must claim your luggage at Lagos the first time it goes around or you will never see it again . A Sabena flight attendant friend of mine told me horror stories about their many flights to Africa, more so Nigeria.

A friend of mine works for BA at CDG, apart from mon ami a Air France. He said one diplomat-Gabonais flew from, I think it was Uganda, if I am correct, to Paris, and then to Gabon, as the service within Africa is so sporadic. Then ironically, the Air Gabon flight to Libreville was cancelled, so he was still screwed even though going way out of his way via Europe to avoid the chaotic nature of African aviation. Again, this is apart from Southern Africa, but after reading Mr. Six's website, my opinion about SAA has now changed. I will fly CX to SA and then Comair/BA around SA and possibly Namibia, so not worried.
I know that Comair has high standards.

To compare the African airlines against the US and European carriers is plainly insulting. The US industry has thousands of times of frequencies and use than in Africa, it is a joke. I receive very fine service and attention on AA.

Things did become worse after 9-11, but then when our major airlines are on the verge of going out of business, I think they are entitled to cut costs. It is a temporary thing and already loads are picking up, flights are being restored, and people who were laid off are now being called back to work. Plus, I think our skies are now much safer than they ever were pre-9/11.

However, if you want Nigeria Airways and a 27 hour delay at Lagos, kindly feel free to have it!

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MD
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold

Somebody stating their opinion that African airlines are better service-wise than domestic US carriers is certainly not American-bashing.

I think FlyerTalk as a whole is all too quick to jump on anybody for anything that could remotely be misconstrued. Too many sensitive people perhaps?

I'll go ahead and throw my OPINION into this. All U.S. carriers except Midwest Express are terrible.

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Jason Seiple
JAX

Traveling by plane in Africa is far more convenient, even with daylong delays, than any other mode of transportation. The average speed that I count on when traveling by car over unpaved roads is about fourty-fifty kilometers per hour and if it has rained then it would be faster to walk because the roads become impassible.

Intra-Africa flying is particularly difficult as mentioned because infrequent flights. Compound the lack of frequency with the price and it is plain obnoxious. I am currently planning a trip to Sierra Leone and have a choice of a charter flight out of Gatwick or flying to Accra or Abidjan and connecting with a Ghana Airways flight to Freetown. Problem is that if I take the West African route I will have to layover not for a couple of hours but a couple of days.

As for the major airlines in Africa I can say that I have travelled on most Southern-African carriers (SAA, Comair, Air Zimbabwe, Air Namibia, and Air Botswana) and I have flown Ghana Airways and the Ghanaian Air force Airline.

I too have heard good things about Ethiopian Airlines however I would not take them over an American carrier. I think that SAA could still be a very good airline if they implement all the service changes that they have promised; such as new seats in the premium cabins of all their planes (not just those going to London), a full rollout of the Sony Passport system in all classes (as they have on the London route) and an improvement in the consistency of their cabin crew. If they made the changes that they promised they would have a winning product. SAA is still the only airline that I know that gives Economy class passengers a real wine glass.

As for Comair they seem to be what SAA once was, before they let the quality of their staff slip and become an example of why state ownership is inefficient. It is interesting that many of the problems of SAA are not rooted in South Africans but in an American by the name of Colman Andrews who was the CEO for a couple of years and made some sneaky deals and paid himself handsomely for his effort.

I would also like to mention that it is not only the airlines but the airports that make flying in Africa so difficult. When was the last time that you were involved in a shoving match to get to the ticket agent or to the door of the plane? While that does not happen in Southern Africa it does in places in West Africa. I used to use the example of how often do you see people with huge assault rifles standing around looking menacing at US airports, however that example no longer works.

As for US airlines being terrible, they are not perfect but they are far from being comparable to most African airlines.


[This message has been edited by globalflight (edited 02-08-2002).]

This summer at Gatwick I was impressed when I saw an Air Zimbabwe 767 at Gatwick a few months ago. A friend told me that Alitalia was their consultant. Well sure enough a few hours later I heard an announcement that the Air Zimbabwe flight would be delayed overnight and that the passengers should get their hotel vouchers.

Meanwhile a British Airways 777 left full to Harare with no problems.

I just went to Vern's site and it seems that he has just updated it. He is now offering people there own email address at neverflySAA.com for twenty bucks per year. He says that this money is to help support the legal fees associated with keeping the site online.

What is sick about the situation is there is a good chance he will get the twenty grand or some large part of it just so that he shuts up.

Globalflight,

Love your comments. We may have to pay you to start a website .

Thanks as I have learned much from your postings. I would love to hear more, if you don't mind !? I want to hear about the shoving match.

I had something close to that in Milan trying to catch the airport bus. I can only imagine something like that in Africa. It is sad, as I would love to travel all over Africa, maybe someday I will.

As for the Gambia, aren't their scheduled services into Banjul? I know Sabena flew there, but they are now gone .

Take care.

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MD
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold

American-bashing? No, this has nothing to do with American-bashing, Worldtraveler36.

I fully agree that comparing the structure of the airline industry in Africa with the one in North America and Europe is quite unfair. In Africa, a large number of small state-owened carriers operate limited networks - with the exception of the likes of SAA, Kenyan, Air Afrique and Ethiopian, complemented by a large number of very small regional carriers. Operating conditions, ATC and general political and economic instability make for the hell of an environment. In the USA, we deal with a substantial number of private companies, operating huge networks. Flying in Africa - by local standards is very expensive, flying in the USA is comparatively cheap. Passenger numbers in North America are very large, passenger numbers in Africa are very small... Fleets in Africa are fairly antiquated, airport infrastructure limited - I could go on like that...

But then - that was not my point. I argue that decent service can be obtained in Africa on African airlines. This refers mostly to the in-flight experience and I personally find the service of Ethiopian Airlines and SAA to be superior than the service on most US and European carriers. How this could be an insult to Worldtraveller36's airlines (I wonder how he manages to own all of them...), I do not understand. I happen to own Lufthansa stock, so I guess, I can compare Ethiopian Airlines with 'my' airline, and service-wise it does not compare favourably.

I still would fly LH over Ethiopian - schedule-permitting - because of issues such as connections from FRA and FF programs - but that does not the change my perception about service levels. And no - I was not refering to either Nigerian Airlines or Air Zimbabwe - but rather to the likes of SAA, Ethiopian, Kenyan and Comair.

If criticism of anything American is seen as an insult, I'm afraid this forum needs a bit more tolerance.

"If criticism of anything American is seen as an insult, I'm afraid this forum needs a bit more tolerance. "

I apologize for my words. I have seen lot's of American bashing on here and on other sites, like www.airlinequality.com, to the point of my being so offended, so, I overreacted.

If you can read about this man's experience on SAA and say they have better service than on our airlines, buddy, it is all yours!!!
I have flown SAA First and they didn't give a flying **** about inflight service. I liked it because I love South Africa, so it was special, but I had also burned alot of miles. I might also give you 2 points on Ethiopian, as I have heard good things.

Anyway, my apologies. My mind is elsewhere on this site, thanks.



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Michael
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold
Marriot Silver

Arnur, specifically, I wanted to write to you personally and apologize, but couldn't access your e-mail. Hence, es tut mir leid
. Tshcuss.

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Michael
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold
Marriot Silver

Michael, never mind. We all got a bit worked up on this issue. Don't know why the e-mail link didn't work. And yes, I agree, SAA went down the hill quite a bit. Which is a pity since I love South Africa and used to fly them a lot. Alas, next flight is on LH in C.