IndyDavid

IAD-ZRH-JNB-CPT-JNB-HDS-Chitwa Chitwa-HDS-JNB-ZRH-IAD on Swiss, kulula.com, South African Airlink, and private air taxi

Here's the story... of a lovely lady... who was bringing up... no, that's not it. Here, really, is the story of my partner's and my extraordinary 2-week trip to South Africa, which also included a bonus 2-day stopover in Zurich. The longhaul flights were in First Class on Swiss (the new Swissair, although it's hard to tell, since the Swiss flights used Swissair planes & Swissair crews & Swissair amenities). The First Class roundtrip tickets IAD-JNB were 240,000 US Airways Dividend Miles each; they would have cost about US$12,000 each if we'd had to pay for them. We arranged all the other flights on our own... and, sadly, had to pay for them. (Incidentally, first-class award tickets from the US to South Africa on other airlines -- specifically Lufthansa/Star Alliance and Air France/SkyTeam -- are just 160,000 miles each.)

Friday 15 November 2002, Swiss International Air Lines
LX 35, IAD-ZRH, international F class, 5:45p-7:45a (8h0m)
Airbus A330-223, HB-IQB, delivered 9 November 1998 (click for photo)

After literally months of anticipation, we headed off to Dulles. We had exchanged a dozen Emails with my college friends who live in Jo'burg... we had meticulously planned every day of our trip. We had decided to see Johannesburg, Cape Town, and the bush, but save the wine country, Durban, and Victoria Falls for another trip. Our friends advised us to spend as much time as possible in the places we visited, since there was so much to see & learn.

Unfortunately, the beginning of our dream vacation did not go well. The agent in the First Class line at Swiss's Dulles ticket counter was, surprisingly, surly and abrupt. As she was taking my partner's and my paper tickets, she asked if we wanted to be seated together or separately, which was annoying because (1) we already had seat assignments next to each other, which she hadn't checked, and (2) she presumed we were not a couple traveling together. Then she did it again: We only had one bag to check, and she said "Only one bag for two guys?!" For the record, we're not hypersensitive about homophobic remarks; this lady was just really obvious. Strike 1.

Anyway, as she was typing, we heard the agent next door describe to another First Class passenger how to get to the Northwest WorldClub, which she said Swiss uses as its First Class departure lounge. But when our agent handed us our boarding passes, she didn't mention the lounge. "What about the lounge?" I asked.

"No. No lounge."

Huh? Every Swiss F trip report starts in a lounge, including ThisFlightNoFuel's beautiful report on his ORD-ZRH-IAD award trip. So I asked again. "You just told that guy how to get there... it's the Northwest WorldClub, right?"

"No. The lounge is very small. So you can not go."

Very small? My partner Alejandro, who's Northwest Gold & a WorldClub regular, just shook his head. There must be some mistake. For 240,000 miles per ticket, surely we could go to the lousy WorldClub. So I asked to speak with someone else. A supervisor walked over, but didn't even turn to us until she had exchanged several sentences in German with the agent. My partner and I, both bilingual but not in German, take great pains not to use language to exclude others. It was very off-putting. Strike 2.

The supervisor then turned to us and committed the cardinal sin of customer service: she lied. Strike 3. She clearly and calmly explained that Swiss had an agreement with Northwest to only allow admittance to people holding first class tickets printed on Swiss ticket stock. Since our tickets had been issued by US Airways, Northwest wouldn't admit us. My partner asked if the supervisor could give us a special pass, and she said "No, sorry. They won't accept it."

Feeling disappointed, but comforted by a rational-sounding explanation, we decided to head over to the WorldClub anyway. If nothing else, we could get in using one of Alejandro's many Club passes. We approached the friendly Northwest WorldClub agent, presented our Swiss First Class boarding passes, and said naively "Is this the Swiss First Class departure lounge?"

"Yes," she said. "Do you have your invitation? They should have given you an invitation."

A ha! There is a pass. It doesn't have anything to do with ticket stock! In our shocked silence, the Northwest agent called Swiss, and spoke to the same agent who had checked us in. She confirmed that we were not to be admitted -- because we were traveling on award tickets. Finally, the truth comes out. But it was all smiles when we presented a Northwest WorldClub pass, and we were happily ushered in. A Dulles mobile lounge would take us from the WorldClub directly to the aircraft 30 minutes before departure.

We got the last laugh when the surly Swiss agent was the one who showed up in the WorldClub to take tickets at boarding. She didn't even look at Alejandro's face until she read the name on his ticket; her look of shock as she handed back his boarding pass was priceless.

The remainder of our trip, however, was superb. It's hard to find words to describe the feeling of luxuriating in the spacious, comfortable seats and cabin, waited on at every second by the attentive (but never intrusive) flight attendants. The service was impeccable and the food and wine were outstanding. And despite a few cosmetic dings and nicks in the first class seats, the aircraft interior was lovely and everything operated flawlessly. Champagne (the best I've ever tasted), orange juice, and water were served before takeoff, amenity kits were distributed, and a tray of La Prairie cosmetics was passed. 5 of the 12 seats were occupied.

The "fasten seat belts" sign was turned off the moment we reached 10,000 feet and didn't come back on until we reached Switzerland. Service began shortly thereafter. Alejandro and I sat across the table from one another at the "biggest table in the sky," beginning with an aperitif and amuse gueule that isn't even on the menu. The remainder of the menu follows. (Swiss introduced an entirely new catering concept in all 3 cabins on December 4, 2002, so it's reproduced here only for historical value.) Each "--" indicates a separate course.

-- Balik salmon and poached shrimp accompanied by a cucumber salad with an herb and crème fraîche sauce -and/or- Tomato napoleon served with a pesto vinaigrette
-- Grilled veal chop in a spicy south-western sauce served with roasted vegetables and green beans -and/or- Grilled escolar fish and shrimp on a spicy Cajun sauce served with couscous, spinach and a tomato concassé -and/or- Portabella mushroom tortelloni in an alfredo sauce accompanied by grilled zucchini and sautéed carrots and crimini mushrooms
-- A Selection of cheeses
-- Chocolate & hazelnut mousse
-- Swiss chocolates

There were a number of superb white & red wines available:

-- Champagne Brut 1996, Cuvée Charles Gardet, France
-- St. Saphorin 2001 Les Déserts, Le Fils Rogivue, Lavaux, Switzerland
-- Château Cantelys 1999 Blanc, Pessac-Léognan AC, Bordeaux, France
-- Chardonnay 1999, Wine Maker's Reserve, Casablanca Valley, Viña Carmen, Chile

-- Merlot del Ticino DOC, Zanini Sulmoni, Ticino, Switzerland
-- Château La Lagune 1995, 3e Cru Classé, Haut-Médoc AOC, Bordeaux, France
-- Rioja DOC 1994, Gran Reserv, Coto de Imaz, Spain
-- Wine Maker's Reserve 1998, Maipo Valley, Viña Carmen, Chile

Before departure, the purser introduced himself and wished us a pleasant flight. Likewise, the flight attendants were knowledgeable, friendly, personable, and attentive. The two primary First Class staff both took time to stop and talk with us, chatting about wine, traveling, family, etc. (However, if they came by and Alejandro and I were engaged in conversation, they never interrupted or hovered.) They also collaborated on providing us with several restaurant and bar recommendations in Zurich, including a "boys bar" and a good Spanish restaurant near it. They wrote down their recommendations for us to reference during our upcoming 2 days in Switzerland. Except for a quick test of the in-flight entertainment system, we didn't use the IFE at all.

After nearly 3 hours of wining and dining, we converted our sleeper seats into beds and slept halfway across the Atlantic. The flat bed is indeed more than 6' long, and I found it exceedingly comfortable. (I was shocked that none of the seams between the pieces of the seat that make up the bed -- the back, the seat itself, the leg rest, and the ottoman -- could be felt.) The pillow was large, soft, and substantial... and a sleeping-bag style coverlet kept me plenty warm.

We awoke bleary-eyed to a quick breakfast of fruit, coffee and croissants, yogurt and museli, and landed on-time in Zurich.

We made a quick stop in the First Class lounge at Unique Airport (yes, that's really what ZRH is called) to freshen up and telephone our hotel, which said our room was available and we could check in anytime. With that, we left the lounge, retrieved our luggage from the First Class carousel attendant, and hopped on the train for downtown Zurich.

Thus began our jetlagged whirlwind tour of Zurich, including the Kunsthaus, Banhofstrasse, Grossmunster, Chagall windows, and a Lake Zurich promenade.

Monday 18 November 2002, Swiss International Air Lines
LX 288, ZRH-JNB, international F class, 9:45a-8:55p (10h10m)
Boeing McDonnell-Douglas MD-11, HB-IWD, delivered 30 May 1991 (click for photo)

We earnestly (and optimistically) took the first available shuttle from our hotel to ZRH, arriving around 7 a.m. But ultimately, our flight to Johannesburg departed 55 minutes late, so we spent more than 3 hours cooling our heels in the vaguely smoky, sterile feeling First Class lounge. (Swiss's Business Class lounge, while more crowded, also feels more intimate.)

As our IAD-ZRH flight attendant said often happens, the JNB flight waited for connecting passengers whose arrival was delayed by inclement weather in Zurich. Had we left without them, they could not have been reaccommodated on any other flights to South Africa that day, so we waited. And then we waited again, for their luggage, after they arrived in person. Finally, we pushed back from the gate, but with an estimated flying time of 9h50m, we were going to be nearly 90 minutes late into Johannesburg.

This time, the First Class cabin was more full, with 8 passengers and 1 relief pilot in 12 seats. And except for taller windows and slightly wider aisles, the MD-11's larger size couldn't add much to the already-luxurious Swiss First experience. The ambient noise inside an MD-11 during flight is noticeably louder than in an Airbus A330. We began our cruise at only 29,000 feet, climbed to 33,000 across the equator, and reached a maximum of 35,000 feet.

Again, the meal was superb and the service attentive. The views were also breathtaking; after crossing the alps and the cost of Sicily, the azure waters of the Mediterranean gave way almost instantly to the endless vastness of the Sahara, which was featureless except for occasional towering mountains with snow-filled valleys and craters. The sun set approximately 6 hours into the flight, after which the only things to see were lightening bolts hurtling up and down inside colossal thunderheads off the port side.

Here's a summary of the menu... the wine list was identical to the IAD-ZRH flight. There was again an amuse gueule to accompany the aperitifs. Each "--" indicates a separate course (there was one more course on this meal than on IAD-ZRH).

-- Fillet of smoked salmon with potato galettes and sour cream -and/or- Scallop terrine accompanied by a fennel salad with mango chutney -and/or- Parma ham and Swiss air-dried beef tartare served with fresh figs -and/or- Artichoke, olives and a tomato confit served with a herb vinaigrette -and/or- Mixed salad with your choice of mustard or balsamic vinaigrette
-- Fillet of sea bass with creamy leek
-- Medallion of venison in an elderberry sauce and venison stew served with semolina sautéed in butter and steamed red cabbage -and/or- Veal filet mignon with creamy cep mushrooms accompanied by a saffron risotto with glazed zucchini and carrots -and/or- Cannelloni filled with pumpkin and Mascarpone with a creamy Roquefort cheese sauce
-- A selection of cheeses
-- Chestnut mousse timbale in blackberry & quince sauces -and/or- Pear tartlet in a cinnamon sauce
-- Swiss chocolates

Approximately 90 minutes before arrival, another meal was served:

-- Couscous salad and sautéed guinea fowl in an orange vinaigrette -and/or- Seasonal salad with vinaigrette
-- Cream of yellow pepper soup garnished with marinated king prawn
-- Roasted veal or pork sausage in an onion sauce served with potato galettes -and/or- Vegetable gratin flavoured with tarragon
-- Mocha cake with crème anglaise

On Swiss's MD-11's, personal DVD players are distributed at the beginning of the flight. We each selected 2 movies to start; we could request others later. The DVD players play only airline-issue DVDs and plug into the EmPower laptop power port. Adaptors for laptop computers are also available for loan from the purser (known by the delightful French term "chef de cabine"). The headsets for the DVD player and IFE audio are comfortable and offer some noise-cancelling capability.

Even in first class, these flights are endless. We arrived at 10:15p, then waited another 20 minutes to clear immigration before claiming our luggage and meeting our friends Steve & Jeanne in the international arrivals area.

Tuesday 19 November 2002, kulula.com
MN 111, JNB-CPT, single-class Y, 9:25a-11:30a (2h5m)
Boeing 727-230 Advanced, ZS-NZV, delivered 25 March 1974 (click for photo)

After a quick overnight in Dainfern (one of several tony suburbs north of Johannesburg), we returned to Johannesburg International for our morning flight to Cape Town. We had purchased tickets on kulula.com, a new Southwest-style South African airline with a single class of service, no pre-assigned seating, no paper tickets, and on-board drinks and snacks available only if you pay for them separately. The operation is strictly low-budget... even the boarding passes and luggage tags are written out by hand. The airline serves only 3 cities, flying between Johannesburg and Cape Town and between Johannesburg and Durban.

We queued inside the terminal, then boarded a bus and were driven to our waiting 727. Seating was open, so we chose aisle & window seats in the mid-cabin exit row, leaving the middle seat empty. The flight was about 60% full. We took off and landed on-time. In between, we purchased snacks from a cart rolled down the aisle: soda, cookies, coffee, even beef jerky were available.

Flight attendants dressed in custom denim pants and fluorescent green polo shirts. The safety demo was done manually, but the old audio system made it hard to hear the predictably lame jokes interjected into the standard safety spiel.

Thus began our time in and around beautiful Cape Town, visiting the Victoria & Albert Waterfront, Five Flies restaurant, Kalk Bay, The Brass Bell, Table Mountain, Robben Island, the District Six Museum, the Bo-Kaap Museum, and Bo-Kaap itself.

Friday 22 November 2002, kulula.com
MN 106, CPT-JNB, single-class Y, 6:10p-8:05p (1h55m)
Boeing 727-230 Advanced, ZS-OBO, delivered 19 January 1979 (no photo available)

Our fabulous but whirlwind tour of Cape Town over, we returned to the airport for our evening departure to Johannesburg. A different 727 (this time it looked even more like a Lufthansa hand-me-down, which both 727s are) awaited us. The service was equivalently perky, and the same selection of "yummy snacks" were available for purchase.

We spent another quick evening with Steve & Jeanne and then returned to the airport again to begin our safari adventure on the veldt.

Saturday 23 November 2002, South African Airways Airlink
SA 1223, JNB-HDS, single-class Y, 12:35p-1:45p (1h10m)
Embraer DeHavilland Dash 8-300, ZS-NLY (no photo available)

As is the case with nearly all flights ex-JNB, from the gate we boarded a bus and were driven to the plane. Once on board, the two flight attendants were attentive and pleasant. There was even a snack service on this short Airlink flight:

-- Selection of juice boxes
-- Full bar service
-- Two half-sandwiches (beef/mustard and chicken/mayo)

We arrived on time in 90+ degree weather. Hoedspruit Airport is at one end of a massive South African Air Force base with perpendicular 12,000-foot non-intersecting runways. We taxied for nearly 10 minutes to reach the public terminal, then climbed down the Dash-8's stairs and walked toward the wooden one-story terminal building. Before we even got inside, we were met by our air-taxi pilot, who led us inside to pay the airport tax and then took us back out to his plane, which was waiting on the tarmac near where the Dash-8 had parked.

Saturday 23 November 2002, private air taxi service
HDS-Chitwa Chitwa Safari Lodge, unscheduled service
Cessna 206, ZS-DIT (no photo available)

The thrill of flying in the co-pilot seat of a single-engine 6-seater can not be overestimated. Our pilot was great, showing me how the equipment worked, letting me listen to his radio communications on the headset, and pointing our wild animals we could see from above, including elephants, hippos, and a giraffe. We flew at an altitude of 2400 feet -- about 1000 feet above the ground. When we touched down smoothly on the Lodge's grass airstrip, I said "Wow, that was great." The pilot responded, "Like a cat pissing on glass." Indeed.

Thus began our glorious time at the Chitwa Chitwa Safari Lodge in the bush, where we saw the "Big 5" most dangerous animals and many others: adult & child male & female Lion, male & female Leopard, adult & child Rhinoceros, adult & child male & female Elephant, Water Buffalo, Impala, Hyena, Serval Cat, Water Buck, Wildebeest, etc.

Tuesday 26 November 2002, private air taxi service
Chitwa Chitwa Safari Lodge-HDS, unscheduled service
Cessna 206, ZS-DIT (no photo available)

We knew it was time to jump in the Land Rover and go to the airstrip when our air taxi buzzed the Lodge. As he made his turn and lined up to land, we walked to the car and drove the short distance to the airstrip. The same plane and pilot awaited us to take us back to Hoedspruit, and this time Alejandro got the co-pilot's seat.

We again saw a few animals from the air and landed on the enormous Hoedspruit runways in less than 30 minutes.

Tuesday 26 November 2002, South African Airways Airlink
SA 1222, HDS-JNB, single-class Y, 1:15p-2:30p (1h15m)
Embraer DeHavilland Dash 8-300, ZS-NMP (click for photo)

The air taxi dropped us off about an hour before our Airlink flight, so we sat down in the outside courtyard to wait. After a few minutes, Alejandro got up to go to the bathroom, but he didn't come back. When I went to go find him, he was talking to 3 guys in the main waiting area -- unbelievably, they were 3 friends from his undergraduate years at Stanford! I took a picture of all 4 of them and hope to submit it to the Stanford Alumni Magazine.

The 3 guys, all from the California coast, were on an 8-day whirlwind junket throughout South Africa. They had flown LAX-JFK-JNB on South African Airways as part of an organized tour. They had just finished their requisite 2 nights in the bush and were flying back to JNB to board the luxurious Blue Train destined for Cape Town.

The flight itself was identical to the outbound service, including the full bar service and the two half-sandwiches. From there began our Johannesburg-based adventure, eating at Moyo and The Saxon, visiting Pretoria, the C.S. Mott Foundation, Johannesburg CBD, Soweto (including the marvelous new Hector Petersen Museum), the Apartheid Museum, and MuseuMAfrica, and enjoying a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner in 85-degree weather.

Saturday 30 November 2002, Swiss International Air Lines
LX 289, JNB-ZRH, international F class, 10:50p-8:10a (10h20m)
Boeing McDonnell-Douglas MD-11, HB-IWA, delivered 6 March 1991 (click for photo)

After so much great food & so many great experiences, it was terribly sad to leave. We departed Steve & Jeanne's house in a thunderstorm, but it had passed by the time we arrived at JNB. We checked in quickly, said our final good-byes, and proceeded to the South African Airways First Class lounge, which Swiss uses and which offered a complete dinner menu for those wishing to eat before their flights. Since we'd just finished our Thanksgiving feast, we demurred, and proceeded to the gate after a quick drink.

I can't report much on this flight, since I slept soundly on the fully flat bed from 11:30p JNB time until 6:30a ZRH time -- 8 hours! Alejandro, however, enjoyed dinner before turning in, so here's the menu:

-- A rich starter of delicious seafood and accompaniments will be served from the trolley
-- Duck liver terrine with smoked duck breast accompanied by Cumberland sauce -and/or- Seasonal salad with a coriander dressing or vinaigrette
-- Grilled beef, pork, and lamb fillets in a béarnaise sauce -and/or- Fillet of sole filled with spinach and prawns in a Champagne sauce -and/or- Vol-au-vent with a mushroom ragoût
-- Selection of cheeses
-- Banana yoghurt cake in a raspberry coulis with cream
-- Swiss chocolates

The same wines were available as on each of our previous long-haul Swiss flights.

I awoke in time for the hearty breakfast, served 90 minutes before arrival:

-- Fresh fruit salad -and/or- Yoghurt -and/or- Variety of cereals -and/or- A selection of ham and cheese
-- Cheese omelette with grilled back bacon, chicken chipolata and potato galettes
-- Assorted breakfast breads

We landed smoothly in the early-morning fog and parked at our gate amid four other Swiss MD-11s. We went immediately to the Swiss First lounge, took a shower, changed clothes, and prepared for the new day. (When we told the cute 20-something lounge attendant that we didn't mind sharing one shower room, he smiled and said "Are you sure?")

After showering and feeling amazingly refreshed, we had another cup of coffee and headed out to do some duty-free shopping. (We saved 20% thanks to a coupon on the Swiss website I found about here on FT!) We also spent half an hour in the Business Class lounge checking Email and the Web. (Oddly, the First Class lounge only has one Internet-connected PC; the Business Class lounge has about 15.)

Get this: I'm standing at one of 15 computers in the Zurich airport. I start typing in www.flyertal... and the complete address pops up from Internet Explorer's memory! Someone had used that computer recently to access the Qualiflyer board on FT. Likewise, when I typed in gc.kls2... the Great Circle Mapper's address popped up from memory as well! I couldn't believe it. We really are everywhere. (Frequent flyers, I mean.

Sunday 1 December 2002, Swiss International Air Lines
LX 34, ZRH-IAD, international F class, 12:20p-3:45p (9h25m)
Airbus A330-223, HB-IQG, delivered 26 May 1999 (click for photo)

Security for this flight was extremely thorough. They were concerned about the nail file and the thermometer in my toiletries kit, but before they searched my suitcase we waited while they spent 10 minutes X-raying and re-X-raying a UN staffer's suitcase, finally finding a stapler, which they then allowed on-board).

Sadly, the menu and wine list on this flight were identical to the ZRH-JNB flight above. (Now I wish I had stayed awake for the meal out of JNB!) The menu's second meal was again served 90 minutes prior to arrival in Washington.

Our route of flight was surprisingly northerly, crossing south of London and north of Dublin to barely skim the tip of Greenland. We crossed into Newfoundland north of Goose Bay, continued southwest to Montreal, turned due south at Albany, and arrived at Dulles a few minutes behind schedule. We spent most of the crossing free of turbulence at 36,000 feet, despite strong winter headwinds. We reached 37,000 feet as we crossed the North American border and 39,000 feet as we passed northwest of Montreal. We then descended to 31,000 feet and flew northwest of Syracuse & Elmira, New York. We descended again -- to 28,000 feet -- before finally turning due south past the Pennsylvania border.

Total travel time, from when we left Steve & Jeanne's house to when we walked in our door, was exactly 28 hours. It's a long trip, but it was sooooooo worth it. We were astonished to see almost no Americans there. From the East Coast, it's cheaper & quicker to fly to South Africa than to Australia... and it's cheaper once you get there, too!

South Africa is a beautiful, engaging, endlessly fascinating country. If you don't care about the country's recent political history, you can still have a great vacation there, seeing the animals, lounging at the beach, traveling through the wine country, eating well, going to bars & clubs, etc. But what we liked best was having all those choices and the racial, political, social dimensions of the country ever present in the background. South Africa's history is still being written every day, and we felt so lucky to have been part of it.

-30-
[Edited to fix typos & add links to aircraft photos.]

[This message has been edited by IndyDavid (edited 01-02-2003).]

neuro0

Thank you for your trip report!
A job well done!!!!
I had only been in safari once in Nepal!

onedog

Thanks for the great trip report!

Brings back many fond memories of my and the Mrs' vacation in South Africa.

airoli

Thank you for this

I use the PCs in the ZRH lounge frequently and most of the times Flyertalk is in the IEX history already....

------------------
airOli, the Swiss Air Line.

Tim2008

Great report, thanks!

Tim

Bretteee

Thank you for the interesting report.

asnovici

IndyDavid,

What a great report! South Africa has always been the place I wanted to check out, my partner ...not so much. So we are sticking with Europe...again. Anyway, I am on my way to DTW and YVR to sapmple some Sunday Brunch options *wink*

RTW4

I go to JNB about three to four times a year. Great report and I agree completely about the experience. even with the recent devaluation of the dollar to the rand, it still is a great bargain. Aned although I love SR the BA experience from LHR is even better in first. Especially the IFE. Thanks again

IndyDavid

Replying to oneself is a bit gauche, but I wanted to add that I detailed the substance of our trip to South Africa here in response to another FTer's request for trip planning advice.

David

flamboyant 1

very elaborate. thx

Jac747

Thanks for the great report and now I'm even more excited about our trip to S.Africa and Botswana in August. Am NOT looking forward to the flts even though we are in Business Class on SAA, especially since after flying ATL-JNB we have to connect to CPT for another 2hr flt! Would love to hear more details of what you saw in the wine country area if you get a chance.

STAM4NICK

Excellent Job. Anyone have comments on the lounge situation out of IAD. Was the agent wrong or right?

CLTFlyer

I traveled from in F on Swiss from IAD to ZRH on a US Award ticket as well. I was denied the lounge invitation too, since I had an award ticket. IndyDavid and I probably had the same lovely woman handling check-in - the one checking me in had that surly demeanor.

Tim2008

Excellent report!
Thanx!

daniellam

Denying F passengers lounge access (on award tickets issued on ticket stock of another carrier) is totally stupid!!

How come Swiss allowed them lounge access in JNB when the lounge was operated by South African Airways, but not in IAD when the lounge was operated by Northwest?

Does Swiss have their own lounge at JFK?
(might redeem an AA F award on Swiss)

CX allows lounge access to all F / J pax regardless of award ticket or not.