South African Airways

Pros: Friendly staff, reliable, punctual, decent fares, non-stop services
Cons: Sometimes they use aircrafts that should be in a Museum of Aviation

I was quite pleased to find out that SAA is on the whole a reliable carrier.

I am however under the impression that this airline is a victim of their own success and that their resources are quite stretched. Last October I flew from Milan MXP...

Pros: Good service, good ground and flight staff
Cons: None, really

My introduction to flying in Africa taught me that it is always a dicey experience at best. I’ve flown on aircraft so decrepit that they would have required extensive repair to even be a good museum piece…with pilots that appear to be so young you would ...

Pros: Good entertainment system, economy on upperdeck, good drinks
Cons: Average food, somewhat poor ground services

JNB to JFK on South African Airways, Economy Class

Check in at the airport that evening was disastrous as two SAA flights were bound for USA were only 30 minutes apart from each other. What eventually happened is that check-in desks were...

Pros: Comfortable, friendly service, safe, good food.
Cons: A few delays, aging (but well-kept) fleet.

Air Afrique, Air Cameroon, Ethiopian Airlines... so many names of African airlines we (rightfully) associate with poor safety records, lack of service, old airplanes, inexperienced pilots and God knows what else. It seems almost unfair to put SAA in this...

Pros: the personable staff; on-time flight schedule; cheap flight
Cons: Always double check information. I found that information provided by one customer service representative, differed from another representative. It would be preferable if the size of each seat, offered a little more room.

Over the past 5 years, I have flown with 4 different airlines. During February, I flew South African Airways. The airline offered a wonderful deal: Buy one, get one. With a grand total of $1400; for two people, flying coach, round trip. You can't beat...

Pros: Movies in each seat, friendly service, good food
Cons: Long flight, pricey

We traveled to Cape Town,S Africa on a flight from Atlanta June 2003.I paid $900 for one ticket through Expedia via Sidestep and used 75,000 Delta miles for the other. We had to refuel once, then land in Johannesburg before arriving in Cape Town. It was ...

Pros: At least the seats were comfortable to me.
Cons: Food, entertainment, service in general.

I just came with South African Airways last 21st of January from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo. And I have to say that the service provided this time (I had a previous flight last year) was in my opinion worst than last time.

There wasn't flight...

Pros: Very good airline
Cons: ...well... ...no cons

South African Airlines has recently had a facelift to bring in its new logo and tail designs, looking more sunny and South African. They also serve a variety of markets, of which I will try and address most of here.

First of all, there is the...

Pros: Good service, good food/wine, and reasonable on-time departures.
Cons: This ain't no Southwest (as far as fares are concerned).

If you're flying to South Africa from the US, look no further than South African Airways (SAA). I've flown on SAA two times from the US both from JFK (NY) to Johannesburg and back. Even though the flight to Johannesburg was 13-14 hours long and the...

Pros: Service
Cons: It took weeks for frequent flyers miles to appear on Delta

South African Airways is an excellent and very organized airline.
I flew them from Atlanta to Cape Town, then to Durban for a meeting,
returning via Johannesburg. They acquiesced to my need to change
plans in Johannesburg and stay another...

Pros: direct US to Africa service a big plus
Cons: poor customer service post flight, JNB airport very unsafe

I travel to Southern Africa very often on business and love the convenience of flying New York to Johannesburg direct. Last year in April, my two checked pieces of luggage containing expensive electronic equipment never made it. I checked them in at...

Pros: Great service, good food, nice fleet, good facilities in Jo'burg and Cape Town, Delta SkyMiles
Cons: Not enough gates for jumbo jets in Jo'burg (had to take a bus to terminal)

I had the opportunity to fly SAA and South African Airlink (commuter) while on Christmas vacation in 2000. As always, there were hangups flying out of Nigeria (as is the case in most countries in West Africa). The crew that was supposed to clean our...

Pros: Service, Staff, Fleet, "New Attitude"
Cons: Price, limited services from the USA

I have flown on South African Airways' international and domestic systems. Their international services are superb (business class and coach) and their domestic service is quite good as well. The seats are comfortable, the food is tasty and the staff...

Pros: International direct, decent service
Cons: No competition - pricey

Living in the US and making several trips to South Africa, I have had the chance to spend dozens of hours in the air over the Atlantic Ocean. South African Airways' direct flights from New York to Johannesburg are worth a little bit extra as opposed to...

Pros: Very charitable airline company, great customer relations director
Cons: none

I would like to use this site to publicly thank South African Airways, and more specifically, Miss Maureen Gordon, for making one person's dream come true.

South African Airways has proven this way that they really care about the public and...