Amazed by the breathtaking views, we spent two impeccable days in Cape Town.
Wish I could live on the dreamy scenery!
Yet all good things must come to an end..It's time to get back for work. This time I used SAA's online check-in system to get better seats. The system is intuitive and easy to use. Both legs were checked!
We arrived at CPT merely 100 minutes before the departure time, not plenty as we would get our VAT refunded right on here.
Definitely a CAVOK day.
You got Samsung ads everywhere and no exception for CPT.
FIDs are identical to the ones in JNB.
It took another 20 minutes to queue on the refunds. With the check-in queue like this we started to worry about missing the flight.
QR counters were already closed.
Fortunately we passed the security in a breeze, however it was already 12:40 when we got airside, 5 minutes prior the boarding time.
We could see our ride right after the security. ZS-SNI, the last A346 acquired by SAA.
QR B787 leaving.
Within a minute we got to gate A7, the only two-bridged gate on CPT.
For some reason the boarding wasn't commenced. This gave me some time to do more spotting. The widebody lineup, much less impressive than JNB..
A SAA A343 had just touched the runway.
The famous flying 101 special scheme, spotted!
It was so disappointing that the jet bridge obstructed the beauty's port.
The terminal is bright, clean, airy and modern. However I didn't explore the facilities nor did I take any picture.
Other major South African domestic carriers:
Eventually the boarding started after a 30 minutes delay.
Pitch was more than ample even for longer haul missions. Nevertheless I found one more bug on this seats: all aisle armrests are not movable.
Cabin view. One additional feature: tail camera was equipped on A346s.
Due to the delay on our flight the A343 had to park on remote stand.
Emirates was in the front:
The flying 101 was just behind us. She was heading for JNB just like us.
One last view on the terminal:
..and the tower:
and the magnificent Table mountain..
We had a sharp turn towards northeast just over the False bay. See you Cape Town!
The interactive entertainment system wasn't engaged on the short hop. Instead they only play fixed videos. Confused…
I was rather hungry as I hadn't had lunch yet. And I wouldn't get my lunch anyway as this was the only food offered….
Angry and frustrated, I asked the crew as this flight should offer hot lunch during lunchtime.. They said that due to late arrival they didn't get enough time to load the catering and apologized for that…Well that wasn't helpful to my stomach:(
Almost there:
The weather wasn't really pleasant down there..
2 minutes prior landing we were redirected to use the northern approach due to the wind changes, causing a further delay..
Inbound:
Meet the heavies:
We parked at the international pier..Even more delay..
Business class seats. Not too bad.
It was 4:05pm when we left the domestic section, only 75 minutes from departure time of our flight to HKG.
Thanks for reading!
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Verdict
South African
5.6/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew7.5
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering2.0
Cape Town - CPT
7.6/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services6.5
Cleanliness8.0
Johannesburg - JNB
8.5/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.0
Conclusion
Apart from the catering and punctuality the flight itself is delightful. CPT is good and convenient but SAA ground agents were way toooooooooooooo slow. In JNB domestic section you could get landside within a minute.
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This definitely looks like a better cabin than on your inbound flight, it's always nice to get a long-haul plane on a short flight. Although, I'm not sure how comfortable this cabin would be on a JNB-JFK haul :)
Was the aircraft a late arrival from JNB? It's very disappointing that the catering was not loaded since a hot meal is expected during meal time on SA. You didn't mention this, but did they do drink service along with the snack?
They serve drinks for sure..Since they offered same beverages I didn't take more pic on that. I believe that it got delayed due to late arrival(s) of previous flight(s).. Actually I took this exact aircraft on the way back to HKG by coincidence so you can get that info from my next report:)
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5 Comments
Only a 2-days vacation in South Africa from HKG ? That _is_ really short !
This definitely looks like a better cabin than on your inbound flight, it's always nice to get a long-haul plane on a short flight. Although, I'm not sure how comfortable this cabin would be on a JNB-JFK haul :)
Was the aircraft a late arrival from JNB? It's very disappointing that the catering was not loaded since a hot meal is expected during meal time on SA. You didn't mention this, but did they do drink service along with the snack?
Beautiful bonus of Cape Town!
I believe that it got delayed due to late arrival(s) of previous flight(s)..
Actually I took this exact aircraft on the way back to HKG by coincidence so you can get that info from my next report:)
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