Review of South African flight New York → Johannesburg in Economy

Conclusion

South African offers an overall average product. Despite this, there were a few great parts of this flight. Unfortunately, IFE and seating were aging which would inevitably play a role on the customer experience. I am hopeful however that this experience does not occur throughout the entire SAA fleet.

10 Comments

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  KL651 TEAM 4534 Comments 2019-01-01 21:23:24

  Thanks for this FR.
  The meals look good but are they enough for such a long flight?
  Too bad the IFE was ancient as you sure need entertainment for 15 hours. 2019-01-01 21:23:24

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  JAZ350 AUTHOR 80 Comments 2019-01-02 01:00:58

  Actually, we had some snacks in between all the meals and also throughout the flight. 2019-01-02 01:00:58

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  hometoyyz 539 Comments 2019-01-06 04:09:00

  Hi Jaz350
  
  I transit JFK T4 fairly frequently, and often see SA’s planes there. Nice to see a review of the flight experience. I’ve only ever done LHR-JNB and reverse, and JNB-DPT with SA, so interesting to see their ultra longhaul experience.
  
  The Flying Pencil certainly has a certain attractiveness to it, and your shots of the bird are great.
  
  Ooof! That IFE! Did then hand out pneumatic headsets too? At least the catering looks really good for economy — and god a good review too.
  
  How was immigration? I’ve had some loooong waits at JNB.
  
  Thanks for a sharing a great quick look at a very long flight. I’m glad it was a fairly positive experience for you! 2019-01-06 04:09:00

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  JAZ350 AUTHOR 80 Comments 2019-01-08 19:18:22

  To my surprise, the immigration wait was pretty short, no more then 20 or 25 minutes. Fortunately I brought my own headsets so I did not pay much attention to what types they handed out. In respect to catering, I was impressed with the quality we received. I'd like to try other African carriers to compare their service. Thanks for reading! 2019-01-08 19:18:22

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  hometoyyz 539 Comments 2019-01-10 17:47:24

  Just in case the joke fell flat, the reference to pneumatic headphones was is referring to really old-timey in-flight-entertainment. I remember having those old pneumatics on my first flight, when I was five, going to Wales on a CP Air 747. Listened to the kids’ channel on the headphones the whole way there and the whole way back. 2019-01-10 17:47:24

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  KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6744 Comments 2019-01-10 17:53:05

  LOL, I remember those too! When I was a kid in the 90s on Tower Air 747s. It was the coolest thing flying a 747 when I was a kid (still is), but now that how know how crappy Tower Air was run, I'm thankful to be alive, haha 2019-01-10 17:53:05

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  KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6744 Comments 2019-01-09 23:45:37

  Nice report! The A346 is a beautiful bird, but SAA would do well to refresh the ancient cabin, especially compared to the new A330s. Otherwise service looks quite nice, especially butter chicken for the meal, yum!
  
  I never really understood why SAA fly nonstop to JFK, but fly a 1-stop to my home airport of IAD for a similar distance.
  
  Thanks for sharing! 2019-01-09 23:45:37

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  JAZ350 AUTHOR 80 Comments 2019-01-10 15:34:27

  I often wondered when SAA would change the cabin on the A346s. I'm actually looking to try out the IAD-ACC route this summer. I was thinking that it stops due to fuel, maybe? But I know some people that use SAA to get to DSS or ACC so it can be useful to some extent. 2019-01-10 15:34:27

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  KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6744 Comments 2019-01-10 15:55:05

  Yeah, the A330 for sure doesn't have the legs of the A346, but should still be able to do IAD-JNB without too much weight restriction. But you're right, it does seem that there's a real market for IAD to DSS and ACC so SAA may be smart in doing that stop and making money on that TATL sector. 2019-01-10 15:55:05

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  02022001 GOLD 4403 Comments 2019-01-25 16:08:47

  oh ;) That's a long flight !
  Thanks to share ;) 2019-01-25 16:08:47