Review of Airlink flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg in Economy

LNK

4Z - Airlink

Flight taken on 17 June 2024
4Z922
09:24 02h 00m 11:24
Class Economy
Seat 6A
jettoajet
4,195 · 45 · 10 · 42

Intro


While I have reviewed this trip in the other direction, I wanted to share some insight on what it is like to fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg on one of my favorite regional carriers in the world.


Following a lovely time in Cape Town, eating some delicious food, and enjoying the sunsets, it was time to embark on the next flight of the trip. The next portion of my trip would see me heading off to the small city* of Vilankulo in Mozambique. However, to get there, I first had to fly through Johannesburg, as Vilankulo is a small airport with limited flights.


Cage Diving with sharks





Food in Cape Town: Incredible





Overall, it was another lovely flight onboard Airlink from Cape Town to Johannesburg. The level of consistency this airline provides is nothing short of exceptional. Let's get into it. 


Routing



How I Booked


Flights into VIlankulo airport (VNX) are traditionally quite expensive. There are two main carriers that operate into VNX; one being Airlink, with a couple of daily flights, and the other is LAM (the local airline in Mozambique). I ended up paying 352 USD one way for this flight, which I thought was quite high. 


Check-In


The 6 am alarm went off, and I began to wonder what I was doing with my life. However, I quickly realized that I was heading off to Mozambique today! Placing the keys away from the Airbnb I was staying at, I called an Uber for around 15 USD, and it was off on the 30-minute drive to the airport.


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Sure enough, I had arrived with plenty of time for a domestic flight. Check-in was, once again, a complete breeze. Airlink is a very efficient airline when it comes to the ground experience, which is something I can rarely say about an airline (at least in economy). 


photo img_8741photo img_8745

I had a couple of hours to kill (I did this since I didn't know much about the requirements for entry to Mozambique. A new country means showing up a bit earlier than normal), so I opted to check out Cape Town airport. And, of course, grab a quick bite to eat.





Boarding


Soon enough, our boarding time of 8:50 am came around, and it was time to be the last one on the plane once again. The Airlink boarding experience was efficient, and we were all on board within 15 minutes.

Still slightly unsure why passengers were boarding from the rear as there was a jetbridge attached to the forward door.  


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Warmly greeted by the flight attendant, it was back to the same seat I was in before, 6A.


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Departure


BY 9:15 am, the captain came on to welcome passengers onboard and enjoyed the Airlink experience. They mentioned how they were just finishing up the paperwork and that we would be pushing back a couple of minutes late, as well as apologizing.

Sure enough, we pushed back 4 minutes late and departed to the South. 





I've touched upon more of the finer details of Airlink, such as the wifi, seat, and IFE, in the previous report, so I will not be writing about it here.


Meal Service


About 25 minutes after departure, the inflight meal service began. On the previous flight, there was a choice between two cold dishes (beef and chicken), while on morning flights, it seems that Airlink offers sandwiches instead. 


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I'm not really one for sandwiches, but it was fine (nothing spectacular). Additionally, wine, beer, soft drinks, coffee, tea, and much more were served. For me, it was much too early for a glass of wine. 


Arrival


I somehow must have fallen asleep, as I woke up while we were on approach into Johannesburg. We ended up touching down ahead of schedule into JNB, so the captain and FO had made up a little bit of time.





Plane-spotting at Johannesburg is always fascinating, stumbling across retired A340's as pictured above.

Just like that, we parked at the domestic terminal and it was off to grab a quick Nandos before heading over to the international terminal. As I was born in the UK, Nandos has a dear place in my heart.

Mhm, delicious


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Off to transit!


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Display all

Product ratings

Airline

Airlink 7.5

  • Cabin8.0 / 10
  • Cabin crew8.0 / 10
  • Entertainment/wifi7.0 / 10
  • Meal/catering7.0 / 10
Departure airport

Cape Town - CPT7.1

  • Efficiency8.0 / 10
  • Access6.5 / 10
  • Services7.0 / 10
  • Cleanliness7.0 / 10
Arrival Airport

Johannesburg - JNB6.9

  • Efficiency7.0 / 10
  • Access7.0 / 10
  • Services6.5 / 10
  • Cleanliness7.0 / 10

Conclusion

Another very solid Point A to Point B flight with Airlink. This is one of those routes that feels like a commuter route, and Airlink makes the experience very pleasant. Everybody onboard the plane is an absolute charm every time I fly with them, and there is something to be said about the "Airlink experience." As I have said many times and will say again, Airlink is one of the best regional carriers I have flown.

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Comments (10)

  • Thanks for sharing, I'm starting to feel like going back to South Africa while reading through all your FRs

    • Thanks for your comment VM!

      Any plans to head back to SA?

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

      • We'll see, I only left in May but I would like to go back and also visit Lesotho and eSwatini... and maybe Mozambique. Probably won't happen anytime soon sadly

  • Great report! JNB has to be one of my favourite airports to do some plane spotting. Such a good variety of airlines and aircraft that fly there!

    • Hi Rogdodge3, thanks for your comment (sorry for the late response).

      Couldn’t agree more, it’s always so cool to see the variety in the late mornings after all of those wide bodies have arrived, and they go off to park at their remote stands.

      Thanks for stopping by, have a nice day 🙂

  • Hi!

    Still slightly unsure why passengers were boarding from the rear as there was a jetbridge attached to the forward door.

    I found this practice to be quite common in South Africa. Basically, those who are seated in the front board from the jetbridge, and the ones seated in the rear take the stairs. It's more efficient.

    Airlink is a nice little airline, although I mostly stick to FlySafair when flying domestically in SA as they have much more frequencies, especially when it comes to Durban.

    Plane-spotting at Johannesburg is always fascinating, stumbling across retired A340's as pictured above.

    Seeing these A340s grounded forever always saddens me...

    Just like that, we parked at the domestic terminal and it was off to grab a quick Nandos before heading over to the international terminal. As I was born in the UK, Nandos has a dear place in my heart.

    I see I'm not the only one who enjoys Nando's!

    Thanks for Sharing!

    • Hi A380-842, thanks for your comments (sorry for the late reply).

      Interesting regarding boarding, thanks for answering the question I really wanted to know ha. How do they decide, as I never saw any signs which was odd. Or if you are sitting in the back does the agent inform you to head down the stairs and head to the back for boarding?

      FlySafair seems like a cool airline, have wanted to fly them for a while as their fares seem to be good as well. Didn’t know that about Durban either, learn something new everyday.

      Ooo, a fellow Nandos lover. What’s your go to order?

      Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day 🙂

      • Or if you are sitting in the back does the agent inform you to head down the stairs and head to the back for boarding?

        That's basically it. I'll dive a bit more into that subject in an upcoming Flight-Report.

        Ooo, a fellow Nandos lover. What’s your go to order?

        It depends, usually I take a burger but I'm happy with anything that's spicy!

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