Saint Helena is a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 1,200 miles off the coast of Africa. The island is a British Overseas Territory, and is known as the place of Napoleon Bonaparte's exile and death. Up until recently it could only be…
I read the Premium Fare Deals forum on FlyerTalk religiously, multiple times per day. I get extremely excited when a new thread is created there, because it means a new deal has arrived. But I only write occasionally about premium fare deals on this…
South African Airways has been losing money for years, and their losses keep getting bigger. The airline has an inefficient fleet, an inefficient route network, and there are also reports of a lot of corruption. The airline has missed several payments…
South African Express (SA Express) is a regional carrier in South Africa. It's owned by the government and operates flights on behalf of South African Airways, similar to how regional carriers operate flights for major carriers in the US. The South African…
South African Airways has been in a horrible financial situation for a long time. The airline has been losing money for years, and their losses keep getting bigger, with no signs of that changing. The airline has an inefficient fleet, an inefficient…
Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club program is one that I've found to be increasingly valuable lately. The first thing to note is that Flying Club is transfer partners with all four major transferable points currencies -- Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate…
South African Airways has been in a terrible financial situation for a long time. The airline has been losing money for seven years, and there are no signs of that changing. While South Africa should be a big aviation market, the airline has an inefficient…
As I wrote about in September, struggling South African Airways is in the process of taking delivery of five A330-300 aircraft. That's a bit of a puzzling move, as their longhaul fleet is becoming even less consistent, as they'll have A340-300s, A340-600s,…
For the past few weeks I've written about media reports that suggest South African Airways might be on the brink of liquidation. They've been performing horribly for a long time, and the government seems to have reached the point where they're not willing…
Yesterday I posted about media reports that suggest South African Airways might be on the brink of liquidation. They've been in a horrible financial situation for a long time, and have gone through seven CEOs in the past four years. The airline has an…
I recently visited South Africa, and had the chance to fly South African Airways business class there -- on the way out I flew from Frankfurt to Johannesburg, and on the way back I flew from Johannesburg to London. Overall I enjoyed my flights on them,…
I boarded through the forward door, where I was greeted by the extremely friendly lead flight attendant, who pointed me down the near aisle. While South African's A340-600 business class consists of a single huge cabin, business class on the A330-200…
My flight from Cape Town arrived on stand at 4:15PM, while my connection to London Heathrow was scheduled for 8:25PM. The bus ride from the remote stand to the terminal took about 10 minutes, and the driver didn't seem to understand he had dozens of…
I boarded at around 1:50PM through the forward door. Upon presenting my boarding pass I was pointed down the near aisle, to seat 5A. As I explained in the Frankfurt to Johannesburg review I wrote, South African's A340-600 cabin consists of a total of…
I was booked on the 3:50PM flight to Johannesburg, though showed up way early, at around 12:50PM. I had some work to catch up on prior to my long journey home, so always like leaving a bit of extra time before my flight. Cape Town Airport's check-in…
Upon boarding I presented my boarding pass to the two lovely flight attendants at the door, and was pointed towards my seat. SAA has a unique business class configuration on their A319s. The business class cabin features a total of 25 seats, spread across…
My connection in Johannesburg wasn't especially long. I arrived at 7:05AM, and then my connecting flight to Cape Town was at 9:10AM. Upon deplaning I headed towards the immigration hall, but not before snapping a picture of our beautiful A340 after the…
My flight from Toronto landed shortly after 11AM, while my connection to Johannesburg wasn't until 8:45PM. Therefore I had a full day. Since I had plenty of work to do, I spent the entire day in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge. It's a nice lounge, and…
Welcome to the trip report for the journey I just finished up, where I traveled on Air Canada and South African Airways, and stayed at three Starwood properties between Vancouver and Cape Town. On top of that, I got to visit a fantastic city for my first…
In the past week I've taken four flights in South African Airways business class, from Frankfurt to Johannesburg to Cape Town to Johannesburg to London. Having just gotten off the last sector, the flights are still fresh in my mind. While I'll have a…
Good morning from London! Last night I flew from Johannesburg to London on South African Airways, a flight which was operated by an Airbus A330-200. As some of you may recall, my outbound flight from Frankfurt to Johannesburg was operated by an A340-600,…
