South Africa

Looks like we are going to book a honeymoon to South Africa with Virgin Holidays which means flying out to CPT and back from JNB. It is in sept when VS don't fly direct to Cape Towm. However to get a PE fare VH have quoted me to fly home via JNB rather than direct with SAA (I guess SAA don't have an equivalent PE cabin). Which gives me two questions:[:?]

[?]JNB is listed as a A343 route although looking at the past 3 months the flight has been an A346 - is this a temporary thing?

[?]Given the chance of an A343 and the comments here about PE on it, in your opinions would we be better sticking with a direct flight with SAA (in economy I suppose)?

Thanks for listening

[HighFlyer]

Hi there

Welcome to the forum

As far as i can see from the schedules/seat plans for flights in September, JNB seems to have the A346, where is it showing you the A343?

As you may be aware, the aircraft type allocated is not set in stone and could change at any time, and could change last minute for operational reasons also.

I guess you need to weigh up the argument between going direct in Y with SAA and flying PE with VS but non-direct. Is there a great saving to be had by flying in Y with SAA? How important is flying VS for you in terms of miles/tier points etc?

Im always going to go for VS. Yes, while PE on the A343 is not a patch on PE on the A346/744, its still better than Y IMHO. You will still get priority check-in, boarding, and upgraded meal service, and other benefits that you wouldnt get in Y - although you will still need to grab that connecting SAA flight to CPT.

A few others on here have experience with SAA and im sure can give you their views on them as an airline. To me, it boils down to a choice between Y and a potential money/time saving .. or VS PE, a little more comfort but a longer flight process.

As its your honeymoon, have you asked VH for a quote on upgrading to Business with SAA?? Could be worth considering??

Thanks for your reply HighFlyer [y]

I thought I had seen on expert flyer a couple of weeks back that the flights were A343 but I may have been wrong as I am new to that site. If it is a 346 then it will be VS both ways. As it will be our first time in PE then I suppose we would have nothing to compare it to and so wouldn't notice if the 343 is not as good (except that I have sampled the delights of V:port!)

Thinking about our last Y experience the important thing is going to be leg room. I will see about business class on SAA, I just presumed it would be a huge leap in cost.

The miles earning is good point too. I think you get miles from SAA so I guess I would get them on the connecting flight as well.

Think I am beginning to answer my own question!

I can't ever imagine the JNB being a minibus.

Sometimes it should be a 747 the amount of custom during peak seasons.

The company would be doing serious damage to itself to send it out on the 343!!

I have had the pleasure of flying on the A346 and the horror of the A343 on the JNB route. Thankfully the A343 was back in Apr05 and it doesn't seem to be featuring much lately and you should be safe, although obviously changes can occur.

As your dilemma seems to be choosing between SAA or VA, I would definately recommend sticking to VA. You can check-in online, the service is fantastic and the food not too bad either. I find the VPORT very similar to the entertainment system used by SAA on their LHR route. Virgin Flying Club Miles also seem to be much more useful than SAA Voyager Miles.

Another bonus is that check-in at JNB International for Virgin seems to be faster than SAA - the last time I was there (Jan 9th) the quese at SAA was horrendous.

Trust VA to make your honeymoon that much more special.

Sascha

Oh, and by the way - when in Cape Town, make sure you book a table at Moja Restaurant on the Spier Wine Estate. Has a real African theme, and includes traditional music and dancers. Ask for a table in the treehouse to make it that much more special.

ISTBC, but I think it used to be the case that the A343 would fly during UK summer (eg Winter in South Africa) to JNB, and the B744 would fly in our winter (when there is greater demand)

This winter season it has changed to the A346 routinely through the winter, and looking at BAA data, it seems to be an A346 year round now [y]

I flew to JNB in both May and October last year - both times in W. It was an A343 on all legs. IMHO, PE is a lot better than Y on any aircraft. On a long flight like that, the extra room makes a lot of difference.
Why don't you try going down in Y with SAA and then back up in UC? I'm not sure how the cost would work out then.

Cheers,
VS045

Thanks everyone for the advice [oo](and the restaurant recommendation - we will be sure to check it out.) - time for me to speak to VH and get the credit card out (subject to a 1.5% charge!:D)