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View Full Version : Kulula Airlines of SA - anyone flown with them?


nivsy
7th Feb 2009, 17:31
Just wondering if anyone has flown with them.

Just pricing a an internal flight in SA later in the year and looking to see who is offering what from J'Burg to Port Elizabeth (hoping to go from UK to J'Burg and then out of Cape Town back to UK - although it looks as if going via europe or middle east is cheaper by far than going direct).


Nivsy

PAXboy
7th Feb 2009, 23:25
Kulula are fine. They are part of Comair (South Africa) and have good standards and maintenance. I used them several times on my last trip. They can be a bit OTT in their welcome and chirpy on board announcements but that's no sweat.

As to getting to/from the UK/ZA then the directs are all expensive. The three carriers all run at capacity and that enables them to keep their prices high. It's been that way for years.When VS started on the route they were cheper and then the discovered just how high the demand is (the reasons for that don't matter here) and so they have been able to charge much the same as SA and BA. No collusion, just that their computers know what their competitors computers are charging!!

The last time I looked at the usual European routes of KL/AF and LH (who have always had good synchronised departures from LHR and other UK airports) they were not that much cheaper. A lot will depend on where you are starting from and your profile says GIB but your post indicated you might be going via London? Consider some of the less obvious but closer to GIB, Olympic, Alitalia, TAP, Iberia, Eqyptair or Swiss, as they all go to JNB.

The middle east routes are cheaper (I am told) but look out for the time delays with the dog-leg and some have a four hour lay-over, I hear from friends..

Married a Canadian
8th Feb 2009, 11:32
I second PAXboy...Kulula are perfectly acceptable.

Flew Joburg-Durban (MD80 series I think)...and no problems whatsover.
I agree there is a fair amount of chirpiness and humour in their presentation..but I actually found that refreshingly different. Cabin crew if I recall correctly wore dark jeans.

Website booking was easy aswell.

nivsy
8th Feb 2009, 13:10
Thanks guys,

Certainly using TAP is coming in quite good price via LIS. Iberia from MAD quite expensive and combination of Swiss and Lufthansa reasonable.

Now that IB don't fly to Gib and AGP involves a drive sometimes its just as easy to route via London!


Nivsy

davidash
8th Feb 2009, 14:13
Kulula is very good. As mentioned, it is run by Comair who operate the BA Franchise in SA. They have recently upgraded their fleet to 737-300 and 400 aircraft. Quite often, passengers booked on Kulula find themselves on BA flights if it makes good sense from an operational point of view. Comair has been around for many years and has an excellent safety reputation.