East coast USA to South Africa.....Which airline would you not take?

[SASless]

Some friends and I are considering a trip to South Africa in the coming year and are having a bit of a discussion about the relative merits of the many choices of flights and routings....along with which airlines might not be the best choice if we wish to have a successful round trip.

Any suggestions....considering an Atlanta/Charlotte/Philadelphia/New York departure point?

[VHFRT]

SAA fly direct from New York and Washington, Delta from Atlanta. SAA would be a nicer trip.

BA fly direct to Cape Town and TK to Durban from their respective hubs.

[howard meredith]

Has to be Emirates USA/DUBAI/SOUTH AFRICA.

[nch334]

ET from Ewr,JFK,IAD to Durban,JOburg or Cape Town.

[tjh1023]

Last December went to Namibia we took SAA JFK-JNB-WDH. Really enjoyed the SAA flight from JFK as it left in the morning not a redeye late start.

[Springbok614]

I have travelled on the Delta schedule numerous times direct between Atlanta and Johannesburg and have always been satisfied and can recommend it.

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

You could always go Atlanta to SA then return via Lagos on Arik, spend a few days taking in the atmosphere and back to Atlanta ;)

Re-live memories and visit old friends.......

Holiday of a lifetime

[Whenwe]

To the best of my knowledge Arik no longer fly to Johannesburg.

We used Delta to Atlanta which was good; just the 16 hours that requires a mind set.....

[SASless]

NEO......you must lay off the Medication.

The only way I would ever go to Lagos will be when the wings fall off an airliner as we pass overhead en-route to anywhere else in the World.

You forget I experienced the "pleasures" of Lagos starting back in 1974 and it was miserable then and only got worse over time.

Unlike one of our fellows....I did not enclose my Nigerian License in a Glass fronted case with a notation "In Emergency....Break Glass!".

Considering the recent Posting....I wonder if the Glass is still intact?

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

SAS,

Is that a NO ? ;) I liken it to being a prison visitor as a former inmate.

[Trim Stab]

Discussions of which airline is best is meaningless as there is not a lot of difference in in-seat quality between most western airlines.

What counts for me is how the airline reacts when things go wrong. So for example, how will the airline react if the aircraft goes tech? How quickly are they likely to get a replacement? Will they quickly and efficiently book you into a hotel, or onto a rival airline? Also, if I am going to a destination with frequent bad weather, how likely is the crew/aircraft to have full CatIII ratings? These are the sort of things that can really ruin a holiday if the airline is hopeless at sorting out an unforeseen problem.

I generally thus avoid any airline that is not profitable. Thus I no longer fly with Alitalia (having been the victim of one of their chaotic episodes). An unprofitable airline is likely to be cutting corners wherever it can - so do not have standby aircraft and crews, often do not employ competent expat local managers.

I also avoid any airline which has to operate in a culture of corruption/nepotism, because it is very unlikely to be accountable to its passengers if things go wrong - for example try getting your money back from an African airline if they cancel a flight .... good luck!

[Jetjock330]

EY B787-9 IAD-AUH-JNB, as well Unmentionable airline
EY A380 JFK-AUH-JNB