Rumor Rumor has it that SAA will be flying out of Chicago.....

Details to follow.

I hear that Delta is considering a non-stop to Jo'burg from Atlanta. It would be nice to have two flights a day out of there.

Stagman,
SAA will not be flying out of Atlanta when they move the flight out of Chicago. With United as the partner airline

kathi will they keep the Dulles-Jo'burg flights?

Cats,
They are looking at that too.........

Kathi,

Any guess as to when they will make the change?

Regards,

Terry

.

Opra has her own Jet to fly to SA

Terry,
Latter this year.

Alf,
Chicago is one of the United Hubs.

Any idea which plane they will be using? I flew the 747 last time and want to avoid the airbus for my trip in 07

Hugh

SAA Flights out of Atlanta. As I just purchased tickets for July trip to Namibia I have a direct flight out of Atlanta to Jo'burg, then a flight on to Namibia. Before booking I tried Delta, they would have booked me on the same SAA flight as I had with SAA. Delta does not have a schedule for a Delta plane to Jo'burgh. The ticketing agent said maybe not until Dec. 06.
Bobga

What is gonna happen with folks who have already purchased tickets out of Atlanta through SAA?

Neat news.

I for one hope they don't drop the Atlanta flight. I've flown out of Atlanta numerous times to get to Africa and the only time I flew out of New York it was a major nightmare. Also, I would hate to overnight in Chicago the night before an early flight out to Jo'burg. Not a fan of that city but love Atlanta, though I hate the Airbus!

I haven't flown the Washington route yet. Anyone with feedback that has? Just wondering how things went in regards to checking in and lodging if you overnighted there. Love the 747!

Flew back to RSA from Dulles, Washington last week - approx 80 other pax on the 747 Jumbo - was great for me as I had a choice of ten rows of 4 seats to sleep on - clearly not great business for SAA.

Another South African who runs the same route on a regular basis suggested that this has been the norm for last few flights after the Festive peak season - who can afford to keep those kind of non-paying flights going...

A lot of folks outside of the travel industry don't know that the Dulles to Jo'Burg flight even exists.

I live about 25 miles from Dulles and booked an african trip for May of this year. When I called two different well known travel agencies about air travel (comparison shopping) they both immediately started routing me through Atlanta, until I specifically requested Dulles.
Not certain why this is except that travel agents buy blocks of seats, and that is what they are trying to push.

The flight from Dulles is on a 747, and is non-stop to Jo'Burg. If they stop Atlanta, it will become very popular. Dulles is actually a great idea for a Jo'burg connection -- great location, and the airport can certainly handle the traffic.

Don't know much about Delta and the 777s.

Someone was asking about lodging in the Dulles area -- it is a developed IT business area. There are many hotels to choose from and the neighborhoods are moderate to high income / low crime.

Chicago May Become Next SAA Hub.

South Africa

According to a statement made yesterday by Captain Colin Jordaan, South African Airways General Manager of Flight Operations, the airline is reviewing its use of Atlanta as a hub, and Chicago is being considered as a replacement for when the codeshare with Delta Air Lines ends in September.

The announcement has been made in the wake SAA’s formal entry into the Star Alliance on April 1, as Chicago serves as a hub for Star Alliance partners, US Airways and United Airlines. “All indications at this stage are that it will be Chicago, and the simulations that we have run show us that in fact we will have more connections from Chicago than from Atlanta,†he said.

Jordaan said SAA also would “vigorously explore†a connection between Cape Town and Miami, but this depended on what support it would get from its US Star Alliance partner carriers out of Miami.

Flights from/to Dulles are not daily.

They depart from Dulles

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

Depart at 10:25am and arrive JNB at 8:30am the next day

+++++++
Depart from JNB

Monday, Wedesday, Friday and Sunday

Depart at 8:05 pm and arrive IAD at 7:55 am the next day

I shudder to think of having to do Immigration/Customs/ USDA at O'Hare.

I screwed up one time & had to POE in O'Hare coming home from Kyrgyzstan.Lost luggage, including my rifle case which showed up 2 days later & some one had attempted to break in to it.I realize that the lost luggage was not O'Hare's fault.
Immigration was rude & typically not very quick, Customs was totally lost (I have normally had good experiences with Customs agents), USFWS was excellent, but the USDA inspector decided to hold me up, just because he could, I ended up dropping a bit of a bribe & agreeing to have his "local taxidermist friend" do an additional"required fumigation" of the skull, horns & cape just to make my next flight out of there. He just stood there looking at me & shrugged his shoulders & said "Do it my way or you can miss your flight". My paperwork was all in order & I knew I was correct, but I decided that it was a case of losing the war to win the battle.Yes I did file a complaint with USDA when I got home.

When I got home I was visiting with a man who had done POE during the same time period coming home from a black bear or caribou hunt in Canada (I don't remeber which!) They also were dealt with like dirt at O'Hare.

My experience may just be isolated, but I will do everything possible to never fly through that crap hole again!

Mike

This is really going to be bad if the SAA flight stops in Atlanta. It was so easy to just drive to Atlanta and get on the plane. I hope this Delta service picks up quickly. I shudder at the thought of having to overnight in Chicago, Washington, or New York for an early morning flight.

Personally, I would be thrilled to be able to fly out of ORD, but that's just a matter of geography. I can hop a bus a few minutes from home that takes me right to the terminal-- no long-term parking! Last time I went to RSA I had to overnight in Atlanta. It wasn't a bad thing, but it did add to the expense and hassle.