Had an interesting and good experience on Delta to Namibia.
Stacy Gibson is my travel agent. She suggested buying 3 "economy plus" seats instead of 2 business class seats for my son and I. It was fine and was half the price of two business class seats.

Also had business class on South African Air to Windhoek which was nice as well.

Most of the airlines are low on quality and high on price, most are poor in serving the customer, but this was a "better than normal" experience for me and my son.

A side note - TSA and customs was horrible in Atlanta this time. Took 2 hours to get guns out and then had to go through agriculture cleaning/clearing with a host of others. Nearly missed our flights. That was a real cluster.

Could I ask you about the pricing from Business to Economy Comfort on Delta? You said EC was half the price of Business, what price did your agent quote you for Business? I just took that flight to JNB and Business was $15,600.

I have found SAA for domestic travel is superior to Delta for food quality, service and comfort. Bag security is another issue but this is Africa.

Glad you had a good trip. Getting to Namibia is a little bit of a hike but worth the pain.

Ross;

Looking forward to your hunt report!

Best regards, D. Nelson

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
Could I ask you about the pricing from Business to Economy Comfort on Delta? You said EC was half the price of Business, what price did your agent quote you for Business? I just took that flight to JNB and Business was $15,600.

I have found SAA for domestic travel is superior to Delta for food quality, service and comfort. Bag security is another issue but this is Africa.

Glad you had a good trip. Getting to Namibia is a little bit of a hike but worth the pain.

My tickets were $2000 each round trip. Business was quoted at $6000 each. I bought 3 economy plus tickets for $6000 vs 2 business class tickets for $12000.
SAA did a good job too.

Nice idea with multiple travelers -- never thought of that.

One thing I would worry about with this is the way airlines treat folks nowdays.

My uncle brought 2 economy seats a few years back (he's on the large side) to have adequate seat space. The same idea as you guys did. The airline overbooked and said his extra seat was "free" and plugged someone in it. They refused to pay him back for the second ticket as he "arrived at his destination" on the flight.

If the airlines are willing to do it, it should work...but I suspect you are at the mercy of the cabin crew.