How does the Delta flight compare to SAA? Which is better? Worse? Please let me hear your experiences, good or bad.

Thanks.

Will, I have done Delta twice and SAA once. Haven't seen much difference. Did lose luggage on both Delta flights.Once going & once home. Had a SAA flight from Windhoek delayed which caused us to mis the Delta flight to ATL. Then Delta rebooked for the next day at a cool $200.00 each. It took me 10 months to get refund. Got luggage 5 days after being home. But i still will go again.

Will,

I work pretty closely with Gracy Travel and they tell me particulary this year that Delta has been a nightmare with lost luggage and guns.

Mark

Will,

We took the new Delta 777 nonstop from AT. A great advantage is no refueling stop in Dakar.

Was fortunate to use miles for the front of the bus. It was without a doubt THE nicest flight yet. Planes were all new and shiny, comfortable, and the service was excellent. The sleeper seats were about the best I have seen.

No problems with baggage either way, x2. Short connections and all, it went smooth. My 2 kopecks say thumbs up.

I flew Delta in September and SAA last June. I really liked not stopping in Dakar. It adds at least an hour to the SAA flight.

I flew coach and don't know if it is my imagination or not but the Delta seats seemed a bit less comfortable than SAA.

Flight attendants were good on both and no luggage issues with either company.

Will,
I have flown both SAA & Delta with no problems. I flew the non-stop Delta flight this
August & it was great, no luggage or gun problems at all. I don't miss the stop in
Dakar at all.

I upgraded to first-class with miles, so was a very comfortable flight. The planes were brand new &
everything worked perfectly, plus great food!

I give the edge to Delta,

JB

I've done both and as far as the aircraft there isn't much difference. Non-stop from Atlanta to Jo'berg is a big plus in my opinion. Luggage was no problem; however, had I not glanced down at the baggage tag on my trip last month, I would have spent the night in Jo'berg without my bag. It was suppose to be checked only through to Jo'berg but I noticed the Windhoek code on the tag as it was being taken off the scale. It took a bit of back and forth, a supervisor and another ticket agent, but I got it straightened out. Honestly, I thought this was a problem with the way Gracy booked the tickets and their J'berg representatives confirmed my suspecion when they stated that they had seen an increase in this problem. If you are overnight in J'berg and continuing somewhere else the next day, be sure you check that bag tag.

Will:

I just did the Delta flight. It was flawless. Everything was on time or early. All bags arrived. Service and food were good.

The non-stop is a major improvement over the stop in Senegal. The pods in business class are great. They remind me of Air New Zealand.

I did the SAA flight several weeks ago and had no problems with it at all. This is also the only flight I have taken to Joberg so my experience is very limited. I was impressed with the seats ( I'm 6'2" and 210 pounds) and the plane was only about 60% full both going over and returning home. My friends and I each enjoyed 3 or 4 adjacent seats to sleep and generally relax in. I would fly this flight again with no hesitation.

Is Delta flying with the full flat business class seats now? Last year they were not.

I chose SAA a few times over Delta because of the full flat seats in SAA biz class.

I flew on SAA several years ago. The trip from JFK to Joburg was 15 hrs non-stop going. On the way back we stopped in Dakar and the trip was 18 hrs. That extra couple of hrs sitting on the aluminum pop can added a bit of extra misery to the trip.

Next year, I'm flying business class on the non-stop to/from ATL/Joburg, and damn glad I won't be stopping in Dakar.

404, yes, the new Delta 777 planes have the seats that lay completely flat in business class. I'll certainly be enjoying them compared to the coach seats on the SAA Airbus!!!

quote:

Originally posted by 404WJJeffery:
Is Delta flying with the full flat business class seats now? Last year they were not.

I chose SAA a few times over Delta because of the full flat seats in SAA biz class.

Last month I was flying riff-raff, but yes, they are the full flat seats.

Do I understand correctly that the skymiles upgrade from cattle class to first class is 25000 miles per leg on Delta?

Have done both twice and would go Delta hands down.

S lawyer, did you get an answer on the mileage upgrade to business? this is of great importance to me as well.

quote:

Originally posted by sevenmagltd.:
S lawyer, did you get an answer on the mileage upgrade to business? this is of great importance to me as well.

Yes - the mileage award upgrade fee is 25 000 miles each way - however it is only available from certain fares, not the lowest fare available. On Delta it is M class or higher. An example of the fare in May 2010 for Dallas/Johannesburg round-trip is $ 3900.00 plus taxes of approx. $ 85.00 per person.

Hope this helps!

Steve Turner
Have you left Gracy Travel ? - if you have hats off to you for not looking up ex clients - if you have left - send me info - you were allways realy good with our hunters
Graeme

I just returned two weeks ago. Flew Delta in Coach. No problems coming or going. Plane was not full either way and i did not have anyone sitting next to me. Some rows only had one person so those lucky souls could lay down. I am 6' plus and weight about 250, and I made it just fine.

H Kittle