My son and I will be flying from N. Va (Dulles) to Johannesburg, South Africa next year to hunt. There are several straight thru flights. Are there any airlines to be avoided, lots of hidden fees, crummy service. Money does matter but would rather spend a couple hundred more for a great flight.

Brian,

From the Dulles area I would take the SAA flights from IAD to JNB. [Sure, there is one stop, but it is a long flight and the stop isn't THAT bad anyway.]

You can fly Non-stop from JFK to JNB on SAA, but getting to JFK in time for departure can be problematical, though maybe not for you as you are closer and in the Eastern time zone already. This is a great option if you can get there and do not need to overnight in NYC with firearms.

Delta also offers Non-stop service from Atlanta but have been rumored to provide poor service and maybe baggage issues as well recently.

Then there are the european routes... but IAD to JNB is a no brainer for me

[though, if you want a "great" flight, consider business class seats - on any airline!]

Best discuss this with a specialist africa travel agent, Gracy Travel,or Kathi or Steve Turner who post here.

Les

I've always used the IAD to Joberg route with SAA. I haven't seen any non-stop flights from IAD however. They all seem to stop in Dakar to refuel and change crews. If you choose to fly from IAD to JFK be careful with guns in NYC. Make sure you can check your guns through to Joberg from IAD to avoid hassles in NYC with firearms. Personally I'd avoid the extra change of planes in NYC. The downside to the IAD flights is they get into Joberg later in the day than those from JFK. Makes getting a connecting flight difficult without an overnight in Joberg.

I live near Philadelphia, but always drive to VA and use IAD because all the connecting commuter flights from Philadelphia to NY go to LaGuardia airport and I would have to transport my guns from that airport to JFK. Not something I want to do in an anti-gun place like NYC.

I just flew the Delta route from Atlanta to Joburg. No problems whatsoever. Comimg back was the same. I used Annelise Dubose of Custom Travel.

We just got back Saturday after using SAA from Dulles to Jo'berg. No problems at all. It was actually better than some of the domestic flights I have had in the States, but then again, that is not saying much...

I like the Atlanta flight best, but that said if you are going to fly after arriving in Joberg it is more expensive because of the inter line, Delta to Joberg and then SAA around Africa. The flight from Dulles is about 3 hrs longer due to the "short stop" also the direct on SAA is Air Bus and the Atlanta flight is 777. I have done both. Last year I flew Delta as I only had a 1 way return from Richards Bay to add so the difference in costs was worth the convenience. This year it is round trip to Richard Bay and a round trip to Harare. Like most things one shoe doesn't fit all, each case must be evaluated on it own.