Cheapest flight is BA at $1145 roundtrip via London. But can you travel through London with a firearm these days?

That's dirt cheap. My son wants to go to Windhoek, not to hunt just from what he has heard of my description of the town. This would suit him nicely.

Traveling through London with a firearm is not a big deal, just a matter of letting BA know that you are flying with a firearm.

The problem you are likely to encounter is the Johannesburg to Windhoek leg which is a BA flight operated by Comair. Comair does not carry firearms so you would have to collect your firearm in Johannesburg, go through SAPS, and switch to South African Airways for the final leg

postoak - What dates did you search to get a $1145 fare on BA?

Even if you had to add the SAA flight from JNB to WDH ($325) it is still a deal. But I wonder if BA will cancel your ticket if you do not complete the flight from Houston all the way to WDH - US carriers would and do cancel hidden city travelers...

Go to Expedia.

The dates were 5/18 - 5/28.

But I hadn't looked at the flight details! I'm trying to avoid Johannesburg. Are there any flights that do this?

I see a flight through Paris but it is $6600!

Oh, I saw options to choose airlines and can use SAA or Air Namibia. The cost on all of these is under $1200.

And you are correct, if I choose the BA option the leg from Johannesburg to Windhoek is on Comair.

Does Air Namibia allow firearms?

Which do you prefer, Air Namibia or SAA?

AVOID AIR NAMIBIA AT ALL COSTS!!!

Their motto is - We Fly When We Bloody Well Feel Like It, And That's Not A Whole Lot. If you have a week to spare and no connecting flight to worry about, you might eventually make it to JNB.

I am sure there is an obscure Russian airline that is still flying the Antonov An-2 with a worse service record, but that's probably the only one.

Looks like SAA then (all but the JNB to WDH leg are actually on BA).

So we have to go through the same process we go through if our final destination is RSA, just do it all at once? (Speaking of firearms.)

Postoak,

You can take the SAA flight from Laguardia to JNB which arrives erly in the morning, then get on a SAA flight to Windhoek later that same morning. You do not have to claim your luggage or rifles, so you don't have to go through all the extra hassle and cost.

I believe you mean from Kennedy....not Laguardia....you would never get a 340 off the ground from LGA! It's hard enough with a 737 or 727 on a hot day....

Just checked - NYC to Windhoek alone is twice the price of Houston to Windhoek, so I guess I can deal with a JNB transfer.

Actually Houston to Johannesburg is only $1,007 on the dates Postoak mentioned so it is indeed a great fare even though you'd have to clear firearms in South Africa coming and going.

Postoak, when I looked at the British Airways site they had a number of different flights listed. Make sure you fly on British Airways planes and not on a BA codeshare operated by American Airlines as AA will not transport firearms to London. The first choices that come up with the price mentioned are operated by BA.

If you have questions on the firearms procedures with BA send me a PM.

We booked our flights from Miami to WDH with connections in LHR and JNB back in November for an April hunt. We cashed in 500,000+ miles. However, we found out after the fact that one leg is a BA co-share with AA and another leg with Comair (JNB-WDH) and neither of those will transport firearms. We are on a waiting list to get the AA leg changed to a BA flight and are ready to ditch the Comair flight and just buy a ticket on SAA from WDH-JBG. If we cannot get that all sorted out without big change fees, we will be borrowing rifles. By the way, when you cash is miles BA hammers you on taxes and other "because we can" fees.

Oddly enough a rep from AA called me this past Saturday to discuss a letter I had sent to them about AA not carrying firearms to or through the UK. The lady asked a lot of questions and I explained what you have to do to take firearms through/to the UK. She told me they are "working this issue" as they are the only one in the One World alliance that does not carry firearms to the UK. I hope they can find a solution.

Safe Travels............Larry

quote:

Originally posted by ftg767:
I believe you mean from Kennedy....not Laguardia....you would never get a 340 off the ground from LGA! It's hard enough with a 737 or 727 on a hot day....

Yes, I meant Kennedy. Thanks for the correction.

SFRanger:

Be careful about not taking the JNB - WDH leg of your flight. Sometimes not taking one leg invalidates the rest of the ticket. Probably better to call and drop that leg once you find out if you can switch from AA to BA.

In general all the airlines are hitting award redemptions with taxes, fuel surcharges and other "because we can" fees, especially on long-haul business and first travel.

Thanks Jaglav.

That is so true on awards miles but it is still a huge savings. BA seems to have higher fees but that is actually a UK/Europe tax from what I understand. We broke the flight legs down using separate awards itineraries so we could cancel or change a leg if we needed without disrupting everything.

I read your post right before talking to AA today and they confirmed what you said can happen. They can change the MIA-LHR legs but the fees are almost equal to what we already paid for the entire itinerary. We will be borrowing rifles. I was beating myself up for not catching that AA was the actual carrier on one of the BA flights but the Mrs. pointed out we will be avoiding the stress of flying with firearms.

Jaglav - BA charges a 200 pounds RT fee for carrying firearms. Do you know if this fee is charged if you fly SAA, which is really BA flights to JNB?

Not sure and didn't know that SAA had code share flights with BA. Haven't checked but would be surprised if they did as SAA is Star Alliance and BA is One World.

As mentioned in the PM I sent you, BA charges a fee for firearms and ammo although their baggage handling for firearms and ammo is great, in my opinion, the best chance of your weapons and ammo showing up when you do.

Also, per BA's policy, the requirement to South Africa to have a gun case and an ammo case as separate bags does not count against your free luggage allowance which would be $25 to $50 per bag or $50 to $100 if not more round trip to/from South Africa.

In general, figuring out costs for airlines is increasingly difficult due to the numerous fees that they all impose. Before you book take a look at anything that you are likely to want and see what it costs, for example, confirmed seats, extra bags.

Good luck and have fun on your hunt!

Regards,

Jason

It sounds as if BA is worth it despite the extra 200 pounds.