South African Airways

Customer Reviews

4 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 437 reviews
6/10
4 star Skytrax Rating
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4/10

"South Africans take the cake!"

(Egypt)

Trip Verified | I expected the Egyptian check in people to be difficult but boy was I wrong - the South Africans take the cake! I flew from Cairo with a transit in JHB before arriving in CPT. My bags were easily admitted in Cairo as they were 26kg and 12kg respectively. The sum of both was 8 kilos less than the permitted 46 kilos of weight that SAA allows. Yet in JHB the check-in enforcer insisted that I must transfer 3 kilos from the heavier bag to the lighter one, even with a 32kg max allowance sign hanging right behind him. I tried to persuade him to let this one go - he was immovable. This re-packing, I had to do with a long queue behind me, in full view of everyone in sight, going through my underwear and carefully wrapped/packed items that were now dishevelled in order to placate the gods of South African Airways and their arbitrary baggage rules on weight distribution. Both bags end up on the same plane! This kind of unyielding strictness is incredibly unreasonable and poor for maintaining any loyalty you might want to foster in your customers. I know business class gets 32kg x2 for every customer - so please don't tell me this was to save the employees backs from needing a chiropractor. By the time I was finally checked in, I was hot, sweaty and very angry with SAA. The noose gets tighter every year with your restrictions. Saying yes to me would pose no threat to the airplane or to your profits. Please consider reasonable allowances for your customers.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteCairo to Cape Town
Date FlownOctober 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
10/10

"on board service was good"

(South Africa)

Not Verified | Following the demise of BA Comair we were booked onto SAA for the final leg of a return from the UK on BA. What a pleasure to find a proper business class seat with good legroom, compared with the European standard economy class seat with the middle seat blocked. Check in and boarding were efficient and on board service was good. There were no hassles with the transfer at ORT and the A320 on the second leg had the best regional business cabin I have experienced. Very spacious 2x2 configuration. Again service was good, and our overall impression was the the staff were very pleased to be back and keen to provide top service.
AircraftA319 / A320
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteCape Town to Durban via Johannesburg
Date FlownJune 2022
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"We want our monies back"

(United States)

Trip Verified | My husband and I bought tickets in March 2020 to travel from Columbus, OH to Accra Ghana, then the pandemic hit so our flights was cancelled by the airline. Since then we have even bought tickets and travelled to Ghana and back to the US and still nothing from South Africa Airways. They are not responding to emails and they are not responding to calls either. We want our monies back, almost $2500 is not little money and we work hard for it.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteWashington to Accra
Date FlownSeptember 2020
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"refused to refund my money"

(United States)

Trip Verified | South Africa Airlines canceled my flight New York to Polokwane via Johannesburg and has refused to refund my money I paid. According to the Department of Transportation they are required to refund my money because they canceled my flight due to Covid19.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNew York to Polokwane via Johannesburg
Date FlownJuly 2020
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"lounge was closed due to lockdown"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | I arrived to Johannesburg on an international flight on 26 March 2020, which was the last day before lockdown in South Africa. Due to the lockdown, most domestic airlines already stopped flying on the 25th. This seat in Business Class on SAA was the only option I had to get back to Cape Town, as US$275 one way for the 2 hour flight. When I arrived at the Business check in counters it was like the airline had already shut down. I went over to the Economy check in area and again there were no passengers and no staff. I turned to walk away, and that is when I saw 3 check in agents dragging themselves back to checkin. The explanation offered was that things were quiet, so they all decided to take a lunch break together. After I was checked in, I enquired about the lounge, as this was a business class ticket, however I was informed that the SAA lounge was closed due to the lockdown. Fine, I understand that they need some time to shut things down, but how about offering a voucher for a coffee and a sandwich like any respectable airline would do? I did pay full fare after all. I enquired about this at the ticket counter, but the very agent told me that "there are no contingencies in place for the lounge. When I stated that normally a voucher would be offered, he became defensive and started telling me that he was about to lose his job. The flight boarded on time. This was probably the only thing they did right. After everyone was on board, we waited for a good 30 minutes while the crew kept telling us that "there were more passengers on the way", and that we needed to wait for them. No boarding refreshments were offered in Business. Eventually the person we were waiting for boarded the aircraft, and no, this was not a passenger at all it was a cabin crew. The business cabin on this A320 showed serious signs or wear. On my seat, the cover for the lifejacket in the central armrest would not stay shut as the catch was broken. We took off about 45 minutes late. Shortly after take off, the crew made an announcement: "due to the Coronavirus, we will not be serving lunch today. Instead you will each find juice in your seat pocket." That was it for the service.
AircraftA320
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteJohannesburg to Cape Town
Date FlownMarch 2020
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"poor customer service"

(Canada)

Not Verified | Very poor customer service. I could talk to a real person. And the one time I did, I was given a number that goes straight to voicemail, don’t even bother leaving a message because they don’t return calls and reply to your emails.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteToronto to Johannesburg
Date FlownJanuary 2020
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"$300 charge for me changing my ticket"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Washington to Accra. I'm scheduled to fly in September 2020. I haven't flown with them yet and I'm already having a terrible experience with their customer service. I reschedule my flight amid the covid 19 craze. The guy schedule me on a wrong time. Two days later I found out and try to call to reschedule on the best date. After being on the phone for 45 mins, this agent came up on the phone to tell me about an extra $300 charge for me changing my ticket which is not my fault. This will be the first and the last time I will use this airline.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteWashington to Accra
Date FlownSeptember 2019
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Had a terrible journey"

(United Kingdom)

Trip Verified | Bulawayo to London via Johannesburg. Had a terrible journey trying to get back to London. I understand that there is a Health pandemic, but a little courtesy and information goes a long way. My flight was cancelled whilst I was in transit. No warning or information given. Instead they told us that it was non of their business what we did next and not their responsibility to cater for the passengers. I was absolutely disgusted by the Customer service. I was stranded for 48hrs at the airport. No water, no food provided. Slept on the floor at the airport, not even a blanket provided. Now trying to claim my refund back and am being told I have to claim via my travel insurance or choose to use it for another day. I don’t think I will be using this airline in the near future. AMake matters worse, my luggage was lost and there is nothing they can do about it.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBulawayo to London via Johannesburg
Date FlownMarch 2020
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"tell me there's nothing they can do"

(Australia)

Trip Verified | Perth to Nairobi via Johannesburg. This was the first and last time to fly with the airline. We get to Johannesburg only to be informed that the last part of the journey i.e. to Nairobi had been cancelled. The day before I received an email asking me to upgrade my ticket and clearly the fact that the flight had been cancelled was more important. Then the staff at the airport tell me there's nothing they can do yet there were other airlines plying that route. My agent goes to the Perth office and gets other tickets with another airline. Then they forget to load my baggage into the KQ flight, something they said they would do.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePerth to Nairobi via Johannesburg
Date FlownMarch 2020
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"worst airline I've ever"

(Canada)

Trip Verified | I asked for champagne on board which every airlines serve on business class but SA doesn't. They don't have menu to choose from. The cabin crew comes and take your order and they only have 2 options to choose from. In flight entertainment is poor. Their worldwide call centers are the most terrible one I've ever came across. I was trying to change my date from Accra to Washington. I contacted the Accra office 3 times. Someone picked the call then hangs up as if I'm disturbing their peace. I contacted Johannesburg office and I was placed on hold for 30 mins until I ran out of airtime credit. I called back again and after being on hold for 25 mins a customer service rep came on the phone and placed me on hold again for another 30 mins until I hanged up. I called the Washington office and again I was placed on hold for one hour until someone answered then she placed me on hold after taking for my booking code. She kept me on hold for 1.5hrs and never returned to me. As I write this review I'm still on hold waiting to talk to someone because my flight takes off tomorrow and I need to do these changes before tomorrow. My husband is also on hold for 2 hrs hoping someone answers his call so he can talk to them on my behalf. It's quite expensive to call from Africa and I spent over $60 buying airtime credit just to call SA customer service but to no avail. What a horrible customer service and airline. This is my second time flying SA and I'm done with them. I'll advise my friends and family and everyone to stay away from this horrible airline. It's been 2.5hrs now and I'm still on hold. At this time I'm going to hang up and close the chapter with SA the worst airline I've ever.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteWashington to Accra
Date FlownMarch 2020
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no