SA Express

Customer Reviews

No Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 45 reviews
5/10
No Skytrax Rating
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3/10

"I am extremely disappointed"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | After already flying From Dubai to Johannesburg we are meant to be connecting to George, our final destination, flight was meant to depart OR Tambo at 15.50, it has been delayed to 18.30. Now we have already been waiting 5 hours for the connecting flight after already having flown 8 hours and waited 2 hours before the first flight, only to be told the reason behind the delay is a Technical Issue. They have 1 plane which is departing to another destination, after that flight arrives back from said destination they are preparing it for our journey to George. Why should the customers to George deal with utter delays because there is only 1 plane to commute to 2 different destinations due to a technical fault in one aircraft in its fleet. Already been over 15 hours journey, and all we wanted was to get home. Now my issue is a well known National airline should surely be able to make a plan to get another aircraft in to help ease the delay and help clients get to their destination. Instead we have to wait because a flight just left for another destination and will head back afterwards to take us. Having flown SA Express and booked in connection with SA Airways many times in the past, I am extremely disappointed in the service received this time around.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteJohannesburg to George
Date FlownMarch 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"apology for the inconvenience"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | 12 hours before flight departure SA Express only contacted some passengers to advise of a change in flight. Despite paying double for a direct flight we were re-directed via Johannesburg and what should have been a 2 hour journey ended up taking 8 hours! The way we were treated by ground staff in Cape Town and Johannesburg was appalling and despite raising the complaint numerous times have only had a standardised response and still no apology for the inconvenience. We were offered some compensation but only for 3 of the 4 travellers and still no response on this despite it being escalated to management. Do not recommend to ever use this airline
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteCape Town to Pilanesberg
Date FlownJanuary 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
5/10

"carrier imposed fees"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | George to Johannesburg. We book tickets for our two grandchildren twice a year. As they have to fly as unaccompanied minors, I have to make the booking through the call center. The fare indicated on the website for the specific flights was R1 182.21 per person for the return flights between Johannesburg and George. Before I gave all the traveler details, I asked the operator what I would have to pay and was informed that it would be R2364.42 per child. This excluded the R100.00 per ticket to be charged because I booked through the call center. When I called back to find out if the children had been accepted as unaccompanied minors for the flight and to make the payment, the amount was suddenly R2957.22 per child. That is 2,5 times more than when one would (and could) book on the internet! On checking the e-ticket (per child)one finds the following info: Fare calculation R697.50 x 2 = R1 395.00 rounded off to R1 400.00 plus taxes totaling R461.22 and "carrier imposed fees" R 1096.00 which brings the total to R2 957.22 per child.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteGeorge to Johannesburg
Date FlownJanuary 2018
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"no capacity to run to a schedule"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | I am a regular traveller on the Johannesburg to Kimberley route in South Africa, doing this at least once a month for the past couple of years. There are two carriers - SA Express and SA Airlink. As far as possible I use Airlink as they run on time. However this is not always possible and today I flew with SA Express. The flight was delayed by an hour - no detailed reason was given, though "aircraft availabiity" was mentioned. As we boarded the bus for the plane an announcement was made for another SA Express flight also being delayed. If I look back on the last 10 flights I have made using SA Express, possibly one has actually been on time. They appear to have absolutely no capacity to run to a schedule (while SA Airlink on the same route achieves this almost all the time). And following any announcement by the cabin crew on the plane they use the catch phrase "SA Express, we fly for you", really! What a joke! I would not recommend them to anyone, and only fly SA Express if I have no other options, and particularly avoid them if I have meetings scheduled afterwards. Tonight's flight was an evening one, but it meant contacting both car hire and booked accommodation to ask them to wait for me - inconveniencing not just myself, but others also. There must be reasons that SA Express flights are invariably delayed - but no honest explanation is ever given, and the overall long term impression is that SA Express do not care.
AircraftBombardier Dash 8 400
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteJohannesburg to Kimberley
Date FlownFebruary 2018
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"problem with the aircraft"

(South Africa)

Verified Review | Bloemfontein to Johannesburg. I fly SA Express frequently because my company books the tickets not out of choice. Today again there was a problem with the aircraft. Resulting in a smaller aircraft been used for the route. The knock on effect was 17 passengers being bumped of the flight. The supervisor at Bloemfontein admitted they have a serious problem with aircraft availability. I will avoid flying with them when possible.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteJohannesburg to Bloemfontein
Date FlownJune 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"could not use the direct flight"

(Zimbabwe)

Verified Review | SA Express has a direct flight from Harare to Durban and back. As I want to avoid transfer in Johannesburg, I am willing to pay the extra costs. SA Express however canceled the flight from Durban and therefore I could not use the direct flight from Harare to Durban but was put on a South African Airways flight via Johannesburg. This was very frustrating as I had to cancel the appointment I had (we arrived 5 hours after original scheduled time). So while I paid the premium for a direct flight I ended up spending even more time for a flight that would have saved me and my family hundreds of USD. After I finally got a case number about my query on 8 November I have never heard from SA Express.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHRE to DUR
Date FlownOctober 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
na

SA Express customer review

(South Africa)

I am a frequent flyer and unfortunately have to fly on SA Express. I fly from PE to Durban PE to Johannesburg PE to Cape Town and Bloemfontein to Johannesburg. Including returns to PE. I don't believe that in the last 6 months there hasn't been a delay on these flights. I can honestly say that the service is of the poorest in this country. The inflight service is awful. Sitting in CT now with another 2 hour delay SA Express wastes so much of mine and others time with all their delays. I would never recommend.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Seat Comfort N/A
Cabin Staff Service N/A
Food & Beverages N/A
Inflight Entertainment N/A
Value For Money N/A
no
10/10

SA Express customer review

(South Africa)

Flew SA Express CPT-DUR and previously DUR-CPT-DUR. Crew have always been excellent. They are warm and friendly right from boarding where we are always greeted by a great smile. Food is good sandwiches for dinner with chocolate for dessert. A good selection of drinks were offered. Leather seats are very comfortable but are now showing some signs of age. Love flying SA Express because their planes always seem private and warm. Baggage was on the carousel quickly from deplaning. Overall three great experiences with SAX.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Seat Comfort N/A
Cabin Staff Service N/A
Food & Beverages N/A
Inflight Entertainment N/A
Value For Money N/A
yes
na

SA Express customer review

(Switzerland)

We booked a flight Port Elizabeth-Cape Town in January 2014: Unplanned landing in George because of a malfunctioning cabin door no serious help from the cabin crew. In George we were sent to the transit for the next flight from Port Elizabeth-Cape Town departing 2 hours later which was surprisingly almost empty. Because of that we missed the trip that we booked in Cape Town in the afternoon. No desk at Cape Town Airport from South African Express no answer from them after we send our complaint and no "sorry" from their side. Really disappointing.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Seat Comfort N/A
Cabin Staff Service N/A
Food & Beverages N/A
Inflight Entertainment N/A
Value For Money N/A
no
10/10

SA Express customer review

(United Kingdom)

CPT-GRJ with SAA Air Link. Love this route serviced with a superb EMB135LR. Pre-booked seats and check in easy. Domestic side of CPT airport is a pleasant roomy building with a couple of good cafe's. Flight called on time and departed on the dot. Friendly and efficient single cabin crew member managed to get through snack/juice service in 40 minute flight even though plane was full. Impressed with her diligence to cabin safety. Captain informative during short flight pointing out way points on what was a stunning day. On time arrival and picked up bags as we walked off the plane. Great little airline.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Seat Comfort N/A
Cabin Staff Service N/A
Food & Beverages N/A
Inflight Entertainment N/A
Value For Money N/A
yes