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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7/10

"6 across in Business not acceptable"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | Cape Town to Johannesburg. I've flown SAA over 50 times over the last 2 years, and without exception every flight has been on time. Crew have been consistently good. Now the moans, just flown on the A350 in Business, lovely aircraft, but 6 across in Business is not acceptable for a long haul flight these days, made worse by the fact that the seats on the A330-300 are 1-2-1 and are superb. There's no consistency. I travel to Europe regularly in Business and avoid SAA simply due to the seats on the older aircraft, they've been the same for over 15 years.
AircraftA350
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteCape Town to Johannesburg
Date FlownDecember 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
9/10

"Keep up the good work"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | London to Johannesburg. I have been a SAA gold card holder for years and will always support them. However Mango their codeshare internal partner are another story, some times internal flight connections after a long haul are not available with SAA and I end up on Mango who honestly have a terrible ontime record I can’t remember the last one that was actually on time. Keep up the good work in the times of change ahead.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLondon to Johannesburg
Date FlownDecember 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"delayed 1.5 hours"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | Durban to Johannesburg. Airplane delayed 1.5 hours. I waited longer than the flight takes and they will only give a coffee voucher after 2 hours. No wonder they aren't a profitable company. Late for a meeting. I would never again trust this airline.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteDurban to Johannesburg
Date FlownDecember 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
9/10

"Wonderful airline to fly"

(Malawi)

Trip Verified | Lilongwe to London via Johannesburg. Wonderful airline to fly on, the aeroplane is in great condition with so many wonderful things available to the customer. Staff are very attentive and would make any other top class airline shy with how they ensure professional attention. Food is great and tasty. Seats are a little small but okay.
AircraftA330-300
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteLilongwe to London via Johannesburg
Date FlownNovember 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
1/10

"delays have been ridiculous"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | Lubumbashi to Johannesburg. Lately the delays have been ridiculous. Waiting for my flight to leave at 11:45 and left at 16:45. Wont issue again a ticket with them for sure!
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLubumbashi to Johannesburg
Date FlownNovember 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"did nothing to assist"

(United States)

Not Verified | Washington DC to Dakar. I purchased a round trip ticket to Senegal, West Africa for $2089 on July 28, 2019 for departure on August 9, 2019. A few weeks after I arrived, I was notified that South Africa Airlines was no longer offering service to Senegal. I had to travel four hours one way to Dakar to visit the South African Airways office. That was on September 19, 2019. Once I arrived at the office, I was offered to re-route my flight to Belgium with Brussels Airlines, which was not my choice because it interfered with my connecting flight once I returned to the United States. I would have to return a day earlier than that connecting flight, and I was told that was the only option available to me. South African Airways did nothing to assist me with getting an earlier connecting flight nor did they offer to give me a hotel or compensation for the inconveniences they put me through.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteWashington DC to Dakar
Date FlownOctober 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"survival austerity campaign"

(South Africa)

Trip Verified | Johannesburg to New York. SAA are currently on a survival austerity campaign that is now reflecting in their Business class service and offerings. No longer do they offer pre dinner drink service and the finer parts of their service have been jettisoned. Salt & pepper cellars are packeted; the range of wines are weird - 2 chardonnays in a choice of 3 wines; no after dinner chocolates; breakfast no longer includes cereals, fruits and a main course. You now have to choose one of these 3. For a Usd 7000 airfare these penny pinching cost savings will not save the airline but will rather ensure its ultimate demise.
AircraftA340-600
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RouteJohannesburg to New York
Date FlownOctober 2019
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

"she had seated me next to toilet"

(Australia)

Trip Verified | Cape Town to Perth via Johannesburg. I broke my arm and needed to return to Perth for operation. When I requested a more comfortable seat on check in the staff complied. On boarding I discovered she had seated me next to toilet in a non recliner. The staff refused to attempt any change, a man stepped in and offered his seat.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteCape Town to Perth via Johannesburg
Date FlownOctober 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"Entertainment System was unusable"

(Australia)

Trip Verified | Perth to Johannesburg. I do not sleep well on flights and rely on Entertainment System to occupy me. Sometime after take-off the Entertainment System was turned on. Some airlines turn on the system after un-docking from the terminal. Immediately there were issues with the sound being disjointed. Soon after (within 15 mins) I asked a stewardess about the problem. She said she would get back to me – BUT never did. The Entertainment System was unusable for the flight. This is unreasonable. Not once was any announcement made about the fault in the system. On leaving the plane I complained to a steward at the door and was told to complain to someone. I have email SAA Customer Service and completed this review.
Aircraft?
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePerth to Johannesburg
Date FlownSeptember 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"the staff seemed agitated"

(South Africa)

Not Verified | Johannesburg to Dar es Salaam with South African Airways. The cabin crew on this flight seemed like they did not want to be there serving the passengers. There were instances where the staff seemed agitated by some of the requests of the passengers in front of us, and were very unprofessional and borderline rude.
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteJohannesburg to Dar es Salaam
Date FlownOctober 2019
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no