South African Airways

JNB-LHR on the new airbus. Seats were roomy and comfy staff polite and friendly and inflight entertainment system outstanding. We had terrible turbulence throughout the flight but the captain was informative and reassuring and everyone remained calm. Food not great but otherwise excellent.

I travel quite frequently on business locally in SA. SAA have a much younger fleet than other rivals food and beverage service is always good. Most importantly they have friendly and courteous staff. My last flight DUR- JNB-DUR both ways on a clean A319. My next flight to PE is also booked on SAA.

New York-Maputo via JNB. I was surprised by the level of quality. The food from New York was lovely. On the return it was still good but a little disappointed with the choices. The cabin crew are good and they show concern towards the safety and comfort of passengers. The seat in economy class is comfortable and provides enough space for the feet. The entertainment system has a variety of choices. A pleasant flight.

LHR-JNB-PLZ-JNB-LHR. Four flights in ten days on four different aircraft (332 738 CR7 and 346). Both internal flights excellent: on time crew efficient and friendly aircraft clean food decent. Long-haul flights a mixed bag. Outbound on SAA's newest A330-200: aircraft spotless IFE superb (aside from moving map not working) arrived 30 minutes early but crew surly and dinner mediocre (good wine though). Breakfast was better. I found the A330 seats very hard. Return leg on older A340-600: delayed 30 minutes seats a little more comfortable IFE worked fine after initial problems. Dinner much better but breakfast mediocre crew much more friendly than on the LHR-JNB leg. Overall would travel with SAA again - if they could iron out the inconsistencies this would be a pretty good economy experience.

LHR-CPT return on the new A330. My wife and I have flown many times on this route over recent years and have always enjoyed Business Class. Service is excellent the IFE provides a wide choice of the latest films and the menu has been refreshed as well.

Fantastic service from Perth to Johannesburg in Business Class. The plane to Johannesburg appeared to be older one and not the new Airbus I thought it would be. However the flight from Johannesburg to Perth was the new airbus and what a difference that made. The cabin staff were extremely courteous and efficient both ways. However wondering why on the Perth to Johannesburg flight the cabin crew kept the toilet at the top of the business class section to themselves - leaving the rest of the business class passengers with two toilets. This did not happen on the return flight. Food was delicious both ways. All in all a very pleasant flight.

PER-JNB For an economy flight it was very good. The new airbus is much better than the older Boeing 747's. After a poor BA flight LON-SIN-PER this was a welcome relief. Inflight staff have improved a lot since my last SAA flight 18 months ago.

JNB-PLZ (Pt Elizabeth) and CPT-JNB in October 2011 both segments in domestic Business Class-two wonderful flights. JNB-PLZ in B737-800 fitted with wider seats and more legroom in Business class. If you have to travel from Cape Town to Joburg book SA346 flight in the afternoon at around 3pm. They use an A340-600 from the Cape to JNB and you'll sit - or lie - in SAA flat bed seats for a domestic flight of just 90 mins. If SAA only managed to teach their ground staff the same efficiency and friendliness that their onboard crews have I would have rated both trips a10 instead 9. I've rarely met more attentive polite and friendly flight attendants than on SA flights. Some airport staff on the other hand prefer to give you the impression as if they were forced to work there. Slow rude and constantly chatting and/or nagging with their work mates. Lounges in CPT and JNB both recently refurbished and very nice.

LHR-JNB on A340 in Business and flight was generally good. Friendly crew food adequate in quality and quantity very good. Wine excellent. Seat relatively comfortable but not fully flat bed. Minor delay with baggage collection at JNB.

IAD-JNB-CPT. Was able to upgrade to Business Class at IAD with very efficient helpful employee. The reason that I rated the airline down was the baggage service in JNB. On the flight from JNB-CPT we had a two hour layover. This was enough time for the baggage dept to break my TSA lock riffle through belongings dump zippered bags and leave a mess. I know enough not to pack valuables in a checked bag so nothing was worth stealing. Two other members of my tour group had similar experiences. On my return home again from JNB the zippers on my suitcase were broken/stripped. I have heard that this airport has a reputation for this. What a welcome and farewell to South Africa!