Ladies and Gentleman welcome aboard this flight WM211 to a destination of your choice in South Africa. Cabin crew arm your doors and cross check. We will be taking off on runaway 2N in a northerly direction and making a short left enroute to your choice of destination. We will be cruising at 47000 feet (yeah, quite high hey). Weather enroute is all clear. Seat back, relax and enjoy this flight.
Booking
The best way is to book online. I highly recommend that before you book you must check all airlines how much the tickets are. I have seen on many occasions the so called budget airlines being more expensive than the SAA’s and BA’s of this world. Remember to choose meal options at booking otherwise you will get the same old meal if you are a regular traveller. The fruit platter in the morning is a lekker one on SAA.
Check In
If you love certain seats like some of us we love the window seat and as further up the plane as possible you must check in online exactly 24hrs before the flight. With Mango you get lucky at times as they open earlier. How? Simple. Diarize the check in on your smart device to remind you 5min before the 24hr mark.
The best time
The best time to fly out of Johannesburg is the first flight of the day. Any delays that occur normally do after the first flight. Mango Airlines is SA’s most on time airline so now you know who flies you out. SAA has recently up their game on early arrivals. They are boarding passengers earlier than scheduled resulting in early departures and early arrivals. 3 Thumbs Up for you there.
The best time to return to Johannesburg is arriving from 17h30, just in time to miss the traffic unless if you are driving to Pretoria (the four lanes all the way to Tshwane has made travel between the airport and Tshwane quick at any time of the day)
The best parking undercover is Level 3 parking on the domestic side. Everyone goes straight to level 2. Park in level 3 close to the lifts and just take one flight of stairs to the level 2 bridge.
I don’t have a best airline but my worst airline is Kulula. They have massive delays which is extremely bad for business. But if you flying for personal reasons then you can endure the delays.
Security
Oh Yes security is big issue in SA and our airports have a fair share of the load. If at all possible DON’T check in your bag. Pack light. I put all my shirts and suit in a suit cover, the backpack then carries the toiletry bag, laptop, iPad etc. Check in and go through the security gates as soon as you get to the airport. Enjoy your cup of coffee on the other side aka airside. At least on the other side you have fellow passengers.
The Airlines
SAA
Mango
Kulula
1 Time
British Airways
Gautrain
I am not happy that Gautrain at the time of going to print does not start operating early enough to catch the first flight out of Johannesburg. Enough said.
The WeszMadz Rule Number One: Be At The Airport Two Hours Before Each Flight
I have never missed a flight as a result
I am sure I will be writing another article on this topic. So much to say.
People don’t talk to you on flights! Some don’t even greet or answer your greetings.
P/S I wrote this post on board British Airways flight BA6441 to Cape Town 28 March 2012