Help me choose an airline

[Hogpatrol]

Flip a coin. There's good and bad with every one.

 

[joker2400]

Delta all day

 

[Spearhead]

Delta.

 

[Just Gina]

Traveling from Chicago to Johannesburg.
Economy seats
TRAVELING WITH A RIFLE
3 options:
A: United through Newark, total travel time 18 hours
B: Delta through Atlanta, total travel time 20.5 hours
C: Qatar though Doha, total travel time 31 hours (9 hour layover)

LET'S SAY ALL TICKETS ARE THE SAME PRICE.

I'm not including Turkish or Ethiopian because of the rifle.

Of the choices, I would go with B.

 

[19_A_CPT]

Four of us flew Delta in 22 with no issues whatsoever from Nashville to Joberg.
I have also had the Delta Gold Card since 2012 or so.
Ill send you a referral if you'd like to earn miles when you fly lol.

 

[Mountaineer]

Please explain

Eagle eye found a piece of brass in my overnight case then proceeded to say I could have shot someone in the airport and would need to be detained until the investigation was completed. After 45 minutes they decided I was not interested in paying a bribe. They let me go and I have not been back. It’s a shame. We met a bunch of great people there and seen some beautiful country. Killed some awesome trophies also.

 

[ActionBob]

Eagle eye found a piece of brass in my overnight case then proceeded to say I could have shot someone in the airport and would need to be detained until the investigation was completed. After 45 minutes they decided I was not interested in paying a bribe. They let me go and I have not been back. It’s a shame. We met a bunch of great people there and seen some beautiful country. Killed some awesome trophies also.

So have you been back to Africa?

There is a whole lot of really fantastic Africa and African Hunting available without going through Johannesburg

 

[ActionBob]

Traveling from Chicago to Johannesburg.
Economy seats
TRAVELING WITH A RIFLE
3 options:
A: United through Newark, total travel time 18 hours
B: Delta through Atlanta, total travel time 20.5 hours
C: Qatar though Doha, total travel time 31 hours (9 hour layover)

LET'S SAY ALL TICKETS ARE THE SAME PRICE.

I'm not including Turkish or Ethiopian because of the rifle.

Of the choices presented under those scenarios, I'd go Delta through Atlanta.

The big reason to go on Qatar is to fly First or Business Class. They can be a good deal on that... Although they were not for our trip this time so we flew Air France.

The new problem with Delta (they checked us in for our AF flight) is that we flew out of Mogadishu Minnesota.... Incompetence checking rifles in. Back when it was still Minneapolis, checking in rifles was a breeze.

 

[JimP]

It doesn't matter what airline that you fly over with, Joberg is a joke no matter what.

You just have to remember that you are in South Africa

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Here you are again, posting nonsense. I don't care about your travels to Europe. Please go away!

It's a different route to South Africa. The advantage of going through Europe is landing in Joberg early enough to go on to your destination without having to spend the night in the city. An option to consider. Nonsense? Okay, if you say so.

 

[BryceM]

I’ve done United and Delta. Nothing but problems on United. Delta usually runs better, but even they cancelled my return flight from JNB to ATL two weeks ago. Their JNB staff were woefully unprepared to deal with the logistics of rebooking & hotels. They rerouted me the next day through Brazil on LATAM/United. Luggage showed up 4 days later.

These days I strongly prefer connecting in Europe. Two 10 hour flights are so much nicer than one 17/18 hour flight. Takes more time, but much more relaxing. Europe can be a pain with rifles though. Frankfurt was doable, but dealing with the rifles on a rebooked flight and airline change took several hours.

 

[RLL]

Loved both Delta and Qatar. Different experiences and travel times but worth it either way. Delta lounge in Atlanta is a plus and Doha must have the finest humidor in duty free I’ve seen outside of Cuba!

 

[Rez Exelon]

I'm not a Delta person, but I'm taking the shorter pathway unless you have access to a lounge network for the layover and/or plan to get out of the airport during that timeframe.

 

[19_A_CPT]

Eagle eye found a piece of brass in my overnight case then proceeded to say I could have shot someone in the airport and would need to be detained until the investigation was completed. After 45 minutes they decided I was not interested in paying a bribe. They let me go and I have not been back. It’s a shame. We met a bunch of great people there and seen some beautiful country. Killed some awesome trophies also.

I flew into Joberg with 505 Jeff brass in my carry on bag , but leaving, yes, they (Joberg security) made us check our bows as firearms .. Talk about an un-needed PIA

 

[Mountaineer]

So have you been back to Africa?

There is a whole lot of really fantastic Africa and African Hunting available without going through Johannesburg

I have absolutely be back to Africa. Fell in love with Namibia. Been there the last 3 years.

 

[375Fox]

It's a different route to South Africa. The advantage of going through Europe is landing in Joberg early enough to go on to your destination without having to spend the night in the city. An option to consider. Nonsense? Okay, if you say so.

Adding 10 hours travel time so you can land the next morning instead of landing the night before and sleeping in a bed before flying out the next morning makes no sense to me unless significantly cheaper.

 

[Andrew62]

I've flown United 5-6 times through Newark with no issues. Having said that, this past March I flew Qatar through Doha and this Sept I am flying Qatar through Doha, my flight in March went wonderfully well. I've not flown Delta to Africa.

 

[mdwest]

We fly Qatar every year.. I don’t even look at other options anymore…

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

All the same price I’m picking B.

Qatar is my 2nd choice but not in economy. Upgrade your seat even if it costs a little more than option A.

United is my last choice even if options B and C were slightly more cost wise

 

[jpr9954]

I just flew Delta on May 30th and returned on June 9th. My only complaint was waiting for check-in to open in Jo’berg for the return flight. I waited about 3 hours. The flights themselves were fine.