All. We are proceeding with arrangements for our April/May 21 hunt in Limpopo with Matwetwe Safaris. We are also planning 8 days or so touring the Cape with an internal round trip between Jo'burg and Cape Town. Tons of uncertainty out there, of course, and we did some significant research into appropriate insurance that would allow us to cancel for any reason, including country closure due to COVID.
Long story short, we are at the ticket purchase phase. We are planning to fly out of NYC (any NYC airport), but are flexible within the NE USA (BWI/DCA etc...all fine) Delta, my preferred carrier, is as of now, not flying to Jo'burg. Currently, the most reasonable pricing is via Qatar Airways with a layover in Doha. Total time is about 21 hours. The best routing is SAA direct from JFK to OR Tambo. Saves nearly 7 hours of traveling there and back. BAA also has reasonable pricing and routes, but I've heard, are a bit difficult to deal with firearms.
So, questions. Qatar Airways and a longer (though cheaper) trip, or the wildcard of whether SAA will be around in 10 months? BAA experiences? What additional fees have they imposed? I'm not interested if they are $100/leg. Also, for internal travel, has anyone used Mango? I am not concerned with transporting firearms internally, as we will be using Rifle Permits for clearance and storage until we meet Hendrik to travel to camp after the Cape Town trip.
Looking forward to your thoughts. Thanks in advance.
Long story short, we are at the ticket purchase phase. We are planning to fly out of NYC (any NYC airport), but are flexible within the NE USA (BWI/DCA etc...all fine) Delta, my preferred carrier, is as of now, not flying to Jo'burg. Currently, the most reasonable pricing is via Qatar Airways with a layover in Doha. Total time is about 21 hours. The best routing is SAA direct from JFK to OR Tambo. Saves nearly 7 hours of traveling there and back. BAA also has reasonable pricing and routes, but I've heard, are a bit difficult to deal with firearms.
So, questions. Qatar Airways and a longer (though cheaper) trip, or the wildcard of whether SAA will be around in 10 months? BAA experiences? What additional fees have they imposed? I'm not interested if they are $100/leg. Also, for internal travel, has anyone used Mango? I am not concerned with transporting firearms internally, as we will be using Rifle Permits for clearance and storage until we meet Hendrik to travel to camp after the Cape Town trip.
Looking forward to your thoughts. Thanks in advance.