Delta from Capetown to Atlanta

[Mike B.]

Delta just announced this week that starting this coming June they will be flying a new configuration A350 between ATL and JNB and also ATL and CPT. Each route will have their own dedicated flights. The new configuration removes about 30 main cabin economy seats, removes one row of premium select seats and adds several new Delta One seats. By doing this new configuration they stated that it would lighten the planes enough that they would have no take off issues from the higher and hotter JNB flights and have plenty of fuel capacity. They would also not have to leave some of the cargo behind as they have had to do occasionally in the past on certain hot days. By adding more high ticket Delta One seating it will make up for the lost revenue from taking out the economy seats. My guess is we will see economy seating ticket prices go up in price as well, probably all seats included. Comfort + seating numbers remain the same. Bad news though for those who liked to grab the 40J and 40A economy seats that had no seat in front of them so had extra leg room. Those seats were removed in the new configuration Delta stated.

Not sure if anyone has looked at pricing as of now but Delta One is upwards of 13k and premium select I have seen as high as $4900 for flights throughout the summer months, South Africa's winter. But the real kicker is actually the miles required to purchase an award ticket. If you go in August 2024, the main cabin is 620k in miles for a roundtrip flight. Comfort + is 688k miles, premium select is 714k miles and delta one is 841k miles. But wait, there's more these mile requirements for an award ticket are with the 15% discount that a co-branded credit gives you. It is f'in ridiculous to see this. I end up with around 800k miles a year gained with Delta and I can barely get 1 roundtrip ticket in basic economy? WTF is Delta thinking?

One small correction here, that is a round trip from SLC so there is a small added expense for that additional flight to Atlanta.

 

[wesheltonj]

12k for business class, no thank you. 841k Sky pesos, no thank you.

 

[MontanaPat]

I recently became booked flights for my Botswana hunt in June. Delta wanted over $5k for Premium select and almost $4k for Comfort + seating from Bozeman MT to JNB. I have over 3 million lifetime miles on Delta as I flew them for work for 25+ years and I try to fly them as much as possible s if nice they take good care of me being a 3M miler but their pricing to Africa at least has become ridiculous.
I ended up working with Travel Express and got a round trip business class ticket in Q Suite for just over $5K, same price as Delta premium select roughly. For that I’ll take the little bit longer flying time

 

[chase0109]

Delta just announced this week that starting this coming June they will be flying a new configuration A350 between ATL and JNB and also ATL and CPT. Each route will have their own dedicated flights. The new configuration removes about 30 main cabin economy seats, removes one row of premium select seats and adds several new Delta One seats. By doing this new configuration they stated that it would lighten the planes enough that they would have no take off issues from the higher and hotter JNB flights and have plenty of fuel capacity. They would also not have to leave some of the cargo behind as they have had to do occasionally in the past on certain hot days. By adding more high ticket Delta One seating it will make up for the lost revenue from taking out the economy seats. My guess is we will see economy seating ticket prices go up in price as well, probably all seats included. Comfort + seating numbers remain the same. Bad news though for those who liked to grab the 40J and 40A economy seats that had no seat in front of them so had extra leg room. Those seats were removed in the new configuration Delta stated.

This update gives me another additional thing to worry about lol. I did my first hunt in Mozambique back in October. I flew sardine class on the Delta flight from ATL to JNB. I made a point to look at the entire configuration of the plane to pick a better seat for my next flight. I already booked my next flight back in November for my Sept 2024 trip to Zimbabwe. I specifically picked seat 41J and even paid the extra $300 premium for that seat (window without a seat in front of me). The seating chart was for the A350. I hope nothing changes between now and then for seat arrangements. By booking early I managed to book all flights (with upgraded seats) DFW to HRE RT for $2078.

Chase

 

[Pablo]

This update gives me another additional thing to worry about lol. I did my first hunt in Mozambique back in October. I flew sardine class on the Delta flight from ATL to JNB. I made a point to look at the entire configuration of the plane to pick a better seat for my next flight. I already booked my next flight back in November for my Sept 2024 trip to Zimbabwe. I specifically picked seat 41J and even paid the extra $300 premium for that seat (window without a seat in front of me). The seating chart was for the A350. I hope nothing changes between now and then for seat arrangements. By booking early I managed to book all flights (with upgraded seats) DFW to HRE RT for $2078.

Chase

I'm looking on Delta now for July and it shows there is a seat in front of you. On the current seating map, there is no seat.

 

[Hombre]

Has anyone flown the United flight from Washington to Cape Town with rifles?

 

[Jetjockey]

DAL used to fly JNB-ATL in the 777-200LR. During Covid they got rid of the 777 and switched to the 350. The A350 is NOT a 777-200LR, and that’s why they are taking so many seats out, and the cost is going up. In the LR they could often get full cargo and only block 20-25 seats. They can’t do that on the 350.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Has anyone flown the United flight from Washington to Cape Town with rifles?

Not with rifles, but just flew this over for the shows. Think this will be my route going forward. Kept an eye on Firearms desk location etc.
Simple enough.

 

[chase0109]

I'm looking on Delta now for July and it shows there is a seat in front of you. On the current seating map, there is no seat.

Your comment was a good reminder for me to check up on this! Under the new seat configuration, 41J is just a standard sardine seat. I looked up my booking and seat map on Delta today. It now shows the new seating configuration.
Delta automatically changed my seat from 41J to 37J, which is a window seat without anyone in front of me. So I am happy Delta made the change to keep my chosen seat with the change in seating configuration.
Chase

 

[Pablo]

Your comment was a good reminder for me to check up on this! Under the new seat configuration, 41J is just a standard sardine seat. I looked up my booking and seat map on Delta today. It now shows the new seating configuration.
Delta automatically changed my seat from 41J to 37J, which is a window seat without anyone in front of me. So I am happy Delta made the change to keep my chosen seat with the change in seating configuration.
Chase

So, you prefer the window versus the aisle seat on that row? I’m overthinking a lot!

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

Just checked my seats for June trip
Delta reconfigured plane now. My seats for premium select had changed since the row I was in is no longer there. I didn't like one of the seats they reassigned but got it changed back to an isle seat today.
Keep an eye on your seats. They will change them on you for sure. I check mine at least 3 times a week now.

 

[Wiley64]

we considered taking atlanta to capetown to hunt the eastern cape for our next trip down, is that feasible? My travel partner really wants to see capetown, but i feel like it is way out of the way from where we need to be

 

[flying sailor]

I recently became booked flights for my Botswana hunt in June. Delta wanted over $5k for Premium select and almost $4k for Comfort + seating from Bozeman MT to JNB. I have over 3 million lifetime miles on Delta as I flew them for work for 25+ years and I try to fly them as much as possible s if nice they take good care of me being a 3M miler but their pricing to Africa at least has become ridiculous.
I ended up working with Travel Express and got a round trip business class ticket in Q Suite for just over $5K, same price as Delta premium select roughly. For that I’ll take the little bit longer flying time

As always, your mileage may vary.

 

[Mike B.]

we considered taking atlanta to capetown to hunt the eastern cape for our next trip down, is that feasible? My travel partner really wants to see capetown, but i feel like it is way out of the way from where we need to be

Do it and don't look back. Cape Town is absolutely fantastic. You don't need to spend a long time there, 3 days would be ample. Some of the things I like are one day to go up on Table Mountain and then whatever else that day. One to go see the penguins and do the Cape Point tour down to the lighthouse. Then one more day to do whatever else you would like such as shopping. There is also an aquarium that is surprisingly nice in Cape Town. It's not huge but you can easily waste an hour or so there. I hate to admit this but there is also a botanical garden there that was pretty nice. Not my thing but it was the only one I have ever been to that I didn't want to climb a tree and jump from the top to end the misery.

The flight from Cape Town to East London or Gqeberha is not that long. I would most likely just do a return flight back to the States from Joberg instead of doing roundtrip from Cape Town though but that is just personal preference.

 

[chase0109]

So, you prefer the window versus the aisle seat on that row? I’m overthinking a lot!

We all tend to overthink things at times lol. I think it's a personal preference. I prefer a window seat. I don't sleep much on planes, but I can lean against the window and doze off for a bit. I'm a side sleeper and do not sleep well on my back reclined. I don't want to worry about people bumping me going down the aisles.
Being in the corner I have more of a bubble where fewer people are in my space. If you have an aisle seat in that row people will end up standing in front of you when waiting in line for the restroom. But any seat without a row in front of you is better than the standard sardine seats you could get.
Chase

 

[SStomcat]

How far ahead do you generally book the tickets.