Flights to South Africa

[Martin77]

Any advice on booking flights to South Africa. I’m a little less than a year out. Trying to get the most for my money. Thanks

 

[cpr0312]

Time of year will play a factor in cost. The most direct routes (at least from the east coast) are on Delta and South African. I would start looking every week or so at fares and start to get a feel for what they will be. I have flown both of these airlines and booked my own flights every time on sites like expedia or orbitz, or Delta.com

 

[Ridgewalker]

As I understand it the most expensive times will be June through August. Shoulder seasons can be a couple of hundred less. Good luck and I hope you have a great adventure!

 

[barbells.and.arrows]

I would do direct flight, main cabin (if that was my only option price wise), and get some medicine (anxiety meds/muscle relaxer) from your doctor. I stayed awake both ways (after alcohol & prescription anxiety meds) in delta comfort +, but my husband who was out cold both flights could have survived main cabin just fine in his drug induced stupor. My thought is the Europe layovers just waste more of my vacation time away from work (which I need to hunt, and I have no desire to see Europe), and possibly throw me more off jet lag wise, BUT they are cheaper.

Maybe get in touch with one of the travel agents that's connected to this group, and see if they can find you a good deal.

 

[Hogpatrol]

@barbells.and.arrows Good point about saving time. Being retired, I forget about the working men and women who may have to budget their vacation time between family and themselves. Travel agent can be helpful in knowing when and what day to fly but I found the cheapest flights were in months not attuned to the best times to hunt.

 

[Sika98k]

I flew to Namibia this year with Ethiopian Airlines. It was cheap ! Staggeringly cheap. Ok, the prices have gone up for next year but oil has increased so what can you expect ?
Check out Ethiopian. Oh, they’re firearms friendly also.

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

I flew to Namibia this year with Ethiopian Airlines. It was cheap ! Staggeringly cheap. Ok, the prices have gone up for next year but oil has increased so what can you expect ?
Check out Ethiopian. Oh, they’re firearms friendly also.

How cheap did it have to be to make you stagger?

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

Computer programmers have a saying "Fast. Cheap. Good. You can have 2 out of three. You pick." It's pretty much the same for flights except the tradeoffs are "travel time", "cost" and "comfort". You have to find the balance that works best for you.

 

[Sika98k]

€466 return, left at 1930 local and arrived at Windhoek at 1320 local the next day.
Cheap, fast and a Dreamliner on 3 sectors.

 

[cpr0312]

@barbells.and.arrows Good point about saving time.

I also prefer to just get there as fast as possible and make the max out of vacation time!

 

[Marcus bock]

My wife and I fly to Johannesburg yearly on Delta out of Atlanta. Direct flight. We've flown every class, but mostly "comfort" upgrade at bulkhead. It's a couple hundred more, but no where near the cost of business class. We used to go Europe and down....but way too long !

 

[cagkt3]

Ask @Travel Express! I've used them a couple times now, and had excellent results. They can give you several options - quickest/most direct route, cheapest flight, layover in a certain country if you want to do some extra sightseeing, help with overnight stays and flying with guns....the list goes on and on.

 

[Eric Anderson]

Any advice on booking flights to South Africa. I’m a little less than a year out. Trying to get the most for my money. Thanks

Clear your cookies after each time you check for prices.
I have had success flying from RDU to jfk to jnb, and from Dulles to Frankfurt to Jnb.
Sometimes it is cheaper to one way rental a car to a different airport to fly out of.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Computer programmers have a saying "Fast. Cheap. Good. You can have 2 out of three. You pick." It's pretty much the same for flights except the tradeoffs are "travel time", "cost" and "comfort". You have to find the balance that works best for you.

Machinists have been known to say that too.

 

[Therack]

A travel agent booked me a ticket with a stop in Dakar because it was cheaper, big mistake. The stop was in the middle of the night, wake everyone up to unload and load passengers and clean the plane. It added 2 hours to the flight and interrupted sleep. The next trip I booked my own ticket from Atlanta to Joberg on the direct flight. Sometimes saving $100 is just not worth it.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Booking for August 2019 Denver to Joberg...YIKES!...$2,880 total! Economy comfort aisle. As I recall in May 2018 it was $2,200 all inclusive.

 

[CAustin]

@barbells.and.arrows Good point about saving time. Being retired, I forget about the working men and women who may have to budget their vacation time between family and themselves. Travel agent can be helpful in knowing when and what day to fly but I found the cheapest flights were in months not attuned to the best times to hunt.

I hope to be retired one day so that I can take advantage of some of the deals that pop up! Time away is always a factor for my trips and thus the stop over flights have never really been an option. Got to get back to work you know!

 

[Ridgewalker]

I hope to be retired one day so that I can take advantage of some of the deals that pop up! Time away is always a factor for my trips and thus the stop over flights have never really been an option. Got to get back to work you know!

Just a quick “thank you for working” Charlie. Since you’re one of many who pays my SS check every month that allows me to go to Africa...!

 

[BRICKBURN]

 

[barbells.and.arrows]

@Hogpatrol I would be lying if I didn't say the vacation hoarding is partially, so I can take off when the wind is right during deer season at home. I want to spend as much time in Africa as I can, but also still be able to go hop in a stand if the wind and conditions are right. I envy those who are retirement age, for their lack of "scheduling conflicts." The light isn't even 30 miles down the tunnel on that front for me yet.