Has anyone booked or flown Delta to JNB and back through CPT lately?

[sawbones66]

Just wondering if anyone has booked or flown Delta's ATL-JNB-CPT-ATL route lately?

A buddy and I are booked on DL204 ATL-JNB-CPT-ATL on Aug1 & 14. Looks as if 1 plane is flying down on odd days and back on even. That is our hope...

 

[Hogpatrol]

I tried booking on Delta in September from ATL to JNB. All flights were on other airlines like Air France and Lufthansa and went through Heathrow. Nothing direct to or from JNB to the U.S.

 

[Hogpatrol]

A buddy and I are booked on DL204 ATL-JNB-CPT-ATL on Aug1 & 14. Looks as if 1 plane is flying down on odd days and back on even. That is our hope...

I just checked those dates & flights. ATL to JNB nonstop then all return options are Charles De Gaulle, Heathrow or Amsterdam. No Capetown flight stop on the return.

 

[JimP]

This is where using a travel agent who is familiar with traveling with firearms comes in real handy

 

[autofire]

I see that now that I look into it further. I see they are taking bookings on it in about the second week of July. SO has anyone booked on it yet? Is there any faith in it, is what I guess I am asking our fellow enthusiast on here?

I had ticket booked with delta for that flight leaving june 3. Delta cancelled that flight. I wont rebook that flight until delta has flown the route for at least one week to avoid having to rebook a different airline at the last minute.

 

[wesheltonj]

Delta delays its most anticipated long-haul route of 2021 - The Points Guy

Delta has changed its most anticipated long-haul route of 2021 yet again. This hotly anticipated inaugural is now scheduled for August.

thepointsguy.com

Plans for Delta’s hotly anticipated new triangle route to Johannesburg (JNB) and Cape Town (CPT) have changed yet again. While this service has been delayed for the sixth time to Aug. 1, 2021, (per Cirium schedules and confirmed on Delta’s website), this time, the carrier has now decided to drop plans to fly to Cape Town altogether.

When Delta first announced its two-city South Africa service, the carrier planned to start flights on Oct. 24, 2020. It was then delayed to Jan. 8, 2021, then March 27, 2021, then June 5, 2021, and then to July 2, 2021. While Delta’s flight to South Africa is still projected to fly on Aug. 1, the service will now only run directly from Atlanta (ATL) to Johannesburg.

The Johannesburg skyline. (Photo by THEGIFT777 / Getty Images)
Sign up for TPG’s free new biweekly Aviation newsletter for more airport-specific news!

Delta is also tweaking the operating frequency. From Aug. 1 through Sept. 8, the carrier plans to run three weekly flights on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the eastbound direction and on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays in the westbound direction.

From Sept. 8 on, Delta will increase the flight to daily service.

The month-long delay comes as South Africa has just logged its first confirmed cases of the Delta coronavirus variant, while still dealing with its own virus variant that appears to be more infectious. The U.S. government on Jan. 26, 2021, banned travel from South Africa, with the exceptions of U.S. citizens and legal U.S. residents, due to the more contagious South Africa variant.

Before the pandemic, Delta operated daily non-stop flights from Atlanta (ATL) to Johannesburg (JNB) on a Boeing 777-200LR. However, the airline’s 777 fleet was retired late last year.

Delta uses enhanced Airbus A350-900​

Flying an A350 from JNB to ATL initially presented Delta with a problem. Due to the city’s high elevation, the A350 couldn’t reach Atlanta at maximum payload. That’s why the carrier originally added the tag flight to Cape Town (CPT), allowing the plane to refuel at sea level before beginning the 8,130-mile trek back to the U.S.

A Delta One suite. (Photo by Ethan Steinberg/The Points Guy)
The route will now be flown by the carrier’s flagship Airbus A350, outfitted with 32 fully enclosed Delta One business class suites, 48 Premium Select premium economy seats and 226 economy seats. The flight time will run about 16 hours — Delta’s longest flight, and will no longer need a stop in CPT anymore and will just fly directly from ATL to JNB.

Paid fares on the inaugural flight start at a whopping $2,500 round trip in coach and $3,700 in Premium Select. Delta One Suites are sold out as of press time. One-way award redemptions start at 140,000, 250,000 and 465,000 SkyMiles, respectively.

Big three launches other ultra-long-haul flights​

Despite the pandemic, the “Big 3” U.S. airlines are all slated to launch a slew of new ultra-long-haul flights this year.

United Airlines launched its flagship Johannesburg route on June 3, 2021. Following the successful late 2019 launch of a Newark (EWR) to CPT nonstop, the Chicago-based carrier is planning to launch a second South Africa flight to JNB using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. . . .

 

[Hogpatrol]

Delta's schedule prognostications and a buck and a half will get you a cup o' joe at the quickie mart.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

A buddy and I are booked on DL204 ATL-JNB-CPT-ATL on Aug1 & 14. Looks as if 1 plane is flying down on odd days and back on even. That is our hope...

Better be ready to fly through Heathrow or Amsterdam, I just came back last week. Thought I was flying that route, no. They cancelled it.

 

[TNDave]

South Africa government blocked the JNB-CPT-ATL Delta flight so its not going to happen.

 

[rookhawk]

Qatar Airways is flying and is what most of us are booking at the moment.

+1

Or emirates.

Qatar and Emirates are the winnable game at present.

 

[firehuntfish]

Obviously this is subject to change again, but Delta's latest announcement is that they will once again resume their non-stop service from ATL to JNB on August 1, 2021. The CPT leg has been eliminated.

If you enter some arbitrary dates for next year, the pricing starts at $996 round-trip for basic economy to $5,400 for business class. They have also added a new class between economy comfort and business with semi-reclining chairs and full meal service starting around $2,400. Regardless of what carrier you prefer, this is good news for the consumer. Competition for that non-stop route is necessary to keep fares in line.

Delta delays its most anticipated long-haul route of 2021 - The Points Guy

Delta has changed its most anticipated long-haul route of 2021 yet again. This hotly anticipated inaugural is now scheduled for August.

thepointsguy.com

 

[Areaonereal]

This f…..g dip that is now the ceo of delta is a waste. Either u are into JNB or not, direct. Wake up Delta. Also, if you want to served be by the oldest, rudest attendants of any major airlines……fly this ATL. JNB route….most need a a walker or a cane to Get down the aisle.


s

 

[shootist~]

I would describe him as a political hack to boot.