I am business/first class American Airlines from Denver to Dallas and then Qatar from Dallas to Doha to JNB then Airlink from JNB to Maun Botswana. I’m not spending the night in JNB because the Qatar flight lands at 4am so I can get to Maun the same day.
I will check gun to Dallas and re-check it on Qatar through to JNB. Claim luggage in JNB and check it on Airlink to Maun. I will have a SA gun permit in case of problems and have Gracy Travel rep meet me in JNB both ways just in case. The rep is probably not needed but I hate the JNB airport and it’s worth the little bit of money to me and piece of mind.
I have flown through JNB several times before on my way the same day to Zimbabwe and Mozambique on SAA and didn’t need the SA gun permit because I wasn’t spending the night or switching airline carriers. Of course SAA isn’t an option anymore so it’s more of a pain now but 14 days in Botswana is worth it to me.
On a trip to Zim in 2012, I missed my connection in JNB to Harare due to a mechanical issue that kept my flight from leaving Dulles on time. There were a lot of other hunters on the flight as well. Luckily there was another flight to Harare in the late afternoon that we all got on. Although my bags were to be checked through to Harare on the original connection that I missed, the Gracy rep and I went to the SAA baggage office and had someone find them for me because Gracy recommend that I claim the bags and keep them during the extra long layover. I rechecked them just before the afternoon Harare flight instead of letting them get lost in the bowels of the JNB baggage area during the extra long layover. This turned out to be a very wise move because when I got to Harare, my bags made it and the other hunters bags didn’t make it to Harare until the next day. Gracy has people on the ground in JNB, which can come in handy.
