what Air lines to use? USA - Cape Town in January

[Matt_TYRCZ]

anyone have any good experience with flying to CPT ?

- good connection, best route ?
- arrival time and layovers ?
- check in bag plus golf bag with gear ?
- extra charges, buy insurance ?

thank you for any input !

[peppedurso]

Hi Matt,
in my experience Turkish Airlines is the best compromise, decent rates on sport bags as well.

Insurance it's always recommended, private south african health system can be quite pricey.

Be also ready to face a lot traffic in the water some days.

[ELI]

United is putting in a Non-stop from EWR to CPT ,I think by December

[North_Wind]

Yes - United Airlines have announced flights to Cape Town:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffwhitm ... 427ae51b17

British Airways might also work well. You get 1x23kg on all but the most basic fare and the charge to upgrade to 32kgs is USD100 each way.

Turkish also good. I understand the extra baggage costs for Lufthansa went up a lot recently (USD172 each way, I think).

If you need any other advice e.g. on car rental please PM me -- I can tell you who is naughty and nice!

And if you need accommodation when you are down there we would be happy to send you a proposal/quote.

James / BA
Cape Town Kite Club
www.capetownkiteclub.com

[Havre]

Emirates? Generally speaking excellent economy class and you can check in your kitebag without any extra charge (as long as you stay below the total weight). Only thing is make sure you stay below the maximum weight as they got high fees for extra kgs.

South African takes you straight down to Johannesburg. I always try to reduce airtime as much as possible so would probably be my choice.

[North_Wind]

Re South African ... it is a loss-making airline that gets frequent bailouts from the SA government. If you fly them I would book with a credit card or some other way that gives you protection if they go bust.

Also note that changing in Johannesburg can be a bit of a hassle -- if you miss the connection you hae to rebook and often there isn't space on a new flight for hours; also luggage isn't "safe" (i.e. is at risk of being stolen) if checked in early so they make you hold onto your check baggage until ~ 2h before the flight rather than check it in at your convenience.

All in all, if you can afford it, avoid Johannesburg and go direct (or via a hub other than Jb) to CPT.

[Hugh2]

I am South African and gave up flying SAA a few years ago. The stop in Senegal is a royal pain not being able to get off the aircraft and walk around, and the hassle of transferring to a local flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town got old (but I never actually had a problem with it, always got a flight even if later). And the last few years their prices have been higher than before.

Instead I have gone to Delta and KLM via Amsterdam. This is from Chicago, but presumably works from other major airports. The flight over the Atlantic is usually on an old 747, so painful, but the flight to Cape Town is on a modern plane, Airbus or Boeing. For me the price has usually been the best available, and you get two checked bags. Since I have been doing this every summer for the past decade I have a set of boards in Cape Town, so only need to take kites and bars.

The direct EWR-CPT flight on United looks interesting on a 787 Dreamliner, but I go for all of December through February, so their flights only starting December 15 doesn't work. Plus I have painful recall of doing some of these direct flights, I believe from Washington DC or Miami, back in the 1990s, and 14-16 hours in the air is painful. I just checked their prices and if you are traveling in their window of mid-December to late-February they look pretty good.

[Matt_TYRCZ]

thanks guys for great input ,

im considering that direct shoot EWR-CPT with United , i fly from DC so i got to add one leg

so can i check in 2 bags or 1 ? one "golf bag" and one with clothes and junk ?

[Matt_TYRCZ]

Yes - United Airlines have announced flights to Cape Town:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffwhitm ... 427ae51b17

British Airways might also work well. You get 1x23kg on all but the most basic fare and the charge to upgrade to 32kgs is USD100 each way.

Turkish also good. I understand the extra baggage costs for Lufthansa went up a lot recently (USD172 each way, I think).

If you need any other advice e.g. on car rental please PM me -- I can tell you who is naughty and nice!

And if you need accommodation when you are down there we would be happy to send you a proposal/quote.

James / BA
Cape Town Kite Club
www.capetownkiteclub.com

thank you for info, ill get in touch !

[Hugh2]

thanks guys for great input ,

im considering that direct shoot EWR-CPT with United , i fly from DC so i got to add one leg

so can i check in 2 bags or 1 ? one "golf bag" and one with clothes and junk ?

Call United and ask!