BA is one carrier that flies JFK-LHR-JNB-LVI not sure of the return routing, but probably CPT to LHR on back.
Delta flies JFK - ATL - JNB then you need to spend the night and catch a morning BA or SA flight from JNB to LVI. Return is various routes, most going via AMS.
Shortest duration flight from JFK is South African Airways (SAA) that connects in JNO to Livingstone (Zambia). We did not use a round trip ticket since this tour ends in Cape Town. You can fly back to JFK on several different carriers. SAA will fly you back to JNB [not JNO] to connect for its flight back to JFK and it is still the shortest duration. Delta will connect you through AMS and total trip length will take three hours more.
Shortest duration flight from JFK is South African Airways (SAA) that connects in JNO to Livingstone (Zambia). We did not use a round trip ticket since this tour ends in Cape Town. You can fly back to JFK on several different carriers. SAA will fly you back to JNO to connect for its flight back to JFK and it is still the shortest duration. Delta will connect you through AMS and total trip length will take three hours more.
I think you meant JNB (code for Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport), but you are correct, the SAA enroute time is the shortest and routing has only one stop each way. The outbound and return SAA flights from Capetown have 2-1/2 hr and 2 hr layovers in Jo'burg, respectively.
The A340-800 aircraft on the JFK flights has decent 2-2-2 seating in business class, but their new A330-300 aircraft used for the SAA flights between Dulles (IAD) and Jo'burg have new, really nice seats in business class. We would have flown with them if we lived closer to IAD, but it takes us a bit over 5 hours whether we drive from home or fly to IAD (2 legs) from our local feeder airport. SAA was a bit cheaper than Delta* but more than BA. However, in the end we went with Delta because our local airport feeds into Atlanta where we get a non-stop to Jo'burg. Then, the next morning, we catch a short flight on SAA to Livingstone (same flight as the last leg if we had flown SAA all the way.)
* We always get our tickets at the first opportunity- typically 330 days out. We booked about two months ago for May 2019 Botswana, and in the time since, Delta's business class fare has gone up between $2000 - $3000 per ticket!!!! (and that is for flights between Atlanta and Jo'burg only- the flight from our feeder to Atlanta is already booked!)
Yes. Thanks for the correction. It is JNB. We too buy our tickets as soon as they become available. We even saved money by purchasing the incoming and outgoing flights on separate tickets (because the carriers sometimes make money on the holding period between the flights since they arrive and embark from different airports).
BTW, We never saw any snakes on our earlier Africa trips. Our guides named an area where there are many snakes to be found, but it was not the southern end of the Okavango Delta.
BTW, We never saw any snakes on our earlier Africa trips. Our guides named an area where there are many snakes to be found, but it was not the southern end of the Okavango Delta.
SAA is reportedly having significant financial difficulty. I would suggest if you book with them, make sure you have good travel insurance that covers potential financial default.
SAA is reportedly having significant financial difficulty. I would suggest if you book with them, make sure you have good travel insurance that covers potential financial default.
True, they have had problems for a few years now- horrendous financial mismanagement. The gov't has had to bail them out at least once in the last two years. I don't know where they got the money for the new/refurb A330-300's.
Having flown for ten airlines, several of which went out of business, I stay away from Airlines in financial difficulty.
I will not bother detailing the reasons, as it should be fairly obvious.
Did anyone fly round trip for this journey from JFK and what airlines did you use.
Thanks
We wanted to go to Dubai on our way home for a few days visit, so our flights were as follows:
JetBlue- Buffalo to NYC, Emirates NYC to Dubai, Emirates Dubai to Lusaka, ProFlight Lusaka to Livingstone. I was worried about trying to make all of the connections as we would have been stuck in Lusaka overnight if we missed our connection, and in another thread there is a lot of info about the last leg on ProFlight. Everything worked out perfectly, and our carry-on bags weren't even weighed.
We had boarding passes only to Lusaka, and had to check in again for our last flight.
In hindsight, we wouldn't do it again - we were in the air and airports a total of 29 1/2 hours, and went way East to get to Dubai, then way west back to Livingstone. Exhausted by the time we arrived, and wishing we had an extra two days to recover from the flights instead of just one night before the tour started.
We stayed at the Royal Chundu, which is about an hour and 40 minutes out of town, but we knew that going in (a replacement hotel on only a few tours). What we didn't know, was that it was a very BUMPY ride the last 40 minutes.
It was a gorgeous resort, but we lost at least 3 hours round trip on any downtime at the hotel because of the 3 hour roundtrip drive to get to our tours, so that wasn't ideal.
I would stay at Royal Chundu again, if the roads were fixed and we weren't under such a time crunch - hardly used their facilities.
On our way back, we did Cape Town to Dubai, stayed a few days, then flew to NYC and then on to Buffalo.
Warning, the flight from Dubai to NYC is 12 1/2 hours down, and 13 1/2 hours back - a long time in a plane!
The South African Airways flight from JFK to Johannesburg is listed as 14 hours, 50 minutes. Fifteen hours is a long time to sit on a plane. (BTW, JetBlue and United Airlines are code-sharing this flight so I do not expect it to be cancelled in spite of SAA's financial difficulties.)
I flew South African Airways (JFK-JNB-CPT) as I had a 4-day pre-trip to Cape Town prior to the start of the tour). The return from Zambia used the JNB-JFK route (tour company got everyone back to Jo'Burg).
That said, my SA/Zambia trip was in 2010.... a lot has changed since then. It was an absolutely AMAZING trip!
I always use Tauck to book my airline tickets. They have the best prices on business class seats and you don't have to pay until 60 days prior to travel. There has been a significant difference on my last 4 trips in the Tauck price versus the price you pay if you book directly with the airlines. You can always cancel the Tauck hold on flight (up until 60 days prior to travel) if you find a last minute deal with the airlines.
Comments
Delta flies JFK - ATL - JNB then you need to spend the night and catch a morning BA or SA flight from JNB to LVI. Return is various routes, most going via AMS.
Haven't done it yet.
I think you meant JNB (code for Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport), but you are correct, the SAA enroute time is the shortest and routing has only one stop each way. The outbound and return SAA flights from Capetown have 2-1/2 hr and 2 hr layovers in Jo'burg, respectively.
The A340-800 aircraft on the JFK flights has decent 2-2-2 seating in business class, but their new A330-300 aircraft used for the SAA flights between Dulles (IAD) and Jo'burg have new, really nice seats in business class. We would have flown with them if we lived closer to IAD, but it takes us a bit over 5 hours whether we drive from home or fly to IAD (2 legs) from our local feeder airport. SAA was a bit cheaper than Delta* but more than BA. However, in the end we went with Delta because our local airport feeds into Atlanta where we get a non-stop to Jo'burg. Then, the next morning, we catch a short flight on SAA to Livingstone (same flight as the last leg if we had flown SAA all the way.)
* We always get our tickets at the first opportunity- typically 330 days out. We booked about two months ago for May 2019 Botswana, and in the time since, Delta's business class fare has gone up between $2000 - $3000 per ticket!!!! (and that is for flights between Atlanta and Jo'burg only- the flight from our feeder to Atlanta is already booked!)
BTW, We never saw any snakes on our earlier Africa trips. Our guides named an area where there are many snakes to be found, but it was not the southern end of the Okavango Delta.
; ~ )
True, they have had problems for a few years now- horrendous financial mismanagement. The gov't has had to bail them out at least once in the last two years. I don't know where they got the money for the new/refurb A330-300's.
I will not bother detailing the reasons, as it should be fairly obvious.
We wanted to go to Dubai on our way home for a few days visit, so our flights were as follows:
JetBlue- Buffalo to NYC, Emirates NYC to Dubai, Emirates Dubai to Lusaka, ProFlight Lusaka to Livingstone. I was worried about trying to make all of the connections as we would have been stuck in Lusaka overnight if we missed our connection, and in another thread there is a lot of info about the last leg on ProFlight. Everything worked out perfectly, and our carry-on bags weren't even weighed.
We had boarding passes only to Lusaka, and had to check in again for our last flight.
In hindsight, we wouldn't do it again - we were in the air and airports a total of 29 1/2 hours, and went way East to get to Dubai, then way west back to Livingstone. Exhausted by the time we arrived, and wishing we had an extra two days to recover from the flights instead of just one night before the tour started.
We stayed at the Royal Chundu, which is about an hour and 40 minutes out of town, but we knew that going in (a replacement hotel on only a few tours). What we didn't know, was that it was a very BUMPY ride the last 40 minutes.
It was a gorgeous resort, but we lost at least 3 hours round trip on any downtime at the hotel because of the 3 hour roundtrip drive to get to our tours, so that wasn't ideal.
I would stay at Royal Chundu again, if the roads were fixed and we weren't under such a time crunch - hardly used their facilities.
On our way back, we did Cape Town to Dubai, stayed a few days, then flew to NYC and then on to Buffalo.
Warning, the flight from Dubai to NYC is 12 1/2 hours down, and 13 1/2 hours back - a long time in a plane!
That said, my SA/Zambia trip was in 2010.... a lot has changed since then. It was an absolutely AMAZING trip!
I always use Tauck to book my airline tickets. They have the best prices on business class seats and you don't have to pay until 60 days prior to travel. There has been a significant difference on my last 4 trips in the Tauck price versus the price you pay if you book directly with the airlines. You can always cancel the Tauck hold on flight (up until 60 days prior to travel) if you find a last minute deal with the airlines.
Enjoy your travels!
-Robin