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British Airways v SAA Battle of the full service carriers

British Airways Flights

British Airways is a UK based airline, predominantly operating flights from London. Its South African franchise is run by Comair (which also flies the Kulula brand). Make your bookings on the British Airways site.

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BA flight reviews

Views expressed here are not necessarily those of South Africa Travel Online:

22 Apr 2013	I live in Cape Town and fly every week to Jhb. For 10 years my Business partner and I have loyally always only used SAA. Six months ago I switched to British Airways for the simple reason that when changing a flight there is no charge. SAA charges anything from R700 upwards for changing , and this is despite that it is the same class ticket. SAA lost 2 very loyal clients . A Big heads up for British Airways for getting it right. Best Regards, Hennie
23 Jan 2013	A great flight on British Airways, after realising that ginger whisky drinks were free!
29 Mar 2012	We paid nothing for our BA flight to Durban, which we booked on a Kulula special, but nearly had to pay something at check-in for an overweight bag.
27 Nov 2011	Our Federal Air flight to Vilankulo ended up being a wet lease with British Airways, so we got to do an unexpected review of a BA Comair ATR 72. The staff were absolutely brilliant, even playing peekabook with our baby :)
20 May 2011	Want to know the difference between BA & Mango? On my BA CPT-DUR flight my neighbour drank 6 whiskeys and spent the flight talking about purchasing an iPad, on my Mango DUR-CPT my neighbour spent the flight moaning that there was no brandy being served.

29 Apr 2011	I wasn't originally going to do a review of this British Airways Nelspruit - Johannesburg flight, but it went so smoothly that there wasn't too much to write about :)
25 Apr 2011	Well done to the British Airways staff on getting us a snackbox to munch during this very short BA Nelspruit flight. They've only been flying the route since May 2010 and it was exciting experiencing it for our first time.
5 Feb 2010	BA are cheapest on this Durban to Cape Town flight, and made a good sandwich too.
6 Dec 2009	British Airways showers themselves in glory on this JNB-CPT flight, whey they help our crying toddler.
18 Jun 2008	BA plane slips off the runway at Durban Airport.
12 Apr 2008	British Airways usually cheapest from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

Latest British Airways news

30 Jun 2013. BA commences 2 weekly flights to Larnaca from London Gatwick. The flights are in A319s.

Latest British Airways flight specials

Unless it's the early morning of the date below, it's likely that these flight prices have changed.

Latest 1-way BA Comair specials		JNB-CPT	JNB-DUR	JNB-LHR	JNB-MRU	JNB-PLZ	JNB-VFA	CPT-DUR
19 May 2013. First look at British Airways flight prices in 2014. For those wanting to get back to work, here's the cheapest BA flight prices we could find on Sunday the 5th January 2014.		R1254	R864	R8482	no flights	R1140	R1840	R1311

Special meals on BA Comair flights

Since 15 March 2012 Woolworth meals have no longer been served on board British Airways Comair flights. Instead, Food Directions, Comair's homegrown catering company, will be providing the food.

In Traveller on short sectors which are less than one hour (JNB-DUR, DUR-JNB, DUR-PLZ, PLZ-DUR), the only special meal British Airways will offer is Kosher.  In Club the follow special meals will apply:

MOML - Moslem	KSML - Kosher
CHML - Child	DBML - Diabetic
VGML - Vegetarian	HNML - Hindu
GFML - Gluten free	LFML - Low cholesterol

For longer trips for both Club & Traveller, the above listed special meals will be offered.

British Airways' contact details for reservations

Call centre	+27 11 921 0222
OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg)	+27 11 971 8200
Johannesburg head office	+27 11 921 0111
Email	badomesticregional@comair.co.za

Remember to compare airline prices.

BA Comair luggage policy

2011-11-04 Customers travelling on BA Comair flights are entitled to a Free Checked Baggage Allowance restricted by number of pieces determined by Cabin and Traveller type. The checked bag is restricted to dimensions of 90cm(L) x 75cm (W) x 43cm (H) and 23kg in weight. Bags that weigh more than 23kg but less than 32kg will be charged a Heavy Bag Charge. Bags that weigh more than 32kg must be transported as cargo. Bags carried in addition to the Free Checked Baggage Allowance will be charged an Extra Bag Fee.

Checked Baggage Allowance on BA Comair routes only
Cabin / Traveller type	Allowance
Club (from South Africa)	2 Bags
Club (ex Regional)	2 bags
Traveller (from South Africa)	1 Bag
Traveller (ex Regional)	1 Bag
Loyalty Programme BA Executive Club (Silver & Gold) AA & IB (Platinum, Plus Gold)	2 Bags
Children	Same as adult allowance + pushchair + car seat
Infants	1 Bag allowance + pushchair + car seat
Sports & Music Equipment	Part of free checked baggage
For pets see BA Pet Travel	Not part of free checked baggage
Firearms Sporting & Hunting Personal Firearms	Not part of free checked baggage

For full details on checked baggage items please refer to www.ba.com (which are also the official details, in cases of differences with the above)

Hand Baggage: Restricted to 1 piece per customer (weighing no more than 7kg with dimensions 56cm x 36cm x 23cm (115cm) + handbag or laptop or briefcase. 

LOFO (Last On First Off): LOFO bags will no longer be permitted onboard BA Comair flights. Customers who exceed their hand baggage allowance (weight, size or pieces) will be referred back to check-in to check this baggage in and will pay any applicable fees. This may result in the customer being offloaded and any expenses incurred will be at the expense of the customer. In the event that Comair carries hand baggage in the aircraft hold due to unforeseen circumstances then all valuables must be removed from the baggage as Comair does not accept liability for loss of valuables carried in checked baggage as per Comair’s Conditions of Carriage.

British Airways' Executive Club

British Airways offers frequent flier miles to members of its executive club (their equivalent of South African Airways' Voyager program). Click on this link to enrol in British Airways Club Class and start enjoying the benefits (miles, seperate check-in queues at some airports, etc...).

British Airways' Skytrax rating

British Airways flights have a 4 star rating with Skytrax. In a Skytrax 2007 survey, British Airways was voted the 10th best airline in the world (after Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Qantas, Malaysia Airlines, Air New Zealand, China Airlines and Emirates).

British Airways flight routes

British Airways (run by Comair Limited) operates flights from Johannesburg to Durban, Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg to Cape Town, Johannesburg to Harare, Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, Johannesburg to Livingstone, Johannesburg to Windhoek, and Cape Town to Durban. On the international side, it operates flights from Cape Town to London and Johannesburg to London.

British Airways' (South Africa) aircraft

Boeing 737-300	4
Boeing 737-400	6
Boeing 737-800	8

Boeing 737-300

Capacity	116
Engines	CFM 56-3B2
Cruise Speed	900 km/h
Length	33.5 meters
Wingspan	28.9 meters

Boeing 737-400

Capacity	127
Engines	CFM 56-3C1
Cruise Speed	900 km/h
Length	36.5 meters
Wingspan	28.9 meters

Boeing 737-800

Capacity	189
Engines	CFMI CFM56-7
Cruise Speed	900 km/h
Length	39.5 meters
Wingspan	35.8 meters

 

Maintenance of aircraft

South African Technical (SAT) have been appointed to repair and maintain the aircraft of British Airways South Africa.

British Airways versus South African Airways

In SouthAfrica.TO's experience British Airways offers superior service in terms of aircraft design, meals, check-in queues and marketing. Here's our analysis of British Airways versus South African Airways.

British Airways flight routes

British Airways offers flights from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.

British Airways Cape Town flights

Cape Town to Durban	Cape Town to Johannesburg
Cape Town to London	Cape Town to Port Elizabeth

British Airways Durban flights

Durban to Cape Town	Durban to Johannesburg
Durban to London	Durban to Port Elizabeth

British Airways Johannesburg flights

Johannesburg to Cape Town		Johannesburg to Durban
Johannesburg Lanseria to Gaborone		Johannesburg to Harare
Johannesburg to Livingstone	Johannesburg to London	Johannesburg Lanseria to Maputo (suspended from 17 Jan 2012)
Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth		Johannesburg to Victoria Falls

British Airways Port Elizabeth flights

Port Elizabeth to Cape Town

Port Elizabeth to Durban

Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg