British Airways South Africa

British Airways v SAA
Battle of the full service carriers

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.

BA flight reviews

29 Feb 2012	We paid nothing for our BA flight to Durban, which we booked on a Kulula special
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 flight specials

		JNB-CPT	JNB-DUR	JNB-NLP	JNB-PLZ	CPT-DUR
31 Jan 2012 BA Apr 2012 flights	Flight prices of Comair BA in April 2012	R1057	R863	-	R977	R1091

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 & Excess Baggage Charges on BA Comair routes only
Cabin / Traveller type	Allowance	Extra Bag Fee Online	Extra Bag Fees Airport	Heavy Bag Charge Airport Only
Club (ex SA)	2 Bags	GBP30 / USD43	R350	R250
Club (ex Regional)	2 bags	GBP30 / USD43	GBP35 or USD50 as applicable	GBP20 or USD30 as applicable
Traveller (ex SA)	1 Bag	GBP30 / USD43	R350	R250
Traveller (ex Regional)	1 Bag	GBP30 / USD43	GBP35 or USD50 as applicable	GBP20 or USD30 as applicable
Loyalty Programme BA Executive Club (Silver & Gold) AA & IB (Platinum, Plus Gold)	2 Bags	GBP30 / USD43	R350 ex SA GBP35 / USD50 ex regional	R250 GBP20 / USD30 ex regional *Waived for BA Exex Gold/Silver, AA Exec Platinum, IB Plus Platinum
Children	Same as adult allowance + pushchair + car seat	----	R350 ex SA GBP35 / USD50 ex regional	R250 GBP20 / USD30 ex regional
Infants	1 Bag allowance + pushchair + car seat	Cannot purchase extra bags	N/A	R250 GBP20 / USD30 ex regional
Sports & Music Equipment	Part of free checked baggage	GBP30 / USD43	R350 ex SA GBP35 / USD50 ex regional	R250 GBP20 / USD30 ex regional
Pets	Not part of free checked baggage	N/A airport only	Handling Fee R350 Pet + container Domestic only	R250 Domestic only
Firearms Sporting & Hunting Personal Firearms	Not part of free checked baggage	N/A airport only	Handling Fee R350 R120 Domestic R250 Regional	R250

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 737-200	4
Boeing 737-300	7
Boeing 737-400	2

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 Dar es Salaam	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