SAA concedes inferior plane design
It's almost a month since I wrote to South African Airways' Thabo Boshomane and he's yet to reply. In my email to Thabo I pointed out that British Airways' plane design is better than theirs. Following the Qui tacet consentit (Silence indicates consent) principle, I conclude that Thabo concedes that British Airways' plane architecture is in fact better.
I flew on SA 332 today (21 February 2007) from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Cape Town International is a hive of activity, with the airport being reconstructed and expanded to ready it for Soccer World Cup 2010 (hopefully ACSA will also do something about reducing theft of luggage and the speed of baggage handling by 2010). While all the improvements are great to see, it does inconvenience one a bit in getting around at the airport – caveat for those using the valet parking facilities – be sure to build in an extra 5 minutes into your travelling time to wind your way to the entrance to the valet parking.
I was a bit confused at the SAA check-in, the spot where I (as a silver-card holder) normally check in now says “Star Alliance Gold” - oh well, nobody complained when I checked-in there, so I presume us silver-card holders are still allowed to check-in there. The friendly fella at the counter gave me seat 11C – the row immediately behind business class, but which still has business class size seats – what a pleasure and kudos to South African Airways.
I'm happy to see that SAA's business class lounge now supplies sandwiches – more kudos, I was getting a bit fat from stuffing myself with their Lay's chips and the cheese sandwiches are a welcome addition.