For his first blog entry, Mr Cheap Flights South Africa thought he'd examine the current price war between Mango airlines, 1-time and Kulula.com and see how cheaply it is possible to purchase a return ticket from Johannesburg to Cape Town, South Africa's most popular route. Let's assume a weekend away leaving on Friday night at as close to 2000 as possible, and coming back on Sunday as close to 1600 as possible (after spending a weekend frolicking on Clifton beach). Mr Cheap Flights South Africa, being himself, decided also to compare the cheapest prices on those dates.
|
Leaving Fri 2000, Returning Sun 1600 |
Cheapest times, same dates |
|---|---|---|
Kulula |
R1,858 |
R797 (leaving 2130 Fri, returning 0700 Sun) |
1time |
R1,098 |
R998 (leaving 2100 Fri, returning 1000 Sun) |
Mango |
R1,498 |
R1498 |
SAA |
R1,589 (R409 to pay for ACSA to steal goods) |
R1,099 (leaving 0725 Fri, returning 1940 Sun) |
Nationwide |
R1,687 |
R1,254 (leaving 0915 Fri, returning 1710 Sun) |
South African Airways annoyingly does not include airport taxes in its fees, which means there was more work involved in figuring out their total fees. However, it is quite clear that 1time is by some margin the cheapest flying at "normal times", whilst Kulula is (also by some margin) the cheapest if you're willing to fly at the crack of dawn. If it's not going into getting the cheapest flights, one has to wonder where all those tax rands supporting SAA and Mango airlines are going (perhaps Mr Alec Erwin should rather spend the money on service delivery).