Johannesburg - Cape Town |
SouthAfrica.TO survey |
1time airline |
British Airways |
Kulula airline |
Mango airline |
Nationwide |
SAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R 749 |
R 1394 |
R 638 |
R 834 |
R 923 |
R 670 |
Lanseria airport is cheaper than OR Tambo
If you're looking for the cheapest flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town it is not from OR Tambo International Airport, it's from Lanseria airport. In this survey of flights leaving Johannesburg for Cape Town on the evening of the 2nd November, Kulula flight MN455 leaving Lanseria airport at 1945 and arriving in Cape Town at 2155 is the cheapest.
OR Tambo is greedy
In fact Kulula is charging R599 from Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport and from Lanseria airport. What makes the flights from OR Tambo airport more expensive is the fact that airport taxes at OR Tambo are 77% higher than at Lanseria airport. OR Tambo charges R69 per passenger against the R39 per passenger at Lanseria airport.
We gave Kulula airline a lot of flack for not including airport taxes in its flight prices, as we believe that a lot of people will get confused by this (1time airline have milked this point). Kulula's argument is that they want to highlight the high airport taxes which are being charged - this argument has merit, but we think they could have pointed out the exhorbitant airport taxes at the same time as showing flight prices including airport taxes.
Been a while since Kulula was cheapest
It's been a while since a Kulula flight was the cheapest (we were starting to wonder whether it's still a low-cost carrier). The last time Kulula airlines offered the cheapest flight was in our 21st July 2007 comparison of flights from Cape Town to Durban:
Survey date |
Flight date |
Flight route |
Cheapest airline |
Cheapest price |
17 Aug 2007 |
Kulula airline |
R 288 |
||
24 Aug 2007 |
Nationwide airline |
R 315 |
||
28 Aug 2007 |
Nationwide airline |
R 511 |
||
7 Sep 2007 |
Nationwide airline |
R 630 |
||
14 Sep 2007 |
Nationwide airline |
R 409 |
||
21 Sep 2007 |
Johannesburg to Cape Town flights |
Nationwide airline |
R 1241 |
|
28 Sep 2007 |
Cape Town to Durban flights |
Mango airline |
R 639 |
|
5 Oct 2007 |
Durban to Johannesburg flights |
1time airline |
R 369 |
|
12 Oct 2007 |
Cape Town to Johannesburg flights |
1time airline |
R 499 |
|
19 Oct 2007 |
Durban to Cape Town flights |
Nationwide airline |
R 630 |
|
26 Oct 2007 |
Johannesburg to Durban flights |
Nationwide airline |
R 409 |
|
6 Oct 2007 |
2 Nov 2007 |
Johannesburg to Cape Town flights |
Kulula airline |
R 638 |
Cheap flights from London to Cape Town
In our 2 October 2007 comparison of flight prices from London to Cape Town, flight prices have come down nicely. Air France, British Airways and KLM flights are no longer the cheapest - Qatar Airways are charging £541 (via Doha, not a direct flight).
Survey date |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 Oct 2007 |
£621 |
£794 |
£768 |
£583 |
£586 |
£568 |
£889 |
£541 |
£768 |
£794 |
£565 |
£794 |
£888 |
£2931 |
£566 |
£875 |
£1057 |
£771 |
£908 |
£898 |
|
£579 |
£501 |
£768 |
- |
£522 |
£671 |
£817 |
£531 |
£768 |
£744 |
|
£519 |
£791 |
£763 |
- |
£519 |
£668 |
£650 |
£768 |
£789 |
£791 |
|
£509 |
£791 |
£763 |
- |
£509 |
£752 |
1039 |
£767 |
2864 |
£791 |
Press release
We were so chuffed about breaking into the top 1000 websites in South Africa that we submitted a press release about it. Given that this is the third press release we've done, we also decided to set up a webpage which lists all SouthAfrica.TO's press releases. And, in the midst of the celebrations about SouthAfrica.TO breaking into the top 1000 sites, let us not forget our sister site, Airflights.TO, which is now ranked in the top million sites worldwide (867,455) - agteros kom ook in die wa (the last ox also joins the wagon).
Glenn, we are rather fond of your enterprise - 1time airline
We were dissapointed to see that 1time airline didn't have any group on Facebook, so we've started a facebook group called "Glenn, we are rather fond of your enterprise - 1time airline". We also have a Facebook group for Cheap Flights South Africa.
Aviation-related on the internet
Untoward feelings on a flight to Johannesburg
On planes one is forced to sit inches away from strangers, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. After consuming two Lunestra pills and two beers (happy hour) on a redeye flight from Madrid to Johannesburg, Randy explains how he started getting untoward feelings towards his neighbour.
Cape Town vs Johannesburg
After a "quirky" Kulula flight, Goit Walemfrik (from Gauteng) gives his take on the Cape Town versus Johannesburg debate - "...beautifully restored old buildings...no hint of fear in the people who live and work in the city...the impression of a working solution to the racial harmony issue is tangible...a pride there and it is driving the place forward."
Top nine ways to get booted off a plane
Some ways of getting thrown off a flight are better than others. Jim Benning shares the best ones he's heard of. Our favourite is Lorrie Heasley on a Southwest flight from Reno, wearing her “Meet the Fockers” t-shirt (except it wasn't quite spelled like that) with photos of Bush and Cheney on it (apparently nobody complained at LAX...gotta choose your airports carefully when wearing a shirt like that).
International flying news
Very cheap London to Paris flights
London to Paris flights are the cheapest since we've started surveying this flight route (July 2007). Both British Airways flights (from London Heathrow) and easyJet flights (from London Luton) are less than half what they were in the last survey.
Survey date |
Flight date |
||||||
26 Oct 2007 |
£78 |
£45.80 |
£40.99 ¹ |
£343 |
£34.00 |
£154.50 |
|
19 Oct 2007 |
£374 |
£100.80 |
£89.99 ¹ |
£342 |
£34.00 |
£154.50 |
|
12 Oct 2007 |
£374 |
£89.80 |
£89.99 ¹ |
£342 |
£34.00 |
£154.50 |
|
5 Oct 2007 |
£374 |
£57 |
£65 ¹ |
£342 |
£34.00 |
£154.50 |
An airline which never crashes or loses your bags
In India, 99% of people can never afford to go on a flight. To help give them an idea of being on a plane, Bahadur Chand Gupta bought (pieces of) an old Airbus 340 from an insurance company. Gupta charges R30 a person to go on board. The only authentic part of the trip is that the toilets don't work.
Tony Ryan dies
Tony Ryan, who co-founded Ryanair in May 1985, died on the 3rd October 2007 at the age of 71. Tony Ryan was listed in the Sunday Time 2007 list as the 7th richest person in Ireland.
Michael O' Leary said that “Tony Ryan was one of the greatest Irishmen of the 20th Century. His many achievements in business, education, sport, the arts and heritage preservation leave an astonishing legacy to an extraordinary man. He was immensely supportive of, and took great pride in his family and their many successes. It was a privilege to work for him and to learn from him. I will miss his guidance, encouragement and friendship. We are all determined that Ryanair will continue to carry his name with pride and distinction”.
David Bonderman (Ryanair’s Chairman) said that “It has been a pleasure and a privilege both to know and work with Tony Ryan. He possessed an extraordinary vision. Whether it was airline investments in Asia, vineyards in Europe or bloodstock in the U.S., he brought a tremendous sense of style, charm and good humour to all of his business and personal relationships. Ireland will be a poorer place for the loss of Tony Ryan”.
Emirates - connecting the continents
On the 1st October 2007 a milestone was reached with Emirates flights - they commenced a flight between Sao Paulo and Dubai, connecting South America with Asia, and meaning that they now have flights from Dubai to every continent (except Antarctica).
a Silvilised BA advert
In a rather cheeky move, Silverjet airline. has copied a British Airways iconic advert harking from 1989, where thousands of people gathered together to form a smiling face. Silverjet airline forms a similar face with only 5 people, illustrating the fact that its planes are less crowded.
Ibiza, business people love the budget airlines
"In the clubbing land of Ibiza, business people love the budget airlines. Yet years of mass tourism are clearly taking their toll. Much of the tap water tastes salty and has a funny odour: the result of seawater infiltrating the overused wells." extract from Lois Jones' book "easyJet: The story of Britain's biggest low-cost airline".
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