British Airways cheapest |
SouthAfrica.TO survey |
We don't understand why it's happening, but it's happening - British Airways are offering the cheapest flight prices from Cape Town to Johannesburg - sometimes you've just got to enjoy the ice-cream whilst it's on your plate - British Airways offer the best ride and also the cheapest flight this week.
Flights from Cape town to Johannesburg |
Bus trips from Cape Town to Johannesburg |
||
British Airways |
550 |
Baz Bus (7 day pass) |
1020 |
Kulula.com |
868 |
390 |
|
Mango Airlines |
696 |
460 |
|
Nationwide Airlines |
586 |
475 |
|
1time Airline |
679 |
250 |
|
SAA - South African Airways |
747 |
500 |
|
British Airway flight BA6400 leaving Cape Town on the 28th March 2008 at 1900 and arriving in Johannesburg at 2200 costs R550 (even cheaper than Kulula.com, which is meant to be the low cost carrier in the Comair group).
Not the first time British Airways have been cheapest
Although South African Airways (SAA) have never had the cheapest flight prices in our surveys, this is not the first time that British Airways have had the cheapest prices in our flight surveys:
Survey date |
Flight date |
Flight route |
British Airways flight price |
Average flight price |
1 Mar 2008 |
28 Mar 2008 |
Cape Town to Johannesburg |
550 |
676 |
8 Dec 2007 |
4 Jan 2008 |
Cape Town to Johannesburg |
1200 |
1412 |
1 Dec 2007 |
28 Dec 2007 |
Durban to Johannesburg |
410 |
542 |
14 Dec 2007 |
Johannesburg to Cape Town |
867 |
1298 |
SA Roadlink provides the cheapest bus trip
As usual, SA Roadlink provides the cheapest bus trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg (R250, less than half the cheapest flight, and it is the greener option).
Hotel prices in Cape town
Once you get to Cape Town you might be looking for accommodation. Here's a selection of hotel prices in Cape Town, for one adult for the night of the 28th March 2008 (prices subject to change):
Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge |
Courtyard Cape Town |
City Lodge V&A Waterfront |
Town Lodge Bellville |
Road Lodge Cape Town Airport |
Southern Sun V&A Waterfront |
StayEasy Century City |
Holiday Inn Garden Court De Waal |
Sun International The Table Bay (Waterfront) |
955 |
no rooms |
831 |
532 |
355 |
1710 |
546 |
fully booked |
fully booked |
As is to be expected, the Road Lodge at Cape Town International Airport offers the cheapest night's stay, at R355.
Car hire prices in Cape Town
When you arrive at Cape Town International Airport, you may wish to hire a car. Here's some car rental prices for the weekend starting the 28th March 2008 (car rental prices can and do change over time):
Hertz car rental |
National Car |
Tempest car hire |
Thrifty car rental |
||
513 |
330 |
333 |
358 |
326 |
386 |
Once again Tempest car hire are offering the cheapest rental car.
Kulula come to their senses
In July 2007 Kulula made a decision to start excluding airport taxes from their advertised flight prices. At SouthAfrica.to, we were rather vocal about the fact that we thought it was a step backwards. Now, 8 months later, Kulula have quietly come to their senses and are including airport taxes again...we suspect that 1time 
airline will be taking down this notice off their website one of these days (they obviously haven't realised yet, that Kulula is now including airport taxes):
SAA & BA planes at Johannesburg Airport
SAA and BA are fierce competitors. Here's a photo of a British Airways and South African Airways plane parked side to side, ready to do battle. Above them are cranes, constructing a bigger battlefield. The planes are parked at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport. The photo was taken on the 19th January 2008.
Drugs at Johannesburg Airport
A hundred and twenty kilograms of cocaine were discovered at Johannesburg Airport (Oliver Reginald Tambo would not be pleased), after a tipoff from Sao Paulo police. The cocaine was found after a tip-off from Sao Paulo police (Brazil), in the cargo hold of an SAA plane on a flight from Sao Paulo to Johannesburg. According to labelling on the package, the drugs were destined for Durban. Hopefully this isn't the driving force behind the Sao-Paulo to Johannesburg flight route being so profitable to SAA. (as reported by SAA in the start of its restructuring in June 2007).
On the web
"1time only been on time one time"
"Glad to be a girl" couldn't resist cracking one of those corny 1time jokes we love so much that we created a 1time Facebook group for them (we hope she joins it). Strangely enough, 1time had left behind the luggage in order to pack more fuel on the flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town...we hadn't heard this was happening. Glad to be a girl seems to be a nice girl too - she bought a return flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg for her Mom to visit. She also describes the plethora of places she visited in the Mother City - Noordhoek via Ou Kaapse Weg, Hout Bay, Chapmans Peak, the Lookout Deck, La Med, Five Flies restaurant and bar, Franschoek, Hillcrest Berry Orchard, Plaisir de Merle, Lynx and Essence restaurant and coffee bar.
UCT students take a Baz Bus tour of the Garden route
Liv shares her tale of how she and a bunch of American girls took the Baz Bus along the Garden route, amongst other things going kloofing (see picture):
-
apparently the Baz Bus runs on African time...i.e. it's own time "like everything else in South Africa"
-
the Baz Bus driver fell in love with Lindsay, who everybody now refers to as "Leen-say"
-
met a 60-year old guy who for some reason lives in a shared dorm of a hostel, and made hits on the American girls
-
their kloofing guide was nice but dumb (he threw a stone at a bee's nest)
-
all the students fell in love with the Fairy Knowe hostel in Wilderness
-
watched two South Africans arm-wrestling in a pub in Knysna for R100
International flying news
Michael O'Leary (and hence Ryanair flights) relationship with Boeing
"Where Boeing sees him as a saviour, as the perfect customer who will promote their cause with evangelical zeal across Europe, extolling the virtues of their 737 over the rival attractions of Airbus's A320, he sees Boeing as a deal. Where they seek a close customer relationship, a bond that will see them through the rough times together, he seeks ever-lower costs. O'Leary will stand and deliver for Boeing in Europe, he will tell anyone who cares to listen that Boeing's planes are the best, but in return he wants discounts, not love." Alan Ruddock explaining Michael O'Leary's (the man who runs Ryanair airline) relationship with Boeing in his book: "A Life in Full Flight
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