Kulula.com cheapest yet again

12 Sep 2008 flights
surveyed 16 Aug

For the fourth time in a row (including an ad-hoc flight survey on the 2nd August), Kulula.com are offering the cheapest flight - this time from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

Flights from Cape town to Johannesburg		Bus & train trips from Cape Town to Johannesburg
British Airways economy class	1168	Baz Bus (7 day pass)	1200
Interlink Airline economy class	698	City to City bus	380
Kulula.com economy class	679	Greyhound bus	450
Mango Airlines economy class	688	Intercape bus	500
1time Airline economy class	798	SA Roadlink bus	299
South African Airways economy class	886	Translux bus	450
British Airways business class Interlink Airline business class South African Airways business class	2889 1709 2162	Shosholoza Meyl train Premier Classe train	350 1730

We examined 12 Sep 2008 flights leaving Cape Town for Johannesburg between 1729 and 2031. Kulula.com offers the cheapest economy class seat (at R679) and Interlink Airline offers the cheapest business class seat (R1709).

SA Roadlink are cheapest

The very cheapest way of getting from Cape Town to Johannesburg (other than hitchiking) is with SA Roadlink (R299) - I personally would rather pay R350 and take the Shosholoza Meyl train (lower frequency of accidents).

Board	Destination	Board Date	Time	Arrival Date	Time	Carrier	Service No	Class	Fare
Cape Town	Johannesburg	12 Sep 2008	10:00	13 Sep 2008	05:00	RL	2603	LUXURY	299
Cape Town	Johannesburg	12 Sep 2008	14:00	13 Sep 2008	07:30	RL	2651	LUXURY	350
Cape Town	Johannesburg	12 Sep 2008	16:30	13 Sep 2008	18:20	RL	9001	LUXURY	299
Cape Town	Johannesburg	12 Sep 2008	17:30	13 Sep 2008	11:55	RL	2601	LUXURY	350

Canada to Cape Town

Bonita travelled from Toronto (Canada) to Cape Town (via Frankfurt) and tells us the story. She named the South African Airways flight from Frankfurt to Cape Town as being the best she's been on...with its top-notch cuisine being singled out for special praise (we hope she's right - we're travelling on an SAA flight from Cape Town to London in September). Unfortuanately Bonita arrived in Cape Town to a downpour of rain (it was that time of year). She's staying in Tableview, Cape Town, and is shocked by the contrast between the wealthy and the poor in Cape Town.

Table Mountain view across from Table Bay

Imperial Car Rental Johannesburg

Imperial Car Rental are a local South African car rental agency, which has a partnership with Europcar. Here's a photo of Imperial's offices at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport. [Editor: This newsletter was produced before Imperial Car Rental rebranded as Europcar in 2009].

Giving the Easter Bunny's job to Father Christmas

"SAA's new chief exec was as pale as anybody at a National Party rally in 1963. Here was a thing. In the post-apartheid backswing of the late nineties, appointing a caucasian to a symbolic parastatal chair was as symbolic as giving the Easter Bunny's job to Father Christmas." Denis Beckett on Coleman Andrews being appointed as chief executive of SAA, from his book called "JETLAG: SA Airways in the Andrews era".