Mango from Cape town to Johannesburg

9 August 2007. Immediately on boarding the Mango flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg we agreed that we would rather next time pay an extra R100 and fly 1Time, Kulula or Nationwide - the seats are just too cramped next to one another, making for an unpleasant trip. It's not so bad when you're a student who's willing to get into a sardine can to save a few Rands; but when you're trying to accomodate a baby on your lap, breast feeding and all your gear, there simply is not enough room to facilitate a happy flight.

Flight prices

We paid R652 for our two Mango Airlines tickets (infants travel free) from Cape Town to Johannesburg, which works out to R326 each. This compares to an average flight price (for the low cost carriers) from Cape Town to Johannesburg of R489 (this year, 2007) - of course the surveys are carried out on Friday evenings and we flew Thursday midday, so one would expect our ticket prices to be a bit less.

Mango Airlines' Zimbabwe style queues

Mango Airlines created a little Zimbabwe at Cape Town International - the length of the check-in queue provides a good practise session if you are just about to visit Robert Mugabe's country. Not hiring sufficient check-in staff seems to be one of the ways in which Mango Airlines keep ticket prices down, but passengers pay for it with their time (and time is money). We've never waited in a long queue when flying British Airways South Africa, and the long check-in queue is something to remember to factor in when deciding whether to fly with Mango Airlines.

Mango Airlines flight was late

Mango Airlines' flight was some 30 minutes late to take off - to the pilot's credit he caught up some time in the air (of course this costs the airline and the atmosphere, as they have to burn extra fuel to travel faster).

Lucky Mango draw

Because it was Woman's Day, Mango Airline had a lucky draw for all the ladies on board the plane. We didn't win and couldn't see what the prize was either, as it was concealed in a brown paper bag (not unlike those which adult stores use to conceal the contents of their clientele's purchases).