Interlink Airline rocks

SouthAfrica.TO survey 1 Aug 2008 flights surveyed on 5 Jul 2007

Why fly with anybody but Interlink Airline? Not only did this brave little airline start up Cape Town - Johannesburg flights at a time when all other airlines were complaining about high oil prices and some were going into liquidation, but it also is offering by far the lowest prices. In fact, the all-in prices which Interlink Airline charges are lower than the taxes South African Airways includes in its flight prices! Unbelievably, it is cheaper to fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg with Interlink Airlines, than it is to take the bus with Translux!

Flights from Cape town to Johannesburg		Bus & train trips from Cape Town to Johannesburg
British Airways economy class	1136	Baz Bus (7 day pass)	1200
Interlink Airline economy class	398	City to City bus	360
Kulula.com economy class	759	Greyhound bus	450
Mango Airlines economy class	769	Intercape bus	450
1time Airline economy class	730	SA Roadlink bus	499
South African Airways economy class	891	Translux bus	450
British Airways business class South African Airways business class	2857 2247	Premier Classe train	1380

SAA taxes are higher than Interlink total price

We are flabbergasted by the fact that the "taxes" which South African Airways (SAA) illustrates in its ticket price is higher than the total price which Interlink Airlines is charging. SAA indicates that taxes of R401 in the ticket below.

Now compare the R401 taxes SAA indicates (above) to the total flight price which Interlink Airlines are charging of R398 (below)!

Business class flights

The cost of business class flights has increased since our last survey of the Cape Town to Johannesburg route, but SAA is once again cheaper than BA for business class flights.

Premier Classe train trips

You may have noticed that we slipped in the prices for the Premier Classe train, which travels between Cape Town and Johannesburg. For the first time SouthAfrica.to is now covering not only flights and bus trips, but also trains. Below is a map of the route the Premier Classe travels from Cape Town to Johannesburg. The train stops at Worcester, Matjiesfontein, Beaufort West, De Aar, Kimberley and Klerksdorp.

Baz Bus price increase

This year we've seen flight price increases and bus price increases, but the one constant has been the Baz Bus ticket prices for a seven day pass has remained constant at R1020...well, no more, this week it increased its price to R1200.

City to City cheapest bus

The cheapest bus trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg is the City to City bus, at R360...if not for City to City, all buses would be more expensive than Interlink Airline flights!

Departure	Destination	Full Price	Departure Date & Time	Arrival Date & Time	Carrier
CAPE TOWN	JOHANNESBURG	360.00	01 August - 11h00	02 August - 05h15	City to City bus
CAPE TOWN	JOHANNESBURG	460.00	01 August - 16h00	02 August - 09h55	Translux bus
CAPE TOWN	JOHANNESBURG	450.00	01 August - 18h00	02 August - 12h10	Translux bus

Johannesburg Car Hire

So you arrive at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport, and even though you don't see anybody brandishing automatic weapons, you decide not to hitchhike...so which car hire agency should you go with...

Rental period	Europcar South Africa	Avis car hire	Budget rent a car	Hertz car rental	First Car Rental	Imperial car rental (now called Europcar)	Tempest car hire	Thrifty car rental
1 Aug 2008 3 Aug 2008	423	329	333	362	332	423	331	386

Europcar South Africa is now sharing a site with Imperial car rental, so they have the same prices. Avis car hire is still cheapest, but their price has gone up R2 to R329 for the weekend. After their site was down last time, Hert car rental is coming in at R362 this week.

Johannesburg hotel prices

There are a number of hotel options for anybody in transit near the airport, as well as further afield:

Night	City Lodge Joburg Airport	Town Lodge Joburg Airport	Road Lodge Joburg Airport	Garden Court Joburg Airport	I-C Airport Sun	Southern Sun O.R. Tambo International Airport	Melrose Arch Hotel	Protea Hotel Wanderers
1 Aug 2008	727	580	385	803	2898	1330	1870	620

 

 

 

At the same time as the Southern Sun O.R. Tambo International Airport dropped its price to R1330, the City Lodge, Town Lodge & Road Lodge hotels increased their price.

Ellie visits Johannesburg

After being part of the Peace Corps Ellie (from Delaware, United States) couldn't wait to see more of the world. In this blog entry, Ellie tells us about her visit to Johannesburg (she flew from Washington to Johannesburg). She writes about her visit to the apartheid museum, a tour of Soweto which included seeing the Hector Pietersen memorial, Desmond Tutu's home and Nelson Mandela's home.

Crawling over pieces of glass

“The European consumer would crawl naked over broken glass to get low fares.” Michael O' Leary - the charming head of Ryanair Airlines.

 

 

Ask our travel consultant your questions here. She would love to assist.