This airline has now finally turned the corner and reminiscent of the old day service. Would definitely recommend flying with SAA.
Great experience all-round. From re-checking baggage directly before leaving the arrivals hall (coming from international), to fast and friendly boarding, to complimentary drinks and snacks on board. This was a very pleasant experience - even my luggage was delivered on the belt very quickly and it was a wonderful end to a 28 hour transit.
I had a very good experience from boarding to arrivals.
Boarded almost 48 hrs later after a scheduling change on my initial flight that was not communicated either by kayak of SAA.
I had booked a ticket for a 6:40 am departure in July 2025, but it appears there was a change to 8;00 am, which meant I missed my connecting flight which departed 10 m minutes before I landed. I had seen this problem only the previous day and try to resolve it with South African air, but they are very uncooperative on the phone. All they could say was all flights were fully booked and I ended up buying paying $2,000+ to secure a ticket for my family to ensure we got out of South Africa by Monday, which am currently pursuing with the airline.
South African Airways on the outside, a very old shabby Qatar Airways plane on the inside
The food options were beef or veg, No alternatives for Hindus, that don't eat beef...
Flight was on time Seats ( business class) are terrible- you keep on slipping down as it doesn’t lie flat Food service is like economy class. Meals ( still wrapped in plastic) are just dropped in front of you
On time flight; otherwise not impressed by the check- in- purchased business class and the aircraft was downgraded; no refund given for the difference. Told I could access the lounge due to the above and was questioned by the lounge check- in person who was not friendly
Flight was cancelled with no notification until I reached the check-in desk at the airport. I also got downgraded and they lost my luggage.
Apparently, Asky airline baggage policy is slightly different from the Ethiopian airline policy and for this reason, I encounter an issue with them and I had to refer them to the Ethiopian airline policy whom I booked my flight with before they allowed me to bored the flight.
All around pleasant experience. Flight crew were efficient and polite. And the flight was on time.
I was not allowed to board my flight due to a booking error with Kayak which customer service has not responded to me about yet. I had to book another flight at the airport.
The flight attendants were great, the food was also very good. The entertainment in the plane could be improved by including screens to watch shows/ movies.
Boarding confusion, just asked for a cup of water and the crew answers was shocking
Retard cuisant et criard. Inadmissible. Corruption et pratique non recommandable du personnel chargé de faire le Check des billets avant de passer au comptoir d’enregistrement. La dame qui me recevait voulait à tout prix me coller pour se faire d’argent. L’avion devrait faire escale à Douala donc on ne descend pas au sol. Pourquoi me demander où exiger que je devrais avoir un visa sur le Cameroun. C’est inadmissible. J’allais au Tchad et elle sait bien que je n’avais pas non plus besoin de visa compte tenu des accords de réciprocité entre état. J’avais mon visa et pourtant elle insistait. Ce qui était marrant ces collègues étaient complices. J’ai dû hausser le ton et l’insulter proprement. Mon adrénaline a monté. Trop de corrompus et moins de gens intègres dans vos rangs que ce soit à Cotonou et surtout à Accra. A Cotonou à l’agence principale, il vous faut un audit pour le personnel chargé de ventes des billets. Merci de transmettre à Asky
They take your hang luggage and it never arrives to your destination. They don’t follow seating arrangements
You need screens on every seat so passengers can watch movies, documentaries, music or something else to avoid to get bored.
Everything was perfect, Happy to have this great airline that serves all Africa.
The crew were good but I still did not have my luggage till now I keep checking no response
I liked everything about the flight. The only thing I would suggest improving is the cleanliness of the plane. With better cleaning, the overall experience would be much better.
Good. Our connecting flight was over an hour late but the airline held the flight to IAD for us and the other connecting passengers.
The following is a review for a flight from Johannesburg to Washington, DC with a connection at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and refueling landing at Rome, Italy. The flight was provided by Ethiopian Airlines. There were two of us: me and my wife on this flight. Everything was on time. Enough legroom between the seats, I was able to stretch my legs and sleep for at least some time during the 14 hour second flight (19 hours in total for both flights). Very decent meals that included two lunches and one breakfast on the flight from Addis Ababa to Washington and one lunch on the flight from Johannesburg to Addis Ababa. The lunch choices were beef, chicken and fish, I think the vegetarian option was available as well, accompanied with beans. The breakfast was a choice between egg and pancake, accompanied with a fruit salad. The egg breakfast was awesome, it came with a scrambled egg and a sausage. However, my wife mentioned unusual taste of the pancake breakfast meal, by all means those were not pancakes. What wasn't good: Externally initiated commercials on the infosystem screens, you couldn't turn the screen off. These commercials were accompanied by loud and annoying music, transmitted through the entire cabin. Obviously, there was no escape from this music as well. Additional moment: on the flight from Addis Ababa to Washington, DC, we landed at Rome for refueling. This was totally fine and it was in the flight itinerary. But, the flight attendant asked me to straighten the seat while we were at the steady position during the refueling. I can't rationalize this order except that some people just like to be a boss of some kind. Keeping the light lit in the economy cabin while keeping it dimmed in the first class also didn't improve my and my wife's feelings. Overall, the services were very good and the flight, despite its longevity, went on very smoothly.
The flight was very smooth, however, the quality of food was mediocre.
It was a good experience - too many times checking at the airport - every time had to remove shoes , belt , laptop etc. that was a bit of exaggerated. The seat had a sharp metal plate -- which torn into my jeans.
Food was really not appealing. There was a blocked sink in the toilet. Toilet is cramped and the wall between the 2 toilets are not secured properly.
Plane was late with no information or announcement … had to walk up n downstairs.., had not communicated this … and ppl had suitcase to carry .
My entertainment screen wasn't working and they couldn't fix it.
It is just ok, the sits are very uncomfortable, the temperature too low and there weren’t blankets. The food is mediocre and there are no screens to watch movies.
I've never been served three bread courses in a single meal before. Was really impressed by the novelty of that.
Overall good experience but for long distances there really needs to be more room.
Got delayed for over 24 hours. Fight was cancelled. Was put up at a nice hotel whose kitchen was unfortunately not prepared for the sudden influx of guests The headphone jacks on the seat were loose and sound kept getting dropped over the headphones. Food was good though. Certain items (Amarula) were not available for purchase over the on-plane duty free. Had been told i would pick my luggage at my final destination*wrong* had to pick it up in JFK and recheck it and then got charged for it**** too tired to argue with the Delta staff on the issue.... after a 15 hr flight.
The boarding was fast, the food was great; however, the seats & leg space were tight.
I really like this airline. The staff are lovely and friendly, the planes are tidy and unfussy. I would rate them at the top of the African Airline carriers.
Flying portion was fine. Below average comfort. We had 2 canceled flights and got stuck in 2 cities which took us 3 days to get home. Kenya hasn’t done anything or even reached out to us after complaining.
Staff and service on board is always exemplary. Food however could be better.
Food was great. They never to add more current entertainment like movies and shows
Paid an extra USD 100 for so-called Comfort seats. All of these (the bulkhead seats) had parents with babies and infants who were screaming much of the time. One mother even decided to change nappies on the seat. This was anything but comfort!
On a long flight us customers need more rehydration by the crew. Some of us have water bottles but no crew is coming around to offer water. I’m not saying issue us all with plastic water bottles.
They should improve their time management and how to reschedule flights in order to avoid long stopovers
