On October 7, I flew with SAA (South African Airways) for the first time in my life. We (My boyfriend and I) were flying to Hong Kong from Johannesburg on business. I had been told by South Africans not to expect too much. And how right they were! Please read on.
Upon checking in at the airline counter, they threw the news of a 3.5 hour delay at us with no explanation (they sent an email around 0930am telling us our 1315pm flight would be delayed. But who has the time to check their email before an early afternoon flight? Is this what airlines do nowadays?)
Eventually, we boarded. (After a looong-ass wait at the airport.) But the misfortune was not ending anytime soon. We kept on waiting on the plane. Again, they offered no explanation about what the wait was for. What was worse was there was positively, definitely ZERO A/C during the whole time. Since it was an afternoon flight, the sun was hot, so was the inside of the cabin. The A/C only came until we were up in the air. (I would totally worry about the freshness of my meal if I were a meat-eater.)
We were finally flying and we were relieved, only temorarily. Baby bear (the nickname for my bf) wanted some entertainment so he withdrew the headset and was ready to watch some movies. The headset was broken. He then asked for a new one, and it was broken TOO. And guess what the flight attendant said to him when he asked for a new headset? "Sir, you have to wait. I have to finish serving food first as the flight was delayed." Err, hmm, but it was NOT our business that the flight was delayed. We certainly did not ask for a delayed flight, and we certainly did not ask for broken headsets.
As we flew on, we wanted some sleep of course. Baby bear wanted more space between us so he put the seat divider up. Hehehe, you probably have guessed it. The seat divider did NOT go all the way up. So there is no way you could comfortably extend your legs sideways even if there were no one sitting next to you. How dedicated you are SAA to giving us a hard time!
Not only were the headsets broken, the entertainment system was old as the plane was an older model. Which means zero power outlets (bring your own power brick, fellow passengers!) and a remote control that was linked to the armrest of the seat by a cable. Remember those controllers? If not, I don't blame you. You are lucky. What was more, some passengers' entertainment system didn't work so the whole system had to be shut down for half an hour for inspection.
When it was time for food, we had to listen to the announcement for meal options. How charming! I remember my SA bound Cathay Pacific flight having a food menu. Perhaps you could do the same in future, SAA...
I thought the bathrooms would be safe, I mean, every plane bathroom looks the same. How wrong I was, hehehe...there was a cigarette butt! So either someone smoked a cig and the smoke detector did not go off, or the cleaning crew did not tidy up properly before we boarded. I am not sure which one is more concerning. I will let the readers decide for themselves.
During the flight, the announcements were made in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. (And perhaps a local language from SA.) Suddenly, the announcement was made in Japanese! Like why? Where is the consistency, my dear cabin crew?
Eish, I was half annoyed, half amused when I heard the Japanese announcement.
Conclusion: Fly SAA at your own risk. I have one more flight with them. I will keep you updated.