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tl;dr—After São Paulo, the next part of my journey took me to South Africa, specifically Johannesburg. I traveled there on a South African Airways economy flight, and my experience was tough. I look forward to trying out a premium cabin offering on my next journey on board South African Airways.
After checking out of the Grand Hyatt São Paulo, we made a pit stop at Parque Estadual Alberto Löfgren, as I wanted to see some capybaras in the wild before leaving town. The park is a section of a much larger green ecospace in the North central part of the city, where you can easily spend a few hours, if not the whole day, strolling through the trees.
We arranged for the driver to drop us off and scoop us back up in roughly an hour to continue our journey to the airport. We thought we had ample time, having set out many hours before our departure. We thought. After spotting some capybaras and other wildlife and getting in some steps, we ended up in some pretty brutal traffic, resulting in a harried arrival.
If it weren’t for the GRU-JNB route conforming to its less-than-stellar on-time rating, we, in all likelihood, would have missed our flight. In many ways, this self-induced struggle was a harbinger of things to come, as the flight itself was not the best. Let’s jump into it.
Booking the Flight
I initially hoped to cross the Atlantic on South African Airways (SAA) in business class aboard one of SAA’s A330 planes. The cabins look bright and inviting, and we could sleep flat on this overnight flight.
Unfortunately, this never came to fruition. Despite diligently monitoring award availability, open seats never materialized for my dates, and the business class cash fares were rather high. SAA allows you to bid for an upgrade via the airline’s ‘StepUp’ program. My bid was unsuccessful. In hindsight, I should have paid $25 to secure an open seat next to me (or $50 to secure an entire row for ourselves), but as I had my eyes on a business class prize, I foolishly didn’t give this option proper consideration.
I tried to ‘Step Up’ but my upgrade bid did not work out – Source: You Are Travel
I figured I’d inquire about any upgrades at the airport, but at check-in, I learned there was no space available.
As a last-ditch effort, I asked about moving our two seats to the sides of the plane so we could have both a window seat and aisle access with no one else in the row, but again, it was a no-go. It was time to get cozy.
Boarding
After getting to the gate and seeing that the flight had incurred an additional delay, I took a quick stroll around the terminal. I didn’t want to chance a lounge visit as the nearest one I could access was a good distance from my gate.
Boarding was a nightmare. There seemed to be no order at all. At some point, one gate agent called for business class to start boarding while another agent instructed a few economy groups to start from the same line. I hung back as things sorted out and eventually walked onto the plane.
A disorganized boarding experience – Source: You Are Travel
More mayhem ensued as it felt like seating numbers were just a suggestion. Luckily, our row was unoccupied when we got there, so we were able to settle without any awkward interactions.
The Seat & Amenities
The seating space was snug. We were in the middle section of the cabin—four seats across. The two next to us were initially open until another passenger reseated himself on the far end seat—a sly move—salute. I had plots to space things out once they confirmed boarding was complete, but Mr. Swashbuckling beat me to it.
The amenity kit featured an eye mask, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and socks. It was simple. I always appreciate having a dental kit to freshen up after a meal or before landing.
There was little legroom, and the seat was quite uncomfortable. Adding to the scarce space, the tray table also unfolded to a curiously low position.
As far as in-flight entertainment is concerned, you have some routine, though solid options. New releases and popular titles from a number of different countries are available, including games, music, and the like.
In-flight entertainment Source: You Are Travel
Dining & Service
I didn’t come into this with high expectations, and well, the food and service could have been stronger. When dinner service reached me, only one option remained, and the flight attendant put it on my tray table. As far as drinks, I did opt for ‘the red’ from the ‘white or red’ menu offered. I wasn’t too hungry, though, so this wasn’t really disappointing. Sorry in advance for the warped photo, but it kind of encapsulates the experience.
There was a breakfast offering closer to landing, but I skipped it.
Service seemed cold across the board. I didn’t interact much with the in-flight team, but I witnessed a few other interactions with customers where the team seemed short and standoffish. It could be me perceiving things differently. 🤷🏿
Conclusion
South African Airways’ long-haul economy is not great, so I’d avoid it for similar itineraries. Between GRU and JNB, you also have LATAM as an alternative option, though your mileage may vary there as well. Thanks for reading, and I would love to hear your experiences if you’ve flown this route.
