Best airline? Dallas to RSA

[pilar]

i am thinking about booking Qatar, my last international trip was American air and it was horrible! Cramped and full plane
Dallas to Hawaii 1st class is awesome, but we are flying econo class so I want to book with the best

 

[Hunt anything]

Quickest is Dallas to Atlanta to Johanasburg on delta, best service would be Qatar -Doha-Johanasburg. Delta gets you there late afternoon or early evening and Qatar gets you there early to mid morning.

 

[shootist~]

Qatar business class service was great, but no way would I ride cattle car class for 31+ hours. (ABQ-DFW-Doha-JNB in my case).

I'm going to try Delta this year.

 

[mdwest]

Ive done American, United, and Qatar all out of DFW...

Qatar is without a doubt the absolute best option....


The last two times we've done Qatar the flight between DFW and Doha was pretty packed.. but the planes are in good shape, the crews treat you well, etc.. from Doha to Joberg the planes have been between 50-75% full...

We're booked on Qatar again this year... its looking like its going to be the same thing.. when I check the seating the flight to Doha is already pretty full and we've still got 3.5 months until we fly... but the flight from Doha to Joberg is still relatively empty..

 

[JimP]

I would imagine that Qatar will be packed in like sardines as it was last June when I flew it.

You have people heading to a number of different countries out of Doha that will be flying it from Dallas.

 

[everett]

As far as the flights go, I prefer delta over Qatar. With Qatar you basically have 2 overnight flights (second leg arriving around 4am). With delta, your second night will be in a hotel in joburg.

 

[wesheltonj]

I have not flown Qatar. But I have flown Emirates out of DFW cattle and business. You have plenty of choices. BA, Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates, Qatar and Turkish. I have flown on each of those except Qatar in both Business and Coach. Hands down Emirates wins business class and has a better cattle class then most, but it’s still cattle class. The Emirates gun permit is right on their website and could not be easier.

 

[Safari Dave]

I would go Delta


DFW>ATL
ATL>JNB


The faster the better, as long as there is adequate time for you and your luggage to make the connection.

You will (for the most part) have the pleasure to deal with nice southern women, who understand and appreciate men with guns!


I would still use Gracy or Travel Express, just in case things get weird with guns in JNB, unless your safari company will handle things starting there.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

My vote would be Qatar. They have been running 2 flights a day out of Dallas and 2 flights a day out of Johberg to Doha and back to Dallas. You can get back to Dallas in mid morning or late afternoon.
Also if you book connections right for Doha. Overall travel time is maybe 4/5 hours longer is all than Dallas Atalanta route.
Also if you live in Texas the return is way easier than doing customs in Atlanta then rechecking luggage for connecting flight on way back home.
Qatar runs only 2 flight per day in and out of Houston. I take that flight as I am only 1 hour from there.

 

[BWH]

You got options…. Depending upon your desired speed.

Delta via Atlanta
BA/AA via London
Emirates via Dubai
Qatar via Doha

All decent options…. Depends on class you fly & layover

 

[JimP]

If you are in cattle class I would fly Delta and get the flights over with. That extra flight of 8 hours to Joberg on Qatar is a killer, not necessarily going over but coming back home.

 

[BWH]

If you are in cattle class I would fly Delta and get the flights over with. That extra flight of 8 hours to Joberg on Qatar is a killer, not necessarily going over but coming back home.

I had an 10+ hour layover in London once…. It gave me a chance to check out the city. That was cool if you got the time.

Once was plenty….if traveling alone.

 

[JimP]

A few hour layover isn't bad if you are flying cattle class, it gives you some time to stretch out and actually relax for a while.

We had around a 3 hour layover on the trip back in Doha and to tell you the truth I don't even remember it, but I know that by the time that we got to Dallas I was ready to get off of that plane. Then I had another 2 hour flight to Denver.

The total time for flights and layovers going over from Denver to Dallas then to Doha and ending up at Port Elizabeth was 40 hours, coming back the total was around 45.

If I would of flown Delta through Atlanta the time would of been about half both ways.

 

[CoElkHunter]

If you are in cattle class I would fly Delta and get the flights over with. That extra flight of 8 hours to Joberg on Qatar is a killer, not necessarily going over but coming back home.

Especially if they change your seat and you get stuck in the middle seat. Eh Jim? LOL

 

[JimP]

Especially if they change your seat and you get stuck in the middle seat. Eh Jim? LOL

That was only on the 8 hr flight.

 

[wesheltonj]

You got options…. Depending upon your desired speed.

Delta via Atlanta
BA/AA via London
Emirates via Dubai
Qatar via Doha

All decent options…. Depends on class you fly & layover

AA/BA - bad choice
BA/BA - good choice

 

[VonJager]

I would go Delta


DFW>ATL
ATL>JNB


The faster the better, as long as there is adequate time for you and your luggage to make the connection.

You will (for the most part) have the pleasure to deal with nice southern women, who understand and appreciate men with guns!


I would still use Gracy or Travel Express, just in case things get weird with guns in JNB, unless your safari company will handle things starting there.

Not my Atlanta experience at all. Very urban, and unfriendly.

 

[Doug3006]

If the amount of flight time is an issue, then Delta would probably be my pick. Same for cost, because Emirates and Qatar are more expensive these days. If you want to fly business class, flight time isn’t critical and you don’t mind paying a bit more more, then Qatar would be my pick. It is head and shoulders better.