Delta Update

Guys it’s not Delta! It’s Biden. He banned RSA citizens from coming to the US. The flight loads are cut in half and they WIlL NOT fly half full. We knew this was coming.
Delta is simply the fastest way to Africa and we can gripe and moan but it is what it is.
United claims they are starting their JNB flight in June no matter the loads. We won’t go that route since we are taking suppressors and it’s a felony in NJ. No thank you!
We are looking at getting booked on Qatar. I just hope there are enough business class suites for my group.
Philip
Let us know how it works out. IIRC, your trip was during or right before Hajj. Having said that, they are still considering banning overseas pilgrims.
 
Not sure if anybody that has flown on Qatar noticed or not. Although the flights were not full, the cargo holds were. We actually had a slight delay on one flight while they finished cramming cargo in. This may be how they are keeping costs down and are able to keep planes in the air with less people flying.
 
We got my group rebooked on Qatar. DFW-DOH-JNB then Airlink to PLZ.
Glad to have an agent and get this done quickly. The agent said he had 100 people to rebook this week!
I am excited as we are flying the Q Suite Business Class! I’ll make a trip report when we get back.
Philip
 
I did MIA-DOH-JNB-PLZ last month and all went very smooth. Great service, no issues. All in all 66 pax on the flight, 11+55. No Q-Suites on the DOH-JNB leg though.
Landing at JNB at 0400 made me think it would be tight with the next flight at 0600, but all went smooth and fast. This of course was without any firearms.
 
I did MIA-DOH-JNB-PLZ last month and all went very smooth. Great service, no issues. All in all 66 pax on the flight, 11+55. No Q-Suites on the DOH-JNB leg though.
Landing at JNB at 0400 made me think it would be tight with the next flight at 0600, but all went smooth and fast. This of course was without any firearms.
So the DOH-JNB flight is with the 777 and it just has business not Q Suite? It looks like on the return it is all A350 and should all have Q Suite all the way.
 
So the DOH-JNB flight is with the 777 and it just has business not Q Suite? It looks like on the return it is all A350 and should all have Q Suite all the way.
It was regular Business seats with no Q Suites in the whole Business area. Not sure of what kind of plane it was, but it was the same when I came over in January from Cape Town. Perhaps it’s not used on the South Africa flights?
I remember the first time I saw the Q Suites a couple of years back and I was awestruck and I must say they do make a huge difference.
 
Heads up for anyone in the Philly area, got the PCR test at Frontage Labs in Exton, PA. Had the results in three hours via email in an encrypted pdf file.
 
Doha to Jnb and Jnb to Doha were both an Airbus 350 for us on May 1 and May 15 return. Nice business seat , not a q suite. Flight from dfw to Doha and from Doha to Dfw was qsuite. Very nice, great to,close your your door take off the mask and go to sleep etc. Both flights were Airbus 350 , just different configurations.
 
Doha to Jnb and Jnb to Doha were both an Airbus 350 for us on May 1 and May 15 return. Nice business seat , not a q suite. Flight from dfw to Doha and from Doha to Dfw was qsuite. Very nice, great to,close your your door take off the mask and go to sleep etc. Both flights were Airbus 350 , just different configurations.
Where in South Africa did you get your covid test for the return trip?
 
Will be booking flights in the next month or so for DFW to JNB for April/May of 2022. The last two times we went over we went DAL-ATL-JNB and same coming back but with all the Delta post about canceled flights etc, we're looking at United which would be DFW-EWR-JNB.

Wanted to see what everyone's thoughts were on different routes and which they liked the best and what they didn't like about others.
 
Where in South Africa did you get your covid test for the return trip?
Ampath in Nelspruit. Very easy , 10 minutes to do paperwork , about 60 $ US. Download their app and looked up results later that night. Only people to check it , was at check in , in JNB.
 
Delta :mad::mad::mad:

As you know, Delta cancelled the flights to Jberg last spring cancelling my second hunting trip. My wife was going to go with me. After several calls over this last year and several hours on hold each time, each time she was told the tickets (business class) were not refundable, wouldn't listen to her and stuck by their claim that they weren't refundable.

I called BS every time, (so did she) but after more than a year of this, she was becoming convinced that what they were saying was true and that all we could do was wait and use them by the date they set.

I would have popped a vein on the first call but she's too nice and insisted on continuing to get through. I think she figured I would end up in jail or something, I don't know. What I did do was show her every one of your posts that stated you all got a refund for your tickets. (Thank you very much!)

So she kept trying. 2 hours on hold, disconnected. 1 1/2 hrs on hold, disconnected. 1 hour on hold and a message that the wait time would be 5 hours. That's only the last week of it.

Ok now they've finally pissed off my little blonde Swedish fireball. (She still won't give me the ticket info and let me call at this point. LOL) So she decides to "do something dishonest" (bless her) and instead of calling the refund number, she calls the "rebooking" number and WALA, gets right through. She's told that a refund is no problem and they're emailing the forms immediately. She's so pumped up she calls me at work to tell me the great news.....Then calls me again 10 minutes later REALLY pissed.

Wrong forms.

Now she figures they're just doing whatever to get rid of her. (Note...this was not the time for "I told you so":E Scared:) Now they finally have her fire lit and threw the final gallon of gas on it so she calls (OMG) the complaint department. However, you don't get to talk to anyone in the complaint department, you have to leave a message. I was there for that call. When she found out she had to leave a message I swear her head spun around and she spoke some ancient language into the the phone. It was very loud but I didn't understand it. (I was running) When she was done she slammed the phone on the table and said in some guttural tone that those ****ers will never call back. (also not the time to say "Hey! That was my phone!". Shut up buy new one.)

Well they must have had a good translator to intercept her message and apparently felt an evil presence because they called back within 10 minutes, listened, got all the info, promised no problem with a refund, and should see it with 3 to 5 days and if not, gave her a direct extension number.

Well that only took a year+. :E Red Hot:

We'll see though. Not over until it hits the bank.

Question...should I remind her that I wanted to use a travel agent in the first place or not? :V Axe:
 
If you really wanna see a mushroom cloud...wait till after the refund hits and tell her you rebooked the trip.....and you're flying on Delta!!!!
 
Delta :mad::mad::mad:

As you know, Delta cancelled the flights to Jberg last spring cancelling my second hunting trip. My wife was going to go with me. After several calls over this last year and several hours on hold each time, each time she was told the tickets (business class) were not refundable, wouldn't listen to her and stuck by their claim that they weren't refundable.

I called BS every time, (so did she) but after more than a year of this, she was becoming convinced that what they were saying was true and that all we could do was wait and use them by the date they set.

I would have popped a vein on the first call but she's too nice and insisted on continuing to get through. I think she figured I would end up in jail or something, I don't know. What I did do was show her every one of your posts that stated you all got a refund for your tickets. (Thank you very much!)

So she kept trying. 2 hours on hold, disconnected. 1 1/2 hrs on hold, disconnected. 1 hour on hold and a message that the wait time would be 5 hours. That's only the last week of it.

Ok now they've finally pissed off my little blonde Swedish fireball. (She still won't give me the ticket info and let me call at this point. LOL) So she decides to "do something dishonest" (bless her) and instead of calling the refund number, she calls the "rebooking" number and WALA, gets right through. She's told that a refund is no problem and they're emailing the forms immediately. She's so pumped up she calls me at work to tell me the great news.....Then calls me again 10 minutes later REALLY pissed.

Wrong forms.

Now she figures they're just doing whatever to get rid of her. (Note...this was not the time for "I told you so":E Scared:) Now they finally have her fire lit and threw the final gallon of gas on it so she calls (OMG) the complaint department. However, you don't get to talk to anyone in the complaint department, you have to leave a message. I was there for that call. When she found out she had to leave a message I swear her head spun around and she spoke some ancient language into the the phone. It was very loud but I didn't understand it. (I was running) When she was done she slammed the phone on the table and said in some guttural tone that those ****ers will never call back. (also not the time to say "Hey! That was my phone!". Shut up buy new one.)

Well they must have had a good translator to intercept her message and apparently felt an evil presence because they called back within 10 minutes, listened, got all the info, promised no problem with a refund, and should see it with 3 to 5 days and if not, gave her a direct extension number.

Well that only took a year+. :E Red Hot:

We'll see though. Not over until it hits the bank.

Question...should I remind her that I wanted to use a travel agent in the first place or not? :V Axe:

Here’s what we need you to do:

1) set your phone on record and prop it up in the corner,
2) get both your wife and yourself in the picture and tell her ‘I told you so’ in as forceful and irritating a manner as possible,
3) be sure to leave a note by the phone to have the video posted on this thread for all your friends, as I seriously doubt you will be able to.

Who needs to hunt DG when you can pull a stunt like this right at home?! Oh, and you’re welcome!
 
Here’s what we need you to do:

1) set your phone on record and prop it up in the corner,
2) get both your wife and yourself in the picture and tell her ‘I told you so’ in as forceful and irritating a manner as possible,
3) be sure to leave a note by the phone to have the video posted on this thread for all your friends, as I seriously doubt you will be able to.

Who needs to hunt DG when you can pull a stunt like this right at home?! Oh, and you’re welcome!
Ok. But I'm hiding all the jars of pickled beets first. She's got one hell of an arm and a great aim. And those hurt!
 
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Just got notification that my 10 August flight from Atlanta to Joburg is cancelled. Just reserved business on Qatar. I have been a long time Delta fan (this is my 15th safari) and I really like the Atlanta airport but it doesn’t seem like we have much choice this year.
I'm scheduled to go out of ATL to JNB. 13AUG2. I haven't been notified of a cancellation.
 
I'm scheduled to go out of ATL to JNB. 13AUG2. I haven't been notified of a cancellation.
You probably should contact Delta to confirm. Maybe they are only canceling flights on some days of the week.
 
I received an email from United a few days ago, advertising their Newark to JNB direct flight and also their Washington DC (Dulles) to Accra, Ghana flight. Not sure what connecting flights look like from Accra, but could be an option to look at.

I flew on the 787 Dreamliner several time when United had a direct flight from Houston to Lagos and it's one of the nicest planes to ride in.

New York/Newark, NJ, US (EWR) to Johannesburg, ZA (JNB)
8:45 pm - 5:45 pm (15h)
UA 188 | Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Johannesburg, ZA (JNB) to New York/Newark, NJ, US (EWR)
8:00 pm - 5:45 am (15h 45m)
UA 187 | Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner


Washington, DC, US (IAD) to Accra, GH (ACC)
6:15 pm - 8:40 am (10h 25m)
UA 996 | Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Accra, GH (ACC) to Washington, DC, US (IAD)
11:45 pm - 6:30 am (10h 45m)
UA 997 | Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
 

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