JHB to Dublin which airline

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Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

  • stainforth
    Participant

    HI ALL ,

    Going to Travel from Johannesburg to Dublin 4-5 times a year , which airlines do you think best to book , cant decide if best travel with BA to London or Air France or KLM Europe.
    I seen mixed reviews on Ethopian airlines , whats your thoughts on Middle East airlines.


    Intheair
    Blocked

    I would go with Qatar – 787 to Dublin and reasonable fares – great service too for the money


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    It depends if you need a visa or not to transit London. Most South Africans I know use KLM for that route as Ireland does not require visas of South Africans not does the Netherlands for transit pax.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    @stainforth – with such an open question you are likely to get a very diverse range of responses. Could you let the Forum know what drives your decision:

    Class of travel
    Price
    ‘airmiles’ or club benefits
    any other info….


    canucklad
    Participant

    I’d be wary of using KLM, was watching one of those fly on the wall documentaries about Edmonton airport a while ago.
    Part of the narrative involved a story of a Johannesburg woman returning home. She assumed she was flying KLM but in actual fact had an Air France/KLM ticket.
    She was denied boarding in Edmonton by the KLM staff because she wasn’t in possession of a Schengen visa . KLM originally assured her one wasn’t required because her outbound flight changed in AMS, not realizing even though she was never going to leave terminal building’s her transfer from AMS to CDG inbound meant clearing immigration at AMS. A costly oversight, as she eventually flew home via Istanbul.
    Linking threads, you might get a great deal with Etihad.
    Having said that,I’d agree with Martyn, if you’re flying business,I’d discount the ME3 or even TK. I doubt you want to break your slumber to change planes.


    stainforth
    Participant

    HI

    Class of travel Economy , airlines miles very important , price as I am funding all the trips.

    Thanks for advice so far


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Just following up on Canucklad, he’s correct, I experienced that with my eldest daughter once. Booking on the KLM site and choosing the cheapest option for the return I failed to notice it was on AF. Now I know I double check.

    Another alternative is Swiss. No transit visa is required for Zurich either and they have competitive fares ex JNB as well as good connections at Zurich Airport. Security is fast and efficient and what I’m now reading about AMS security chaos causing missed flights, Zurich is definitely the better option.

    Swiss Economy is also much better than the ME3 and you don’t have to chnage planes in the small hours and shuffle between flights. Swiss depart at 1925 and you arrive in Zurich at 0610. My boys have just done it and I’m of to collect them from Lugano soon.


    bluemooner
    Participant

    My wife and I are regulars on AF from Manchester to Johannesburg.
    The prices are usually competitive.
    The connecting times in Paris or Amsterdam are reasonable for flights from Dublin.
    You can pick and choose to use KLM one way and AF the other depending on times and prices, although we find AF suits us best.
    At the back of the upper deck of the AF A380 you can pay a small supplement for twin seats (instead of 3/4/3)
    There is the option of Premium Economy on AF (which is not available currently on KLM or the Middle East Airlines)
    Flying time is normally several hours less than via the Middle East.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    KLM everytime but as others said make sure it really is KLM via AMS and not the other crowd via the hellhole of CDG.


    SimonS1
    Participant

    KLM makes sense. If time is no object then Emirates have some competitive prices.

    I’d give Qatar a miss simply because their flights to JNB are getting protracted due to having to fly about 2 hours in the opposite direction due to sanctions.


    bluemooner
    Participant

    [quote quote=815814]KLM everytime but as others said make sure it really is KLM via AMS and not the other crowd via the hellhole of CDG.

    [/quote]
    Capetonianm
    Curious why CDG is considered by you a “hellhole”
    I’m no Francophile, but find CDG no better or worse than most Capital City airports.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    CDG enjoys the rudest and most unhelpful ground staff of any major European airport with the possible exception of Madrid. The inter terminal transfers are quite difficult and complicated due to the poor signposting and the aforementioned unhelpfulness of the ground staff unless you’re changing from AF to AF.

    The last time I used the airport which admittedly was probably about 10 years ago, I found the toilet facilities dirty, dining and restaurant facilities very poor, inadequate, and grossly overpriced and the place is just generally shoddy.

    I’ve been through Frankfurt twice changing from short haul to longhaul and vice versa in the last three weeks and although I don’t much care for the layout it is vastly superior to CDG.

    My preferred airports for transits in Europe are Amsterdam and Zurich, and perhaps surprisingly Lisbon is very good although it offers a fairly limited range of connections.


    bluemooner
    Participant

    [quote quote=815874]CDG enjoys the rudest and most unhelpful ground staff of any major European airport with the possible exception of Madrid. The inter terminal transfers are quite difficult and complicated due to the poor signposting and the aforementioned unhelpfulness of the ground staff unless you’re changing from AF to AF.

    The last time I used the airport which admittedly was probably about 10 years ago, I found the toilet facilities dirty, dining and restaurant facilities very poor, inadequate, and grossly overpriced and the place is just generally shoddy.

    I’ve been through Frankfurt twice changing from short haul to longhaul and vice versa in the last three weeks and although I don’t much care for the layout it is vastly superior to CDG.

    My preferred airports for transits in Europe are Amsterdam and Zurich, and perhaps surprisingly Lisbon is very good although it offers a fairly limited range of connections.

    [/quote]

    10 years is a long time. I have found it fine on the regular visits over last 5 years. Food cleanliness and signage are all fine and the inter terminal rail system is good too. Food pricing was not over the top by European standards. Needed some assistance with ticketing there in March and they were most helpful. Suspect management has changed and for the better.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    I’d like to think it had improved as AF is a good airline in the air (I’ll refrain from dubious humour!) but appalling on the ground. For some of my journeys AF would be a good option, maybe one I should consider, but KL is a hard act to follow, particularly for me as I dislike the French as much as I like the Dutch.

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