South African Airways Avis 98

We had an appalling experience with SAA last year (17 December). We were traveling from OR Tambo to Cape Town, and we had booked our dog, Dobby, to travel in the hold with cargo. Upon landing in Cape Town at 19:00, we waited for over TWO HOURS for Dobby, repeatedly enquiring about his whereabouts. SAA staff gave us inconsistent and dismissive responses, such as, “He’s coming soon,” or suggesting that he may have been “taken to the cargo office by accident.” Despite our increasing distress, not one staff member could confirm his exact location, nor explain why a live animal would be separated and treated like mere luggage. We asked to be taken to the cargo office ourselves, only to be told that it was offsite and inaccessible to passengers. This only amplified our distress, as it made no sense that an animal would be transported somewhere owners could not immediately access. By 21:00, after more fruitless enquiries, SAA staff finally admitted that they suspected Dobby had either been left in Johannesburg or left onboard the aircraft. This admission, coming nearly two hours later, left me utterly beside myself. Dobby had been confined to a small travel cage since 14:00 - without food, water - for over 8 hours! The thought that he was missing, or worse, harmed, caused me unbearable emotional distress. At 21:15, we were informed that Dobby was still on the aircraft and had been flown back to Johannesburg. SAA staff admitted that the staff onboard the aircraft were not aware that there was a live animal on the flight, until right before landing. This is also extremely distressing to me because he could have been seriously harmed! We don't know if the temperature in the cargo hold was monitored and maintained within safe limits for a live animal, whether he was exposed to any hazardous substances, such as fuel fumes, chemicals, or loose equipment in the hold. We finally received an update at 22:17 confirming he had landed at OR Tambo and been collected by SAA staff. Since this was the last flight out, we were told he would be kept overnight and placed on the 06:15 flight back to Cape Town. I requested regular updates via WhatsApp about whether he had been fed, given water or was let out of his cage to relieve himself. I did not receive any communication about this! Furthermore when we arrived at the airport the next morning to fetch him, after assurances he would be on the first flight back to Cape Town, we found out his flight was cancelled! We were not communicated with regarding the cancellation of his flight, and the team had once again lost track of his whereabouts as they could not confirm whether he was put on the second flight to Cape Town or whether he was still at OR Tambo airport. Dobby eventually landed at 09:30 and was safely returned to us, but he had soiled himself in his cage, which indicates he was not cared for overnight, and had been left in his cage for more than 18 hours!! I took him to the vet immediately after, and they determined he was dehydrated! He was extremely traumatised for a very long time after this incident!!

NEVER NEVER FLY WITH South African Airways !! They tried to kick me of the PERTH-JOHANNESBURG flight. Two hours before the flight !!
Even when I showed them my booking and payment !!! They were aware that I flew Brisbane to Perth, but did not care about this connection, or to leave me behind in Perth, in HIGH SEASON !!!
They claimed that "they downsized on the flight" !!! And that I am the "unlucky one today".
I discovered that they gave my seat to a NIGERIAN who had to get to Lagos, Nigeria, via Johannesburg !!!
Only after I called the Australian Federal Police and Channel 9 Perth, they gave my seat back to me !!
I then went public with my traumatic experience.
I also pressed charges against them with the Star Alliance Headquarters.
I also successfully ended their "Co-seat share coalition" with Qantas Airways.
They then banned me from ever flying with SAA again !!! I keep on warning people TO NEVER EVER FLY WITH SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS.

I booked a flight and paid for seat selection some months ago.Yesterday at the check in at O.Tambo 2 hrs before the flight, we were told we could not have our seats then we were told there were no seats for us as the plane was full. After some anxious minutes and some phone calls we eventually insisted we had to be back in Cape Town yesterday and were given our booked seats. We then saw a large number, at least 20, of SAA staff boarding, hostesses and flight crew. I am aware that airlines give staff free or very discounted seats when available but this was disgraceful. It was quite obvious that they tried to “bump” us to make space for their staff. I am very sorry for anyone that did miss the flight for this reason and I will avoid SAA in the future if at all possible.

I recently purchased a ticket on SAA. However, I needed to amend the ticket and I went to flysaa.com and changed my booking. I paid by scanning a QR code and got confirmation of payment online. However, when the confirmation email came, it displayed the existing flights. Neither the website nor the app displayed the new dates. I phoned the call center and they had zero records of the interaction. They had no idea that I changed and paid for the changes online. They put the burden of proof on ME to send THEM the amount and proof of payment. When that was not enough they demanded bank statements and eventually said I need to speak with my bank, but didn't specify what information they needed from my bank. There was literally NOTHING they COULD do or DID do. I told them they could speak to their IT department, get logs, they can speak to their bank and trace the transaction, they just said they can't. They must have a forensics/fraud department that should be able to trace online interactions. It left a very bitter taste in my mouth. A once reputable airline and Star Alliance partner fell from grace.

At first I was happy to deal with the reservations department as one cannot book a flight for a minor via the website or email communication for SAA flights.
Doing all that was asked of me and getting confirmation from special handling about the travel arrangements I asked how I go about paying and was told to call reservations and ask them to send me a payment link, which they did. I paid the full amount as per the link. Later that same day I got a call to say they have to refund me as the airline who does the connecting flight won't confirm the flight. I couldn't be given an answer as to why but I did get this "I told you to wait for confirmation before you pay" . Well I did wait.

As for the airline who apparently didn't want to confirm the connecting flight.... Well that same day I had a live chat asking if they had a direct flight to our preferred destination, booked the flight over the live chat, sent the needed documents via email and I could make a payment on their website. All this in less than 45 min. No long calls wasting airtime, no connecting flight it's and CHEAPER!!!

As for the refund.... it took almost a week to try and get my money back because they can't see the "ticket" number their payment link generated. Well that seems like a SAA problem as I used their link to pay. Then they wanted bank statements reflecting the amount and the more I told them I can't get a statement yet, cause it's a child's account and we only gets statements every so often, but I have a proof of payment the less they wanted to listen nor understand. Then they wanted his bank card number.... Oh my word this was a struggle in its own.... Here i needed crayon to explain using the card number wont help cause I didn't use the card to pay. I used the payment link.

Luckily I received a statement on Friday and I could send it through. Approval for the refund was given this morning but who knows how long that will take. But not being able to find the reference number they generated nor wanting to do a refund after sending them the proof of payment reflecting that reference ... doesn't sit right with me. I highly doubt that I will ever make use of their service again.

I have sent various emails and still no response only emails with reference numbers. To have customer service that doesn't work over weekends is also a bit poor customer service. Urgent issues need to be sorted and lots of money wasted with the incorrect outcome.
The date gets changed on the calendar when paid and the old date reappears on the newly issued ticket Twice I changed the dates, twice I paid with still the old date.
I paid for a date change on my ticket (twice) with the same date on ticket. When asked for the date to be changed they wanted to charge me again. That was when I sent the first email to South Africa. Now 5 days later (weekend included) still no response.

As my dates are getting closer I feel it needs attention before the seats are filled up. 2 different emails have been used, with still no feedback, only a case number.

Recensione su fly safair.
Bagaglio completamente distrutto all’arrivo all’aerop di JNB da cape town (volo FA112) con serratura forzata, 1 ruota divelta. Nessun rimborso nonostante la denuncia al locale uff bagagli e al posto di polizia perché la loro policy nn lo contempla! Clausole vessatorie che si accettano implicitamente all’acquisto del biglietto. Attenzione a imbarcare in stiva! A bordo nn offrono nemmeno un bicchiere d’acqua. Personale di bordo sgradevole.

Truly the worst airline I have ever flown with and I have flown many budget airlines. The staff are rude and power trip without any reason. I was forced to check my bag despite it being within the carry on size parameters because “there was not enough space”. The plane was half full and there was a ton of space. Just absolutely horrible. Do not fly with this company for any reason!

My luggage was completely destroyed during my flight and I am in constant communication for over 3 months with their agents, trying to claim a luggage replacement, but the company keeps staling me and not providing proper resolution to the issue in hand.

Once you pay, they don't care about you. ALWAYS USE A TRAVEL AGENT, DO NOT BOOK DIRECT. NO customer service.
Australian office is useless, because phones dont work, and they don't respond to emails questions.

I had a great experience on my flights between Johannesburg and Windhoek. The service food and hospitality was good. Both flights were on time.

I chose to fly with SAA because they were recommended as one of the safest airlines in South Africa.

The only reason I didn’t give a full 5-star rating is because the cabin was sanitized while passengers were already on board. The crew mentioned it was WHO-approved and advised those concerned to breathe through a cloth—something I found ineffective and quite uncomfortable and made me sick for a couple of days afterward

This website is a fraud. I booked 3 tickets got a PNR but SAA never got my payment. It seems that their web site is not safe. Despite the proof that the money left for an account named SAA, I never got the tickets neither my money back.
Avoid that company. No support, no refund, website unsafe. You can find much reliable airline compagnies in South Africa !

Excellent flight from Accra to JNB. Very friendly staff, on time, good food.

We just had a lovely experience on a SAA flight from Cape Town to Sao Paolo. Check in was friendly and efficient and the inflight service was much better than i would have imagined. Comfortable seating, bathrooms were well maintained and clean throughout the flight and the food and beverage service was extremely good. The inflight entertainment system is a bit limited but it was fine for our 9hour or so flight. Well done.

The service is fantastic. Food is great. Flights are on time.

No Daily flight to Durban from Johannesburg.

I cancelled my flight but still didn't get refund of USD 284 for 2 months. On enquiring they said they are working on it. So, they just hope you forget and don't ask for refund. Finally they refunded USD 226 keeping UDS 57. No explanation of why they kept my money. Thieves of broad day light.

SA326 CPT-JNB at 11:15 on business
Booked my ticket March 21st 2023, Original flight date was February 12th 2024. Paid ZAR 4529,47,
Called your office and changed my ticket to change the flight date to February 5th 2024, and paid extra ZAR 1598,29 on November 2nd 2023.
As I did NOT recieve any confirmation I kept writing to your customer service to get them to confirm my ticket. After 4 attempts, I received an email with the details from my original booking for February 12th! My booking was not to be found online, it simply wanished.
Arriving SA on January 11th I went to your office at Airport JNB and was told that the booking was cancelled as the flight was booked for january 5th! (I arrived JNB on January 11th!?.
In case my flight was booked on January 5th, why did I not get an email stating that online check in was open, and due to your equipment change I should be able to choose my seat- nothing was received at my end, neither did I get a proper response when contacting your customer service!
I was actually happy to see that SAA started flying again and was happy to book with you, now it seems that my choice was a VERY bad one. I will take legal matters into use to get my money back, and I will NOT book my flights with your company in the future!

I booked four flexible tickets which I had to cancel. Immediately after the cancellation I received this e-mail:

Dear Valued Customer
Sawubona, we acknowledge receipt of your email.
We refer to your refund request on your unused South African Airways ticket. Please pardon our delay in finalising your request. We have been inundated with refund requests and are working relentlessly to finalising these refunds.
A staff member will attend to your request and be in contact with you once the refund is processed. Stay safe and please comply with all Covid regulations
Yours in Service
SAA Refunds team

Two month later no refund. Filing a class action against this fraudster. Avoid!

Subject: Complaint Regarding Flight SAA 333 - Pathetic Service.

I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the service I received on Flight SAA 333 on 23 Dec 2023. The overall experience was marred by several issues that I feel compelled to bring to your attention.

1. Check-in Process:
The check-in queue at Terminal [X] was excessively long, significantly more so than other terminals. SAA ground control's handling of the queues was chaotic, with passengers being shifted from one line to another, allowing others to push in ahead.

2. Misinformation about Lounge:
Upon querying the ground hostess about the location of the FNB Slow Lounge, I was provided with entirely incorrect directions. A simple acknowledgment of not knowing would have been preferable to misleading information.

3. Hand Luggage Issue:
Our standard-sized hand luggage was deemed too large for the aircraft, resulting in an unnecessary delay. The inconsistency in enforcing size regulations is concerning. Later learnt that my luggage was the correct size based on measurents of the SAA policy documents.

4. Delayed Departure and Unconvincing Explanation:
The departure was delayed by approximately an hour, with the pilot attributing it to holiday season traffic. This explanation appears disingenuous, as SAA should anticipate and manage such circumstances during peak travel times.

5. Observation of Luggage Loading:
I observed that our luggage was loaded onto the aircraft just before departure, raising questions about the efficiency of the pre-flight preparations.

This series of incidents has left me profoundly dissatisfied with the level of service provided by SAA. I trust that you will investigate these matters promptly and take appropriate measures to prevent such issues in the future.

As a result of this experience, I regret to inform you that I will be avoiding SAA services in the future. I believe it is crucial for the airline to address these concerns to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty.

It is clear why this is yet another state owned disaster.