South African Airways (SAA) review by David

I booked a business class flight from Columbus, Ohio to Durban, SA on SAA because it appeared on the reservation to be a two-stop itinerary (Washington-Johannesburg-Durban) rather than 3 stops on my preferred airline. After booking, I find that it is actually a 3 stop route, with a refueling stop in Dakar. This was not apparent in the booking process and only apparent upon checkin. To add to this, we were not allowed to get off the plane during the refueling stop and then my request for a cup of coffee was refused. The plane itself was very old, the seats uncomfortable, and shockingly for a 16 hour journey, NOT lie-flat. The power outlet did not work. I will definitely avoid SAA if possible in the future. No snacks to mention in the galley during the flight. I travelled 350,000 miles in the air last year with multiple transatlantic and transpacific flights and this was the worst.