South African Airways Discussion

22 October 2017 11:10:00 Guest

Just a follow up to my message sent octobre 2015: after two years now I confirm that SAA has no policy to compensate for lost bag and is not willing to proactively respect international laws by doing so. They simply don't care about passengers. I have finally fill a case to oblige them towards my country law authority.

07 May 2017 02:05:00 Dr Vivek Solanki

Who can please help me I have lost my silver/diamond ring on a flight to Hong Kong on Friday 4/5/17 - Flight No. SA0286 and I was sitting in seat No. 48G

28 January 2017 07:01:00 Guest

It should be the worst airline i had traveled. No concrete answers from staff. They even not able to trace lost luggage. Very Bad Airline. I lost my luggage in South African Airlines and wont use this airline in future.

21 April 2016 05:04:00 Nataliya

Never never never fly with SAA - especially via Johannesburg. My parents' luggage (2 bags) got missing when they had a layover in Johannesburg on their way to Windhoek. And the SAA staff does nothing to investigate it. It's been 2.5 weeks and it is clear now that the bags were stolen. I had to file the claim to get a compensation but people say i won't get anything because SAA never cares about their reputation.

01 February 2016 10:02:00 M cassim

Arrived in Abu Dhabi 01.02.2016 from Saudi arabia Waited in the line to get over an hour to get boarding pass to fly to south Africa on 02.02.2016 at 2.05am Firstly before my departure from south Africa my bookings were changed more than 2 times and I had to change my accomadation and I didn't complain. As I get to the front I am told the flight has been cancelled Flight 279 cancelled It's now 8pm on 01.02.2016 I need to wait til the next morn 10am to get a flight to south Africa I am not given a room or a hotel over 12 hour wait They out me in a lounge which has absolutely no reclining chair even. What is this service South African airways why????? I am disgusted

21 October 2015 07:10:00 Guest

I have lost my lugage on SA 207 from Johannesburg to Dakar. When filling in the form for the claim I did provided my email and I was shocked that they used my email for advertising reason instead giving me any information on my luggage. And now I am really scared when reading your comments. My claim reference number is DKRSA23020 and I have not yet received any call from SAA in regards to my lost luggage. I am really disappointed about SSA's services knowing that I did flight Business and I was expecting much more better handling of my luggage!

16 March 2015 06:03:00 Lazarus

JNB..Worst business class lounge I have been in, ever.

25 February 2015 11:02:00 Guest

I am writing to report my utter dismay at the lack of consideration for some passengers on Flight SA235 which left London Heathrow Airport for Johannesburg, 20.02.2015. It was evident from the off that there was a heating problem in the aircraft and nothing was done to appease those being affected. I have tried several times to log and register my complaint but it seems that there is a timed window in which to record one's concerns and if outside of this, it does not allow you to complete the form. (There is no warning on the website, how inconsiderate) The very least I would have expected an apology during the flight as the problem with the air conditioning was very apparent. This seemingly affected the middle section of the plane and not the front or back. Given the excessive heat and subsequent problems of dehydration, which caused me to have no sleep at all, it is not something that I expected from an SAA flight. I resorted to lodging my complaint with two cabin crew members who offered me the cold air from the fridge in the gulley. I was not offered water throughout the flight in recognition of the heat except for the usual water that was being offered but not as a consequence of the system bellowing out hot air. What amazed me towards the end of the flight was the captain/commander asking passengers to stow away there used blankets in the overhead storage. Using the blankets was the last thing those of us affected would be using. This showed me that this was either an ill informed comment or the cockpit crew were not made aware of the complaints that others had made throughout the flight. As far as cabin standards go, SAA should do more in competing with its rivals. Many aircrafts now have charging sockets for tablets, phones and laptops as well as internet access whilst flying. Given SAA is a major carrier for its own country, how come it is lagging so far behind? I return to the UK on the 4th March 2015 and hope that there is not a repeat of my terrible experience. An 11 hour flight is no laughing matter and I wish that my complaint is given the courtesy it requires as well as the appropriate compensation.

08 September 2014 12:09:00 Guest

I had a wonderful flight

12 August 2014 09:08:00 Kelsy

I would like to submit a formal complaint regarding how South African Airways has handled my lost luggage. My lost luggage baggage reference number is VFASA10907. Five days ago (on August 7) I took two South African Airways flights: the first SA 189 fr om Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg; the second SA 40 fr om Johannesburg to Victoria Falls. When I arrived in Victoria Falls, my luggage was not there. I understand these things happen, and luggage can be delayed, but how South African Airways has behaved since the incident has been completely unacceptable. I submitted a lost luggage form, and when I checked online, most of the details (including my address) were wrong. My emails to baggage claim regarding the discrepancies were ignored. I finally had to personally call to get the details changed. After several days without hearing anything regarding my luggage, I had to go in person to the South African Airways baggage counter to ask them to call DAR, JNB, and VFA to see if my luggage was at any of these places. As I am traveling throughout Africa, I've been to 3 different airport baggage counters asking them to perform this simple task to try to track down my luggage after 5 days of nothing being done, and no updates to me personally. Most of the time, the employees do not have the phone numbers to these baggage claim counters at the specific airports. When they do have the number and call (only after being asked to do so IN PERSON) no South African Airways employee picks up even during normal business hours. At one airport, I was given the number to DAR and VFA baggage counters and told to call them in the morning. First, I do not have an international phone plan and cannot make these calls. Second, I asked why South African Airways would not do their job and try again in the morning. They said that they were the night shift and could not control what the day shift would do - maybe the day shift would call, maybe they wouldn't, and I should call these places to make sure. Meanwhile, this is my first trip to Africa and I have spent a considerable portion of time and money planning activities each day so I can see Africa and not * my time doing South Africa Airways' job. Instead, I have now spent considerable time and money doing the airline's job and missing portions of my planned trip. I would like someone to call Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, and Victoria Falls and find out wh ere my luggage is. My luggage was initially left in the control of SAA and has been since. It should be at one of these three locations and yet for some reason it has been nearly impossible to get a South African Airways employee at these airports to confirm wh ere my luggage is or even to update me as to the status of the search. This is completely unacceptable and below any reasonable standard of care, especially as it is the airline's responsibility to track down my luggage, not mine.

13 January 2014 10:01:00 Elanie

Dont fly SAA. They will not refund you for anything. I've seen them make a lot of people unhappy. No customer service. They recently charged me double for the same seat. Refuse to refund me for at least one ticket. Booked my ticket in married name and my passport is in maiden name. With proof like a marriage certificate, California drivers license and Advance Parole card of my married status they refused to let me board plane. I had to purchase a new ticket for $2500.00 .. $700.00 more than original ticket. Why not just charge a re booking fee???? There were 4 other people on same flight with same problem. That's just not fare..

20 September 2013 08:09:00 Guest

Worst airline imaginable! Their regard for their passengers is entirely missing, and their customer service staff, rude, obnoxious and condescending. South African Airways recently change flight schedules causing a great many passengers to have to add additional nights in South Africa or forfeit previously paid accommodations, in other cities in Africa losing monies already paid for accommodations. In addition, those returning to the U.S. had to pay change fees to U.S. carriers because of missed connections. South African Airways never provided any advance notice to their passengers or made any attempt at accommodating those they had dramatically inconvenienced to the tune of hundreds of dollars. When our air consolidator contacted SAA customer service looking for some resolution to all the financial problems they had caused, the SAA customer service representative was absolutely rude and offensive to our consolidator. When I personally contacted the SAA customer service line, I received the same revolting repulsive treatment. When I explained to the SAA representative that I was a travel professional, the representative became even more rude and condescending, telling me if I did not like how SAA did business to go elsewhere. That is precisely what I will do! ANYONE thinking to traveling to Africa or South Africa should absolutely avoid SAA and use European or Middle East air carriers. Having had a lot of experience, I would recommend using Emirates Air instead.

20 September 2013 08:09:00 Guest

I recently flew from Windhoek to Vancouver via Johannesburg and London using various airlines along the way. My best experience during the total of my travels was on flight SA 235 from London to Oliver Tambo. The sevice was of a very high standard and the staff on board were helpful and friendly. One air hostess stood out above the rest for her extreme helpfulness - Lelanie Strauss. I do hope the management at SAA also read these comments and award this lady accordingly. She was an excellent ambassador for SAA and South Africa

19 September 2013 04:09:00 EPCWorld

Hiiiiiiiiiiiii, yes, i agree with your words

19 September 2013 02:09:00 Maria Hidalgo

I agree ..... South African Airways doesn´t care about customer. They always miss your luggage and pay you an offensive low quantity of money for your missing luggage.