SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS Business Class Seat reviews

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS BUSINESS CLASS SEAT REVIEW   :   AIRBUS A330-200

I was seated in 3G (Business class) from Joburg - Mumbai. After takeoff, drinks are served twice before the meal. After lunch, settled into a movie and extended the seat into "lie flat" mode. The bed is comfortable with a duvet, mattress and pillow. I was able to sleep 4 hours which is sufficient for a day time flight. Overall I think SAA have got it right with the business class product and is worth every cent.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS BUSINESS CLASS SEAT REVIEW   :   AIRBUS A340-600

HKG-Johannesburg. Morning to late afternoon flight. Check in was fast. Seats were new ones, Fully flat bed. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner were great. Snack and drinks were fair. In-flight entertainment was good. Slept for 5HR, seat was great for sleeping. Toilets and cabin crew were good.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS BUSINESS CLASS SEAT REVIEW   :   AIRBUS A340

Very comfortable flat bed seat with massage feature, slept right through and settings can even raise feet slightly above head. Spacious calm cabin, high quality food and excellent cabin service with high ratio of staff to customer.

The seat went completely flat and was a good length. The only issue with the seat was the lack of privacy because of the 2x2X2 configuration, but for me this was an acceptable trade off for a flat bed. However, the entertainment system needs a total overhaul - this old plane barely had any system at all. Just 5 movies and 3 TV options. Worse still, all were shown on a rotating schedule, not on demand. And it was impossible to determine what was playing on any channel at any given time. The screen said to consult the inflight magazine, but the magazine only gave a description of the films; it didn't provide channel or air times. When I asked the steward about this, his advice was to scroll through all of the films in progress to find something I liked. The food was also disappointing - overcooked lambchops in mystery sauce, followed later in the flight with a bland plate of roasted vegetables. Overall, the experience was mediocre at best.SAA needs to upgrade the experience on this old aircraft. They seem to have started with the seats, but now the rest needs an overhaul too.

Great experience. Staff friendly and attentive. Seats are flat and horizontal. IFE was good - films and games for those interested.

On the outbound flight the seat next to me was empty so I used the spare duvet as a mattress which worked like a charm, 7-8 hrs of good sleep. The in-bound flight was full so I tried using an economy class blanket but this did not work as well. Managed to get 6-7 hrs of sleep. Even though the seats are lie- flat they are still a lumpy in places and appear to get more so as the planes age? so doing this does help soften the seat a little. I find the seats too short, I'm 1.82m tall and find that my feet bump the seat in front of me when I sleep. Tend to sleep better on my side, in the foetal position on these seats. Meal servings were much more generous on the in-bound flight which was a surprise. The service was also much better.

Very spacious cabin in a 2x2x2 layout, with generous pitch between rows. Excellent amenities, including the best blanket/duvet I have seen an airline offer. Seats are very wide, and length is good. The sleeping position is truly flat, seat motors can be slightly noisy. Note that this plane is used for other SAA routes, and I would recommend it over the A340-300 version, which has the same seat but the cabin feels more cramped and the amenities are not as plush.

The seats are very comfortable and recline into a fully flat bed encased in a shell to provide some privacy while you sleep. The seat has three preset modes - sitting, cradle and bed, all of which are very comfortable. You can also alter any aspect of the seat to make yourself more comfortable. With a feather pillow and duvet, I had no problem sleeping for long periods on this 17 hour flight. The food is excellent and there is a wide selection available. The bar is also impressively stocked. For entertainment there are at least 20 new movies to watch, as well as games, documentaries, movies, a realtime flight map and external camera which is nifty for day flights and take-off. My only gripe is the potential lack of privacy. I was travelling with someone, so it wasn't a problem, but if you're travelling alone, you will be in close and intimate proximity to a stranger, which could irritate some people. SAA should consider screens or barriers such as seen on British Airways or Emirates.

No menus, selection announced over the intercom, no proper hot towels. Seat broken on flight out and on return. Seat privacy dividers have not worked since the day SAA took delivery of A340-600. Inflight entertainment system was showing the same movies on both flights, even though the month had changed.

JFK to Johannesburg and it was wonderful. Great down pillow and duvet. The amenity kit was delightful, full of Clarins products to help you feel refreshed and smelling good on the other side!

Good room in the various compartments for storage. The seats were very comfortable for sitting and perfect for sleeping, although they were in a conventional two-by-two format rather than wishbone with pods. The food was fantastic and service was top notch.

PER-JNB. No pre departure drinks. Meal service good with excellent food and wine choices. Excellent truly flat beds but privacy screen broken. One thing I noticed was that it was easy to drop the IFE controller down the side of the seat which then falls into the back of the seat shell. Great duvets and pillows and good grooming kits. Definitely need noise cancelling headsets. I went through 3 sets before they worked properly. All in all a good flight with comfortable restful beds. Only shame is cabin crew.

Still one of the better business class seats in the air. I like the conventional forward facing arrangement. Privacy screen available if you need. Seat folds fully flat and combined with the generous pillow and duvet affords good rest on long haulers. If SAA could come up with some descent IFE including noise cancelling headsets and consistent cabin service they'd be an excellent rather than good airline.

The seats are very good. Also the blanket is excellent. They lack privacy but impeccable otherwise. The service though is poor. I was being woken up twice in the morning even though I said that I did not want to have breakfast.

Frankfurt - Joburg. Excellent seat, truly excellent lie flat. Pillows and blankets of excellent quality, a level more than many others excellent airlines providing lie-flat.

Just travelled the FRA-CPT-FRA route. Top rate service, top rate comfort. Compared to the DL B763 new Biz-Elite seat the day before FRA- CPT, SAA was wonderful. Uninterrupted sleep on a true flat bed. It is a shame, US carriers cannot match this sort of service/cabin element. Will look forward to the next SAA business class trip soon!

What use to be a pleasant trip on SAA to anywhere in the world, now has become a question of SAA trying to cut costs to the detriment of its customers. Seat was comfortable as usual, but SAA can learn a lot about service from Thai Airlines (which I prefer these days). Not only is Thai Airlines cheaper than SAA, but the quality of the food is much better. SAA should concentrate on providing better service to business class passengers if it wants to get out of the red.

An excellent seat, one of the best in the air. I slept comfortably most of the way from JNB to IAD!

Earlier reviews have been archived (prior to the date of last review above).