South African Airways Tops Chart

As South Africa is a growing international tourism haven, South African Airways is certainly keeping up with the destination’s rise in popularity. Along with celebrating their tenth (!) year in a row as Africa’s Best African Airline, South African Airways (SAA) continues to expand its international destinations. On my recent trip there, I experienced the best of the best in both service and comfort.

According to the world’s largest customer satisfaction survey, Skytrax, SAA scored a double success at the 2012 World Airline Awards. Travelers voted the brand as the best African airline as well as having the best airline staff service in Africa. It’s currently the leading carrier continent-wide, and serves 26 destinations.

In my opinion, their Business Class is particularly impressive. With a number of spacious lounges in airports worldwide, the airline takes the extra step in attending to all of their customers’ needs, whether that means providing Wi-Fi, private spaces, or great selections of food and wine — straight from the vineyards of South Africa. When I traveled from Johannesburg to JFK on SAA, I was treated to personalized entertainment and a seamless experience from beginning to end. The wide seats allowed for plenty of space, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the lounges. However, economy flyers: have no fear! I flew Coach on the journey to Johannesburg and the service was comfortable and attentive as well.

While in South Africa, I also had a wonderful time with our amazing guide, Shaheed Ebrahim, who was just awarded the title of Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year for his tour-operating company, Escape to the Cape. His youthful spirit and tech-friendly business allowed us to have Wi-Fi on all of our bus rides as well as ample charging facilities on board. Not only does South African Airways make traveling to South Africa easy, but they have an abundance of up-and-coming young travel experts to make every tourist’s stay exciting and welcoming!

So if you’re one of the many people who have always been curious about South Africa and what awaits there, why put the trip of a lifetime off any longer? There are safaris, world class cuisine and wines, adventurous escapes in mountains, urban playgrounds, gorgeous beaches and welcoming people. Plus, it has something for everyone. Cape Town and Johannesburg are modern cultural oases. Kimberly’s diamond mines are fascinating, and Augrabies Falls in Upington are certainly a sight to see.

South African Airways is the perfect link to your next international getaway.