South African Airways / FlySAA.com
Reviews and Complaints

I am just copying what I emailed to their customer services dept:

I fly with SAA quite often for business and never had any problems.
I have never in my life experienced such inefficient behaviour from one of your telephone operators as well as an insufficient website.
I have booked a ticket on line.
No ID number or Passport number was ever asked for which I found strange as this was for an international flight.
I have also paid for it online, but only when I wanted to book/confirm a seat was there a problem because the surname has changed to the first name.
Your website keeps giving me error message after error message. It is also extremely slow and sometimes quits. This usually happens just when you want to pay.

So I had to cancel the ticket, and redo the whole booking. I am quite sure this was a website error, and now I have to pay fees for this. I have tried 6 times to cancel my 1st ticket. After 2 days it is still not cancelled. I hope that this little mistake on your side won't affect the 21 day refund policy.
I repeated the whole procedure online.
I have just booked, and paid for another seat. I have the printed confirmation in my hand, but yet again on your system is shows that I have not paid.
I have phoned and spoken to 20 people in the last 24 hours. My most recent call was absolutely lovely, she put the phone down in my ear!
If your operators are not trained properly to handle stressful situations then you should not employ them.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties, please upgrade or fix your website, because obviously there seems to be big problems and not up to standard.
I am sure I am not the first customer to complain about this.

I have never experienced such unprofessional behaviour.

I will in future rethink before I use your online booking system as it clearly is not up to standard.

Kind regards

The following details the issue we've raised with SAA, the worst is that we havent received any kind of useful response from SAA. I dotn even mean a positive response, I do mean "any" kind of feedback on our issue other than that there's "no feedback" from whoever's looking at it, or supposed to be anyway.

My family recently flew SAA from Amsterdam to Port Elizabeth. I was travelling with 2 small children via Munich and my husband travelled via Frankfurt (the Munich flight was fully booked).

On 26 Dec 2010 my children and I flew flight SA 265 from Munich to Johannesburg. We arrived on time. We waited in the baggage pick up area for my husband to arrive on the Frankfurt flight SA261 which arrived 30 minutes late. By the time he came through customs, we were just getting our luggage. My children and I went up to domestic departures terminal to check in for SA flight 405 leaving at 10:15. We checked in and got our boarding passes for the 4 of us - myself, my children and my husband who was still coming up from baggage claim.

We checked in to SA flight 405 at 9:55 am and told the man issuing our boarding passes that we will wait for my husband before we board the flight. About 10 minutes later, we ran to security area, went through security and RAN to gate. When we got to our departure gate, the SAA attendants there said that the flight had left EARLY because all passengers had boarded. They had no record of the 4 of us on that flight and said we had not checked in at all. And they told us our luggage had never been on this flight, it was downstairs at left luggage.

I then, with my children go back to the check in desk and told the man who had issued the tickets to me that the gate attendants said I had not checked in. He said they were lying to me and that I should speak to his manager. At that point, I went down to retrieve our luggage and was told at the baggage claim that our luggage was on a different flight (SA 417) already as it had never been checked in to our original flight 405.

I go back upstairs and my husband buys new tickets for our J'burg - PE flight (SA 423) for a fee of R4, 500 for 3 tickets (attached file).

At no point when checking in for flight 405 did the SAA employee tell me that I did not have enough time to get through security and get to the gate before the flight closed. The flight attendants had no record of 4 passengers checked in on this flight and actually departed the gate EARLY. I ran up and down and back again with 2 small children in the airport on a wild goose chase trying to get to our flight, get our luggage, get the same employee who checked us in while getting a manage to hear our plight.

Once we spoke with the manager, she could only suggest that I write to customer care since we had already purchased the new tickets. At least she kindly upgraded our JHB-PE flight to business class as she could clearly see how frazzled and tired my entire family was after all this. The next flight was another 5 1/2 hour wait after our 12 hour journey to get to South Africa from Amsterdam.

I am seeking reimbursement for the extra tickets from JHB-PE that we had to purchase, R4500. As the flight was delayed from Frankfurt, there was no way our family would ever have made the 10:15 flight 405 after going through customs, waiting for our bags, going to domestic departures terminal, re-checking our bags, going through security again and reaching the departure gate - with 2 small children - in the 40 minutes we had.

Both my children are SAA frequent flyers (REMOVED for privacy ). In the past we have enjoyed flying on SAA but this trip was a disaster for me and my family. It was only the manager who was actually kind and helpful to us. Every other SAA employee we encountered was unhelpful, dismissive and the woman at the desk when we purchased the tickets was actually offensive and shouted at me in front of my children. It was highly unprofessional.

I booked a flight ticket online with SAA, but do not have a credit card and had to select the pay later option. Only to discover that the only pay later option available is to pay cash at a ticketing office or airport office. This in itself was a nuisance as I have to travel to get to the nearest airport, but to add insult to injury I have to pay an additional R200 "service fee" to pay CASH at one of these facilities! Other airlines offer the option to do a direct bank transfer or pay into their bank account at a bank branch. I think it is ludicrous in today's day and age that I should be discriminated against for NOT owning a credit card - the inconvenience of having to travel half a day to get to the nearest airport (not to mention the petrol cost) and then still get penalised R200! Needless to say I will NEVER fly SAA again.

• I booked a return flight for two to Eeast London from Johannesburg in August 2010
• I had an emergency and needed to postpone my trip
• I notified SAA before hand and they instructed me to place the booking on hold as a purge booking
• I was instructed to phone by the end of January (within 6 months) to make a new booking and that this booking could be made for any available future dates
• Upon phoning at the end of January the consultant spoke with her supervisor and then indicated that I needed to fly within 6 months and not book within 6 months
• This information was contrary to what was originally provided to me by the first consultant
• I requested to speak to a supervisor and was transferred to a lady called Monica who was unaccommodating, unfriendly and put me on hold without notice when I expressed my dissatisfaction at the miss-information provided by the first consultant
• After I phoned back some time later in an attempt to resolve this issue again, Monica assured me that she would check their telephone recordings and would get back to me within an hour
• Monica has still not contacted me to resolve this issue
• I have tried to contact Monica since and have left messages and she will not take or return my calls

This behavior from a representative of SAA and more importantly a supervisor is shameful and disgraceful. As a business owner, I think it is important for SAA to know how their supervisors are treating loyal customers and no matter the outcome, still believe that SAA should address the issue rather than ignore it….

My name is Jack Loggenberg, employed by Solidarity, the union. I fly regularly for busibness and private purposes. On flight SA366 (Seat 11F) on 18 January, the cabin crew leader, a tall black woman, was extremel rude and abrupt with passengers. The passengers in general were exteremely upset and grumpy about the treastment. There were loud comments at disembarking and several individuals approached the rest of the crew. in my specific case:
I normally travel with my laptop, as I work during the 2 hour flight to Cape Town. I also have medical equip-ment, known as CPAP, with me, as I suffer from Sleep Apnea. The equipment is very sensitive and expensive. On this specific flight, this woman, who in my opinion would easily qualify as a NCO in the SANDF, refused that I take my CPAP on board and the machine was taken from me, placed in a plastic bag and thrown in the hold with the other baggage. We are all aware of the manner in which luggage is handled by SAA. We see and experience the damages on a regular basis. I did not have the opportunity to even have a "fragile " sticker placed on it. if this is the way in which SAA intends treating the clients, I personally will influence my employer not to use SAA in future. I refuse to accept ill-treatment from a person who clearly requires PR training. If one compares this incident with the general treatment and atmosphere eg on Comair / BA flights, one wonders why civilised people still fly SAA. I definitely, will not use SAA for private purposes/vacation. Secondly, please send the crew on communication skills training as one cannot understand what they say, when they make announcements. Luckily, this is not a general experience, but could be disastrous in an emergency.

had to book a flight on SAA using my voyager miles that would expire. I phoned Voyager 4 times (holding on for at least 15 min per call), just to find out that for some unknown reason my flight was cancelled every time.

Eventually after another 4 calls to Voyager my flight was booked and I received my flight details. I then realized that they made a double deduction on my credit card.

I phoned Keith and Shaun NUMEROUS times (about 10 times) to get this sorted out. Everytime they promise to return my call within 10 min with a solution. Needless to say they never returned any of my calls and have been avoiding my calls ever since.

SAA Voyager have not yet refunded me for the double deduction, despite their 30 days policy. I think it is unacceptable that I have to wait 30 days for a refund from them while they get the interest on my money.

It has been more than 30 days and they have not yet refunded my money despite promises from Keith and Shaun that the problem will be sorted out.

This is unacceptable!

My 6 year old daughter flew as an unaccompanied minor (UMN) from Johannesburg to London on an overnight flight with South African Airways, when she landed on the 27th of December at 6am only wearing T-Shirt, sandals and a small skirt wrapped in a airline blanket looking totally scared and freezing cold with no hand luggage, and only one case instead of three pieces, the first thing I did was give her a big hug and reassure her.
I then found then found out that she had only put one case in the hold and due to weight limits she had to take 2 pieces of hand luggage which was handed to the Ground staff along with my daughter but had been lost

I then went to sit down and find something for my daughter to wear to keep her warm from her large case, while staff tried to find out more information and by coincidence met a nice lady who had sat next to my daughter. I asked her about the flight and mentioned SAA had lost her hand luggage she told me the crew didn’t take any notice of my daughter and that she had looked after her the whole flight

We are into the third week of waiting for this to be resolved, and can not get any progress from customer services representative, we are told that this is because she has asked managers and doing all she can people and no one is getting back to her. What is the point of having customer services if no one cooperates with them?
The content of these bags other than warm clothes were included my daughters toys which she had just had for Christmas and her recent birthday

for such a young child to fly unaccompanied in the first place is a massive worry but you put your faith in the professionals who are used to this and when the whole experience turns out to be the horror story that this has been, you would think that SAA would be in a rush to put this right and escalate this to the highest level to get it resolved as quickly as possible

The whole episode is ongoing and two and a half weeks in and SAA have not even checked the security cameras of investigated the matter fully or even acknowledged that the baggage was in their position so we can push ahead and claim for our losses.

I will never use them again

Had the misfortune of flying with SAA to LOS from JNB (SA060 dept 20 Feb 2010).

Along with scores of other passengers, I experienced missing luggage and theft from checked luggage. The degree and scale to which my fellow passengers and myself were targeted can only lead me to conclude that your baggage handling services in JNB have been contracted to an organised crime cartel. I specify JNB because I have flown into LOS from other locations without mishap or aggravation. Further, my colleagues fly on a daily basis into LOS from other international locations without incident.

Dear SAA - kindly inform the Ringmaster in charge of your JNB Security Department circus of the failure by his clowns to fulfil their function. Its just not funny anymore.

I do not even feel the need to write the whole story here, so i'll just copy and paste the letter i sent to them.

To Whom It May Concern:

The following letter serves to inform you of the disgraceful service received from a company who prides themselves in being South Africa’s Airline.

On 26/10/2010, after searching every mentionable airline on the internet, I booked a flight on SAA flight SA0343 departing 16 December 2010 at 14:00 from O R Tambo international arriving at Cape Town international at 16:10. I have never flown with SAA, so I thought it might be an experience, flying with this prestigious company.

I had gone to the nuisance of changing so many of my travel plans, seeing as my husband was already in Cape Town, and my children would arrive there shortly from Holland, and had to arrange someone to take me to the airport on the 16th, as I was working the morning. Upon my arrival, I went to the SAA Desk for book-in, where I was informed that my luggage was overweight. This I had expected. I was then sent to another counter, where I had to pay for the excess baggage, which I did.

Upon my return at the Book-in desk, I was informed that the flight was overbooked. OVERBOOKED! Is it just me, or does the planes just have a certain amount of seats to sell? How is it possible to overbook a flight? It’s absurd! Where were these people, like me, who have already booked, and paid for their tickets, supposed to sit? On the pilot’s lap? Never in my life have I heard such garbage. The thought is just beyond my understanding!

I was informed that this procedure is quite routine, which again, I cannot comprehend! How can a company, with only a limited amount of products i.e. seats on an airplane, sell more than they have in their possession? Is this how SAA makes their money? Never in the close to 30 years of me flying on domestic as well as international flights, has this ever happened! Not even on the “silly” airlines, such as MANGO or KULULA, has this ever been a problem. But this was the “excellent” service I received from South African Airways.

Not on any of my documentation or correspondence from SAA, was it stipulated that the overbooking of a flight might occur. Not even upon quick inspection of the SAA website, could I read any such notice. That possibility was not communicated to me, which may lead me to think that this might be against the law? Luckily, I am not an expert on that field.

In any event, thereafter I was put on a flight (SA 347) which would depart an hour after my planned and originally booked flight. I had to wait around the airport, during the festive season, for a secondary flight which I had to be on because somebody was not capable of doing their jobs. The other school of thought is that the overbooking of a flight is thanks a company getting greedy, and trying to cash in as much as possible, whatever the case might be.

I was not able to inform my husband, or the person dropping me off at the airport of my later departure, and subsequently my husband had the wonderful task of waiting for me in Cape Town, without any knowledge of what has happened with my flight. Eventually, I got on the second “lifesaver” flight, and this too had a delay of over twenty minutes due to a baggage problem.

I only arrived in Cape Town close to six o’clock that evening. If I had known that this was the case, I would rather have booked with another airline, one that I can place my trust in.

I can say with confidence that this was the worst traveling experience of my life. I am disappointed that this was the case, as I expected more from this company. I am not sure whether I will make use of your services again, but will most probably base that decision depending on the feedback that I am expecting from you.

Myself and my 6 year old son arrived at CPT airport, wrapped bag, proceed to check in counter.With attitude he told me that our bags are over weight & I must read the sign board, I said to him that I will pay in for the difference and he then said I must read the sign board.He then applied that I was trying to bribed him.The attitudes got worst between us.Then told me that I cannot pay for the extra weight I must go sort it out.I asked how and where and then once again was told its not his problem and I should stand on a scale at home and weigh my bags before I come to the airportand it sure looks like I need one!Management claimed to have been there through out the whole conversation.The manager told me to take my bags somewhere/wherever and unpack my bags and move some stuff into my hand luggage to make the bag lighter. From there the manager and check in assistant ignored me flat and would not help or answer any of my questions. I then took the bags off the scale and went to the side of the airport where the baggage wrap plastic is .I then started unpacking all my luggage onto the floor and in front of passing passages. A Swiss porter and the plastic wrap baggage people came to me and offered their assistance in telling me what to do and helped me weigh the bags to make sure I have the correct baggage weight. Therefore I had to rewrapped my bags at my own expense again!I went back to the check in counter, approached the manager who ignored me and then finally he told me to go back to the check in assistant that I saw at first and then he refused to help me and told me that I am rude, I went back to the manager and I was tossed between the 2.Finally decided to check me in and I was escorted by a Swiss port person to the aircraft as I was now late.Eventually got on the plane, sat down, to top it on the airhostess messed a cup of coffee all over me.Landed in JHB and my bag does not pitch. Went to the lost luggage department and get told to wait and they can try track the luggage down.While waiting at JHB airport I go to SAA Voyager counters to try at least get hold of someone/manager who can maybe be more of a assistance, I must call the call centre for customer service.CPT advices us that they are too busy today to track the bag.SAA blames ACSA and ACSA blames SAA for my luggage being lost.

Baggage had been placed on belt at SAA check in at Windhoek, Namibia airport. When picked up at Dulles after change in Johannesburg, baggage had been rummaged and several valuable items were missing. Zippers on duffle bag had been opened within which was a hip pouch, which was opened, and inside that was a camera case, which was opened, and the camera removed. Fleece jacket was on other side of duffle and was missing. An incident report was sent immediately to SAA via United, as there was no representative from SAA at Dulles. The Date of Loss: October 8, 2010. Left message at SAA office to report claim by phone: October 11, 2010, 10:40 am (no return call). Filed written report as directed by United Air: October 12, 2010 (no return call). Sent certified USPS mail. Report received by SAA: October 15, 2010 at 10:16 am in Ft. Lauderdale, FLA office. NO response! Called for follow up to claim as no correspondence has been received from SAA: Nov. 3, 2010. Filed notarized claim to SAA November 15th, 2010. Still no correspondence nor communication from SAA. Now, after reading other complaints of pilferage at South African Airways I cannot imagine how anyone could fly with SAA.

I was supposed to fly from kimberley to johanesburg on fri 10 dec on the 1455 flight african airways. then catch a connecting flight from johannessburg at 1920 for hre also on south african airways.
i checked in and was informed that the plane was 1 hr delayed i didnt really mind as i would still have enough time to catch my connecting flight. At the new boarding time 1510 i was informed that the flight was actually only leaving at 2020! i had to cancel my flight and now i have to spend more time and money negogiating for a refund it is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard shame on you saa you are truly money hungry greedies and you have lo

On the 27th Of August 2009 I flew to Cape Town on the 6am flight. All was ok on the flight but the problem started when I got to Cape Town. At the baggage claim I waited for 25 minutes for my suitcase to arrive and thats when I realised that my suitcase was not coming out. Me and 5 other passengers when to the baggage claim counter to ask where our suitcases were and they told us that our suitcases had been left in Joburg. They asked us to fill in some forms and told us that the suitcases were on the way in another flight and will be delivered to our respective addresses.

I had an appointment so I left the Airport for Stellenbosch. I was staying in a hotel in Cape Town CBD so I phoned them to alert them that my suitcase would arrive later. And it did arrive while I was out. I got back and I opened the lock with my key (the lock showed no signs of tempering) to my shock I found a red mens Jacket in my stuff (I'm female) that I had never seen in my life!Nothing of mine was missing but it was so shocking to find someones else stuff in my suitcase. I reported it to SAA in Joburg but obviously nothing was done and they didnt care! JUST A WARNING PEOPLE, BE CAREFUL WITH SAA!

I have been trying to make a reservation since Sunday 17 October 2010, on the www.flysaa.com website, which is "available" only to travels travelling from Mauritius.
Can SAA afford to lose business for five days?

My wife was due to give birth in January 2010, a week before my flight in November a complication arose that meant the baby could go into distress and need to be delivered by emergency c-section. The gynae advised strongly that I should not travel as it was likely baby would be delivered in the next 4 weeks.

Called SAA 'customer care', was told I could either rebook the flight for a fee or apply for a refund on medical grounds. To do so I would need to fax a letter from the doctor confirming the situation.

I faxed the requested documentation. Called the following day to see if it had been processed, 22 mins on hold to be told they had not received the fax. Refaxed and called back, gave up after 25 mins on hold. Called back and after 20 mins got told again, no fax received. Emailed document (which I requested to do initially) and document was received. Was then told afet a further 30 mins on hold a refund would not be granted as I was not the patient. Why send me on the wild goose chase in the first place then?!? I have spent over R200, 000 with SAA in the last 3 years and receive absolutley no consideration when I ask for something in return! I'll never use SAA again.

I recently booked a flight (JHB to Durban) on SAA online. The flight was booked, confirmed and paid for a week prior to departure on my credit card. On arriving at the airport I discovered that I had left my credit card at home in Durban the week before. At the airport I was advised that without the credit card present I could not fly. I had proof of identity, copy of the credit card, copy of the online booking confirmation all present at the airport.
SAA then advised that I needed to buy a second ticket (FOR THE SAME FLIGHT) and I would be refunded the first ticket if I contacted the call centre the next day. Hence I was forced to purchase a second ticket for the same flight (another R666). I called the call centre the next day and was advised that they would only refund the airport taxes. It is now a month later, and SAA has not refunded anything. This is theft and extortion. Forcing customers to buy additional tickets, promising refunds and reneging on this amounts to criminal action. Other airlines have business rules and processes that can accommodate situations such as mine when a customer may not have a credit card present. THEY are customer centric.

My son, Jonathan Rocha, is a second year student at the University of Plymouth. As part of his second year, he has to attend a compulsory course in South Africa. Subsequently, I contacted E-bookers and bought his flight with SAA for £816.46.
Jonathan was born Rocha and when I remarried; I changed his surname to my married name, Mason. About 3 years ago Jonathan decided to change his surname back to Rocha. He changed all his documentation i.e. driving licence, bank details etc to Rocha; except his passport!
When I booked his flight, I booked it in the name of Rocha. Not until we arrived at the airport and saw that his surname in his passport was Mason did it even dawn on me. An honest mistake! Even though E-bookers did ask me for the name in the passport, it did not occur to me that the name had not been changed. It was a genuine and honest mistake and I was soon to learn that this ‘mistake’ was going to cost £1, 690.96.
At the airport, check in desk sent us to SAA Customer Services. They allowed me to contact E-bookers who said they could reissue the ticket provided SAA authorise or agree to it. SAA refused. An hour and a half later we will still standing there whilst E-bookers were trying to pass the buck to SAA and SAA were passing the buck to E-bookers. Their only solution was that we had to purchase another ticket and come back another day, as under no circumstances would they change the name.
Despite the fact that we could prove that Jonathan was both Rocha and Mason and that this was an honest mistake, no one was willing to move ‘out of the box’ and help us. I explained to them that Jonathan is a student living on a student loan and that I have been unemployed on and off for the last two years and that we just didn’t have this sort of money. Jonathan had £766 left which he needed to survive at university and I had £110.
In the end, we decided the best to do was to spend our last penny to get him on this flight. Not attending this course would have meant that Jonathan would either have to change his course or do it next year ... This ticket cost £874.50. SAA refused to make a consideration despite me explaining our situation to them. They were disinterested, unhelpful, uncompromising and negative. Calling them ‘Customer Services’ is a joke. £1, 690.96 later both Jonathan and I are left penniless and SAA have pocketed this money without the slightest concern or consideration.
The following day E-bookers called me to advise that they would be willing to refund £235.47 within 7 – 10 working days and waiver the cancellation fee. Despite this being a shortfall of £580.99 I had no choice to accept this, as this was the best they could do. E-bookers advised me that they contacted SAA and explained the situation to them and asked them to make a consideration. They refused.
This is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE. I agree that airlines have a duty to ensure that passengers are safe and to combat terrorism but surely discretion can still be used? This reeks of ‘money grabbing’ to me. That an airline like SAA can rob their flyers like this, and get away with it, is criminal. It seems that the innocent and harmless are treated the same as the guilty and dangerous.

I had returned from Mauritius and was waiting at the turn-belt to collect my luggage and had waited for almost 45 mins for the luggage to arrive. Only to notice the baggage handlers had deliberately removed the very beautiful name tags off the suitcases. I had called to complain, but was told that Air Mauritius would handle it. I called six weeks ago and no-one called to try to replace it or anything, so when I called today, I was told that it had not been found so nothing was going to be done about it. It was around R160.00 for the item, but the buck was passed. I ordered particular food for the plain, and also was not available once on the plane. So, if something relevantly small is stolen from your suitcase or off your suitcase irrespective of the cost, they wont be doing anything about it!

I would highly recommend that you shrink wrap you suitcase before departure. Laptops and many other items are stolen on a daily basis...this did not quite happen 15-20+ years ago. VERY DISAPPOINTING! and NOT necessary.!

We had Voyager miles that needed to be redeemed by 31st March 2009. We couldn't get onto their site as we had a PIN problem Spent 2 days trying to get through to them and the call was eventually routed to SAA London. The lady sent us an email on how to reset the pin and book our miles. By the time we read the mail that evening Voyager was closed and low and behold the mail did not hold the info it was meant to. The next day was the 1st April and our 370 000 miles had expired.

Now the fun and games begin. I phoned and left messages and nobody returns your calls. Eventually I spoke to an agent who said they could help. Then I explain the whole story, and they never call you back. When I tried to call them, I'm told they are not on that shift. This happened 3 times. Then I asked for a supervisor. They are always in meetings. Eventually Lungi comes to the rescue. I needed to go to Telkom to prove that I had called Voyager on the dates I said. Eventually 3 months down the line I am told we are getting our awards issued to us.

GUESS WHAT! I am still waiting. No response to my emails, no response to my phone calls.

I flew on May 22 on SA67 from Zambia. I was flying business class. At the airplane entrance, senior crew member Koko Mungani, requested that my carry on bag should be checked in despite the fact that the bag was well within the allowed size limit (115cm sum of all dimensions). Unfortunately, I had to comply, and baggage handler that was standing next to her took my bag. When I got home I realized that my cologne was missing from inside the bag (from a small pocket on the side of the bag).