After a flying a virtual private jet to Johannesburg, I was very much looking forward to what South African would offer on their widebody international flight.
Upon boarding the plane, one of the first things that struck me was how well the design esthetic of the seats captured the rugged romanticism associated with South Africa and the safaris they it is known for.
The seats were full lay flat and also featured TVs that were tucked away in the stand. While many of the seats you see on Business Class products feature a massage setting, this was the first one that truly felt strong enough to be called a massage.
As I sat down, I was offered champagne in a glass which I took even though I knew that I most likely would not drink all of it.
Here I am looking very suave and sophisticated. Surprisingly, I finished the glass and it turned out to be quite tasty.
Prior to take off, we were presented with the drink and food menus for the flight and as you can see, it was quite well rounded.
After reaching cruising altitude, we were brought our canapes to whet the appetite and I found them to be quite tasty.
As was expected, the soup on board was delicious. I cannot recall exactly what it was but I believe it was a potato leak soup with creme fraîche.
For dinner, I chose to go with the Spinach Ravioli and it was a great combination of flavours. Even though they provide a very large portion, I wanted more as it was delicious.
My daughter, my 7 YEAR OLD daughter decided to go with the springbok as she is a lot more adventurous than I am. It was presented beautifully but as with many meats served on a plane, it was a little on the dry side. Springbok is an antelope local to South Africa and is considered a game meat and after taking a bite, I can attest to the gamy taste. To her credit, my daughter manged to eat a good portion of the meat.
For dessert, we were provided with pistachio ice cream, and while it wasn’t as well presented as on our Turkish Airlines flights, it proved to be quite delicious. I love the idea of being able to enjoy ice cream 32,000 feet in the air.
As for the amenity kit, it was standard fare but I did like the bag a lot. In my mind, the bag’s deep brown color represents South Africa well.
I ended up not sleeping on the flight and spent the majority of my time chatting with the purser for the flight. He had worked for South African Air for over 10 years and had a love for travel and airplanes so we talked for a couple of hours while most people slept.
The thing that I found most appealing about South African Air was the friendliness of the people. This was a common theme with everyone that we had met in South Africa and it really helped cement my desire to return in the near future.