Review - South African Airways Business Class A330-300 Johannesburg to São Paulo Guarulhos

SA222 JNB-GRU

December 30th, 2024

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Review - Mont Rochelle Hotel and VIneyard

Review - The Plettenburg, an SLH Hotel

Review - InterContinental Johannesburg O.R.Tambo Airport

Review - South African Airways Business Class A330-300 Johannesburg to São Paulo Guarulhos

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Check-in:

We spent our overnight layover at the InterContinental Johannesburg Airport and walked over to the terminal for our flight to Brazil. You can’t beat the convenience of an airport hotel connected to the terminal. However, don’t think you can just waltz in to the airport right before departure, because the employees at O.R. Tambo will evoke your yearning for the TSA. Inefficiency aside, the attitude, girl, the attitude. I’m pretty sure the stereotype of an “African bureaucrat on a power trip” originated from this very airport.

South African Airways (SAA) used to be a much more substantial airline, with destinations spanning from Beijing to Washington and everything in between. Since the pandemic, it shrank significantly - retired its A340-600s and sold its A350-900s. SAA was losing money way before that though. Nowadays, SAA is on less shaky financial ground and is trying to regrow into its former self.

We first found South African Airways’ premium check-in area, or so we thought.

South African Airways Premium Check-in at JNB

South African Airways Premium Check-in at JNB

South African Airways Premium Check-in at JNB

There was a bit of a queue there, so we waited for about 15 minutes. Once it was our turn, we were told the São Paulo flight had a separate check-in located on a different aisle. It is what it is.

South African Airways Premium Check-in at JNB

What frustrated me was there was no priority security or passport control, which was exacerbated by how inefficient everything was. So no, I did NOT FUCH with Joburg Airport.

Bart P. Fuchs IV Himself

Lounge:

By the time we made it past all the formalities, it was well over an hour later. Unfortunately, we did not have time to visit the lounge. Based on the reviews online, though, we didn’t seem to have missed much.

Boarding:

Boarding commenced 20 minutes behind schedule. There was yet another document check, which seemingly took another eternity. I spotted the Air China A350 bound for Shenzhen in the distance.

Air China A350-900 at JNB

And here was our bird for the southernly Atlantic crossing.

South African Airways A330-300 at JNB

Upon boarding, I was greeted by the FAs at the door. Business class had a light load with maybe half of the seats taken. We were originally seated in the rear business cabin. Shortly after we sat down, the purser came by and promised (wink wink) us that we would get better service if we moved to the front cabin. It was a bulkhead for bulkhead swap situation, so we obliged.

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Cabin

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Cabin

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Cabin

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Cabin

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Cabin

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Cabin

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Cabin

At first glance, the cabin looked quite nice. SAA went with the Thomspon VantageXL seats for the retrofit. This is a somewhat popular product found on airlines like Philippine Airlines, Qantas and SAS. I do find the earthy tones fitting for an African airline.

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Seat

The legroom for the bulkhead seats was beyond generous. However, I did find the seats to be positioned extremely low. I felt like I was sleeping on the floor when it’s fully reclined.

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Seat

For comparison, here is the legroom in a non-bulkhead seat.

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Seat

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Seat

I’m not sure when the retrofit was completed, but these seats have already seen some days.

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Seat

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class Seat

During boarding, I perused the menu for the day, which reads as follows:

For whatever reason, there was no wine list - expect mostly South African wines, while champagne was Moët. Frankly, I would have preferred a MCC sparking, but nobody asked me. A welcome drink was served. We went with champagne and orange juice. The side of biltong was delicious. OMG I just remembered the biltong I had in this brewery (I know, but you can only drink so much wine) in Franschhoek. It was coated in like honey or like a syrup and had like chili flakes on it, and it was so yummy. Anyway…

South African Airways Business Class Pre-departure Drink JNB-GRU

Soon enough we were ready for pushback. I switched to an empty window seat for takeoff.

South African Airways A330-300 at JNB

Malawi Airlines B737-800 at JNB

Inflight:

Service was very slow to get started. We got a hot towel once we leveled off, though it was an hour and some change until we received the next thing. It wasn’t a big deal on this westbound daytime flight, but I sure would hope for more expedient service in the other direction.

South African Airways Business Class Hot Towel JNB-GRU

I browsed the onboard IFE system, which was only turned on after takeoff. There were 85 movies in total, along with some pretty random options like the David Rubenstein show on Bloomberg…

South African Airways A330-300 Business Class IFE

Eventually the trolley carts were rolled down the aisle, a universal signal of thrilling festivities. Lunch started with a shrimp amuse-bouche.

South African Airways Business Class Lunch Amuse-bouche JNB-GRU

I was then offered a choice of beverage. I asked for a South African white and was presented with the Marklew sauvignon blanc. For a sub $10 bottle, it was not offensive.

South African Airways Business Class Lunch Beverage JNB-GRU

An aperitivo was not on the agenda today. While I’d like to shame them for that, I reminded myself Etihad also doesn’t serve apéritif in business class.

Moving on, the appetizer came with the tray. I chose the pumpkin soup.

South African Airways Business Class Lunch Appetizer JNB-GRU

Allegedly we got some salt from the Kalahari Desert.

South African Airways Business Class Lunch JNB-GRU

For my main, I went with the “several colours”, described as shredded lamb with lamb jus, creamy pap, pickled beetroot, creamy spinach and chakalaka mayo.

South African Airways Business Class Lunch Main Course JNB-GRU

My partner went for the coconut fish and prawn curry with steamed basmati rice, sautéed green beans, grilled butternut batons and toasted coconut shavings.

South African Airways Business Class Lunch Main Course JNB-GRU

Lastly, I ordered the banana and caramel cake.

South African Airways Business Class Lunch Dessert JNB-GRU

To accompany that was a creamy cappuccino. The FA warned me that it was extremely sweet, and she did not lie.

South African Airways Business Class Lunch Coffee JNB-GRU

I thought the meal service was passable. Everything was served from the trolley. That aside, the quality was about average.

I spent the next several hours napping, albeit with moderate success. While it comes down to personal preferences, the bedding was too hard for my liking, especially the pillow.

Prior to making landfall in Brazil, a pre-arrival meal was served. The options were either a power bowl or a spicy chicken tortilla wrap. Unlike on most northern transatlantic flights, SAA served an appetizer with the pre-landing meal. I had the grilled tuna slices, which was okay.

South African Airways Business Class Pre-arrival Meal Appetizer JNB-GRU

The main course was meh.

South African Airways Business Class Pre-arrival Meal Main Course JNB-GRU

Is that… Godzilla..?

Approaching GRU

On Arrival:

We touched down right on schedule and parked next to a LATAM B777. So what do I think about South African Airways? Honestly, I flew it for the novelty of it, and it’s about what I expected. It fits perfectly in the “it’s fine” category of airlines. I paid around $1,200 for this one-way business class ticket, and the value is quite competitive. I’ve actually seen it priced under $1,000 before. The fare is a bit higher on LATAM, although not by a big margin. SAA hasn’t resumed flights to the US yet, but I think I’d prefer United or Delta anyway.

LATAM Airlines B777-300ER at GRU

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