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New York JFK โ Johannesburg JNB
DEP 10:40 A.M ARR 8:20 A.M
Duration: 14hrs 50m
Seat number: 6D
Aircraft: SA204 Airbus 340
Miles Redeemed: 75,000 Aeroplan Miles + $20.90 (Aeroplan miles transferredย from Amex at 1:1 ratio and instant transfer)
Alternative Miles Program:ย
- Alaska Mileage: 70,000 miles via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific
- United MileagePlus: 80,000 miles for Star Alliance/Partner Award
Check-In
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South African Airways Business Class Seats |
Seat
As I entered the Business Class cabin, I was in love with each seat that has a shape like a pod with plenty of leg room. I was very excited to get into my assigned seat 6D that I totally forgot all about where I was heading to. There are 42 forward-facing flat bed Business Class seats with the configuration of 2-2-2. I specifically picked one of the seats in the middle so that each seat has aisle access.ย After settling down, I started to realize that the cabin has narrow feel to it and thus each seat lacks privacy.
As I continued to check out the seat, thereโs a seat control in between seats that turns the seat into a cradle or a lie-flat bed. Splendid! Thereโs no USB plugin for charging mobile devices and no Wi-Fi on-board. Also, TV monitor is accessible only from the seat and itโs really tiny. The resolution is also pretty low so I did not watch any movies or shows because the image quality was really poor.
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Lousy TV Monitor |
Amenity Kit
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Amenity Kit |
Just as I began feeling hungry, a flight attendant presented the food menu that contains lunch and breakfast menu. The lunch menu includes appetizer, main course and dessert. For appetizer I ordered the Smoke Salmon Rosetteย and for my main course I orderedย Sous-Vide Beef Rib. As the flight attendant continued serving meal, I decided to skip the cheese plate as I was so full then, but I could not say no to the sweets of cheesecake as dessert.ย
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Lie-Flat Bed
After feeling full, I made my way to the lavatory to freshen up and then got back into my assigned seat. I used the seat control to turn my seat into a lie-flat bed position. I then made the bed myself by putting the pillow and the pad on top of the bed. I put on the eye mask and decided to snooze away. The pad was super comfortable that I fell asleep right away until breakfast time.
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South African Airways Business Class Seat Turns Into Flat Bed
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I lost track of the time for how long I slept during the flight. When I was awake, the flight attendants were already preparing to serve breakfast. Great timing on my side. When the flight attendant came to take my order, I picked Yogurt, Broccoli and Cheddar Frittata with a glass of Orange Juice. It was a good breakfast.
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Breakfast
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Customer service provided by the South African Airways crew was a little bit disappointing. The overall service was just okay. Flight attendants rarely smiled and were out of reach from time to time. Perhaps they were just focusing on professionalism and less chit-chat. But one thing thatโs worth mentioning though was when our flight touched down in Johannesburg, the head of the flight attendants came out to shake each Business Class passengerโs hand and thanked us for flying with South African Airways.
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