Find First Class Flights to South Africa

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FAQs for South Africa first class flights

  • How does KAYAK find such good deals on First Class tickets to South Africa?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights to South Africa for economy class as well as First Class travelers.

  • What is the best airline for first class flights to South Africa?

    The highest-rated airline by KAYAK users offering first class flights to South Africa is Delta, with an overall rating of 8.0.

Top 5 airlines flying to South Africa

Need help choosing which airline to fly first class to South Africa? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.1
EmiratesOverall score based on 3303 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.2Entertainment
7.9Food
8.3Crew
8.1Boarding
Airline reviews

Good flight overall. Good options of food on NY-Dubai-Mumbai leg. Not that good reversing back. The flight crew is courteous and professional as always. The seating was much more comfortable going into Mumbai than coming back. Cheers!

6.0 GoodCharley, Feb 2025BOM - DXB
Read more Emirates reviews

Good flight overall. Good options of food on NY-Dubai-Mumbai leg. Not that good reversing back. The flight crew is courteous and professional as always. The seating was much more comfortable going into Mumbai than coming back. Cheers!

The boarding process was smooth and the stewardesses were nice. Some delays with drinks at the end of the flight, but no issues.

Excellent comfort and entertainment. Service poor..Food average with little choice.

Comfort poor, little leg room, cabin temperature too hot. No free entertainment. No complementary drinks. Overal experience poor and would not travel with them again.

The plane seemed pretty old and the food was not good

Boarding, seats, entertainment and service were all great. Food was great except for the fact that there were too many sweet items.

The service on board was excellent, the flight wasn’t overbooked and we departed and arrived on time.

Poor flight aircraft very old Crew was friendly 1 person though

Very bad groud crew taking bags less than 7kg Bad food Old plane

Loved that I had an exit row seat, and there was no one else in the row! And again, I don' use on-line entertainment at all (I read or sleep) but I very much appreciate that I didn't hear anyone else's entertainment!

Overall, terrible. Flight from SFO was delayed due to “air traffic control issues”, and we were all mislead about connecting flights. Told “you have 20 minutes to catch your connection”. Reality was 5. We got to watch the plane sit at the bridge. Won’t fly Delta with a connection again.

The young man who was our flight attendant in first class was lazy and did not do his job well at all. Never offered drinks upon boarding - actually I take that back... said "are you okay with water" as if I do not want to get you anything else, only passed the snacks around once, got my drink order wrong and then never offered a second round of drinks. He was the worst I have ever seen on Delta and we fly a lot.

Flight left early and arrived early. the whole trip was excellent.

It was terrible, I sat next to a person with a cat, I'm allergic to animal dander, my discomfort was extreme

Great list of movies, seat was generally comfortable, but not much shoulder room. The fresh baked cookie mostly made up for the lack of variety with the meals, which were all tomato based.

I was with one of the last zones to board. It was kind of annoying to finally get called to board and my whole section was already on the plane. Clearly they boarded with previous zones. So by the time I got on board, there were no spaces for my luggage above my head. I had to put my luggage 4+ rows behind me, which meant that I had to wait even longer to get off the plane, since I had to wait for those rows to clear the aisle before I could retrieve my luggage and exit the plane. This also held up the plane cleaners, as they couldn't service my row until I cleared it, so they were all standing there waiting for me, while I'm standing there waiting for the other passengers to clear the aisle. Anyways, I wasn't in a rush this time, so I just waited, but I could see that being a problem in the future. Now, I could have checked my luggage, of course, but coincidentally, a friend of mine on the same flight got their luggage damaged (wheel completely knocked off) and was told by the Baggage Attendant in the airport that Delta doesn't "cover wheel damage" on luggage. This was disappointing to hear. I'm glad I didn't check mine through. If it were my luggage, I'd be highly frustrated to hear that. It makes me not want to check my luggage in the future.

We were forced to wait nearly 50 additional minutes before leaving the terminal.

Delta flight attendants poorly managed the boarding process and overhead storage. My bag was checked last minute and no claim ticket was provided. My bag is now lost. Complete incompetence by all flight crew involved.

Inexpensive, got an exit row aisle aeat with no middle passenger, bought a great breakfast sandwich, flight comfortable & arrived ahead of schedule.

Most of my discomfort was going through TSA. However, the Delta seats had inadequate leg room and I tried my very best to connect to the wi-fi and it was a cumbersome process that finally gave me the info that I needed to sign in AFTER I had completed the flight...Why make it so difficult to use? That said I really really appreciate the pilot taking a little extra time to avoid a bad storm area and both landings in Atlanta and Orlando were flawless to my delight!!!

Alaska Airlines misleads customers. Our flight was booked as a direct flight, and they added a stop without informing anyone. Do not fly Alaskan Airlines.

Great crew, great boarding, old B-list movies, no free meal service, child kicking my seat back all flight long, early arrival, then 40 minute, confused wait for bags.

THere was no WiFi and therefore no entertainment on the flight, but everything else was fine. The flight got in so early we had to wait for a gate to be clear.

Crew was great, flight was uneventful (which is what you want!), would like media in the seat backs in all airplanes ..but all in all it was a good flight experience.

We were asked to be flexible and change our date and flight for $25. We met guests who were paid much more. Our seats assigned were the last row backing to the wonderful smell & sounds of the restroom. People waiting in line to use it as well. Further, we could not use the $50 to pay for our $120 baggage fees.

The staff is excellent paying attention to your needs which in my case is the need for wheelchair assistance. I will try to fly Alaska Airlines whenever possible and recommend to my friends and family to fly Alaska Airlines!

All 4 members of my family found the seats terribly uncomfortable. 2 of us suffered from back issues the next few days.

Well it was late 35 minutes for boarding. Something you can't make up in a 5 1/2 hour trip? There IS no entertainment. There IS no food. The comfort is so so. You guys used to be so good. You charged me for check in baggage, then ask people to check it in for free while waiting to board?! Shame on you for turning into Spirit and Frontier Airlines.

Overall flight was very very good. It was on time, plane was clean, staff was great, free WiFi was wonderful, especially for my young boys and did not have to wait tiling at baggage claim. The free snacks could have been better for children under 10, They did not like the biscuits/cookies and the pretzels were stale.

Nice to have direct flights and the service on Alaska is always pleasant and makes the flight comfortable.

Overall very poor. Flight was disorganised, staff were rude and this is my second experience with KLM that I've had baggage go missing. It feels like, if you are an economy customer, KLM staff do not show you any care. I shall never fly with KLM again. Worst airline in Europe

Great boarding, great short flight but no entertainment whatsoever and no wifi. Prepare to disembark by a staircase.

Great boarding, great short flight but no entertainment whatsoever. It was supposed to have wifi but that did not work.

Transfer at CDG to connecting KLM flight to Amsterdam was a NIGHTMARE. LONG WALKWAYS, NO MOVING WALKWAYS, POOR signage, Have to take a train & No staff visible to help navigate the maze. AVOID TRANSFER AT CDG AT ALL COST.

Good flight with KLM, friendly staff. Food was good, had much worse on other airlines. Selection of drinks also good enough for us. Entertainment was also good. The economy seats are ok and that’s it. For a 12 hour flight I think a little more comfort in the economy seats in pitch and softness would be highly appreciated by the customers and can makte the difference.

Good food. Excellent crew service. Clean aircraft. Narrow seats and isle.

There was fog in Amsterdam so many flights were delayed because of the weather. Air France knew that the flight would be delayed by two hours but still boarded the plane on time. Instead of letting the passengers wait at the gate we were crammed into the plane. It was uncomfortable. No refreshments were given. I couldn’t charge my devices onboard.

I tried to upgrade to premium economy anis seat online during the checkin process. The payment didn’t work due to a technical glitch on KLM’s website. I wasn’t able to change my seat unless I called Amsterdam. Since I was in Canada and there’s a time difference this wasn’t practical. So when I arrived early to Ottawa airport my seat wasn’t available and I could only get a middle seat in premium economy which isn’t great. These middle seats are priced at the same rate as an aisle seat which makes no sense.

The food & entertainment really stood out in terms of quality. The nasi goreng & chicken satay were absolutely delicious. It’s great that KLM feature international cuisine.

Seats were comfortable crew members support was very good but AVML ordered or selected by us needs a lot of improvement.

Seats very small and unable to pre purchase internet or seat upgrades

I was unable to pre purchase sear upgrades or internet. Their online site is not user friendly and poor. I felt singled out in customs. Seats are very small even for a small person.

I was denied lounge facility at airport. Explanation was not satisfactory.

The only thing that could have been better, is that the food trays get left way to long after a meal. We had a snack 8 hrs into the trip, and they left us with the boxes and cups for way too long. It is not fun being trapped in your seat unnecessarily

Worst air experience in whole life . Boarding and checking was hassle as they did 3 times. Crew team was clueless about passengers need. Despite of passengers raising hand , they were resetting the program

Seating is terrible, having seats so crammed is unacceptable for a 15-hour journey. I cannot stress enough how uncomfortable it is to sit in such an aircraft. Leg space is roomier in a domestic aircraft. I have not experienced this kind of crammy seating in domestic flights either in the US or other international airlines overseas.

Our male flight attendant was top notch - wish I could remember his name. Boarding is never fun when I have to ride the shuttle to the middle of the tarmac and pull my carry on bags up the stairs to my seat. My knees are banged up and my shoulders give me pain, so the flight started off poorly. The seat leg rests don’t recline completely so that makes is difficult if not dangerous to get in and out of the middle seats. The entertainment system touch screens prevented one from seeing the options. They are old and the software needs to be updated. I was on six planes in the last two weeks and able to see the flight progress without any stress. Couldn’t watch anything else. I do like Qatar Airways, just not a fan of a few things.

Overall good. Food choice in business class is a concern as same dishes on every flight for months. Crew is great and seats on this sector were fine . They need to have more variety in dining

There was not enough food for everybody. Some dishes were missing.

riding in first class, you don't expect every time you order your dinner or breakfast that the first thing the stewardess says is Let me see if we have any left. Also, the food selection was not great: 3 of 4 entrees had mushrooms and I dont eat mushrooms, the 4th item was 'let me see if we have any left' and this was within 30 mins of entering the flight! Same experience level, it didn't feel first class this round.

Everything you need to know for your flight to South Africa

Cabin class types available on flights to South Africa

Cabin classes available on flights to South Africa. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.

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