World Traveler: Part 1 - USA to South Africa

World Traveler is intended to be a reoccurring segment following the travels of a friend. Lyssa will be starting her journey in October by flying to Cape Town, South Africa -- we'll begin there as well. She has no set schedule and plans to spend the better part of a year glob trotting wherever her whims and interests take her (or maybe wherever she can secure visas on short notice!). Each time she's looking to fly from place to place she'll be in touch and with some details so we can follow.

On her first leg Lyssa wants to fly from New York to Cape Town sometime in October. The trip will be one way which poses a problem as one way flights are traditionally more expensive. Fortunately, October being a low month for travel in the U.S., there are still deals to be had.

If your first motivation is economics then all dates in the calendar need to be open to find the best price. KLM-Royal Dutch is running a deal on flights to via Amsterdam on two Tuesdays, the 12th and 26th. Leaving JFK on an evening flight at either 4:20pm or 6:30pm and arriving in Amsterdam the following morning, this combination requires one connection to a direct Amsterdam-Cape Town daylight flight landing in South Africa shortly before 10pm. The earlier of the flights to depart JFK is a code share operated by Delta Airlines and leaves a connection time of around four and a half hours in Amsterdam. The later flight is operated by KLM and leaves a connection time of about two and half hours. This amount of time is probably sufficient for an international transfer but Lyssa should familiarize herself with the procedure prior to departing if she chooses this option. This combination of flights (with either JFK departure) currently runs $731 and can be booked on KLM's website.

Another option which eliminates the need to transfer in a third country is to take the non-stop South African Airways flight from JFK to Johannesburg and transfer to a domestic flight to Cape Town. The flight from JFK departs around 11am, flies for a little over 15 hours, and lands at 8:40am the following day -- take a moment to let the magnitude of a 15 hour flight to sink in. The benefits here are the aforementioned elimination of a third country stop and timing -- it would be nicer to arrive in the morning than late at night. This combination for flights has wider availability (October 6, 18-19, 24-28 and 31) and currently runs a few dollars over $800

A final option which is on sale for only one day in October (the 29th) is on Etihad Airlines. You may not have heard of this airline (or maybe you have) but its among the gamut of classy, middle eastern airlines that have come to prominence in the past decade. Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and competes with Emirates Airlines, based in Dubai. The airline is safe and reliable, flying a brand new fleet of Airbus aircraft. This option would have Lyssa flying from JFK to Abu Dhabi on a late evening flight which lands in the evening the following day. She would then board a connecting flight 3 hours later (again departing in the late evening) and arrive in the morning one day later. In total she would depart on the 29th at night and arrive on the 31st in the morning. Obviously timing is less preferential than the other options, which is hampered by the fact that the flight from Abu Dhabi makes a stop in Johannesburg before continuing to Cape Town. This option is currently going for $760.

What should Lyssa choose? If her schedule is completely flexible (or just happens to work out) the KLM flights are probably the best. Most obviously the price is lowest but that's just a bonus. First, Amsterdam doesn't require a visa for U.S. citizens, just a passport which she'll need anyway so connecting here doesn't present a problem.  Second she has her choice of flights leaving JFK to give her more time to connect if she needs it, or less if she's confident she can make it on the shorter time. Also it gives her a stop loosely in the middle of the trip (first a 7-8 hour flight, then 10-11). While the South African Airways itinerary is flight is slightly shorter in terms of air time, 60-90 minutes isn't terribly significant on a trip of this length. Plus who wants to spend 15 hours in the same, coach class seat?! Nevertheless this would be a good alternative if the dates of the KLM flights won't work. As for the final option, while I have complete confidence in Etihad Airways, their itinerary simply takes too long. The extra stop is unnecessary when single stop trips can be booked for similar prices.