• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  Award Bookings  >  South African Airways Award Space Not Bookable
Award Bookings

South African Airways Award Space Not Bookable

Matthew Klint Posted onOctober 1, 2014December 6, 2016 2 Comments

South African Airways has been a stalwart member of Star Alliance for the last eight years and offers an extensive route network within Africa and to key cities around the world from its hub in Johannesburg. Although I would never characterize award space as overly generous, some routes, like São Paulo – Jo’burg, offer excellent award space. But for reasons we have yet to find out, all SA flights are now unbookable using miles, unless you have miles in South African’s own Voyager program.

One week ago today, all South African flights disappeared from StarNet, the system Star Alliance carrier’s use to share award inventory. This was by no means a case of people booking up the space, as every flight on every route showed as unavailable.

south-african-airways-website-03

There is no way that every single seat between JNB and CPT is booked at the end of next month

I assumed it was a temporary glitch – perhaps a system update on the side of South African since the space was not bookable anywhere except by logging into the South African Voyager website and searching the space. There, it is still bookable.

south-african-airways-website-02

Yesterday, I noticed the following ad on South African’s website:

south-african-airways-website-01

A new flyaa.com website that may have been the culprit? Would this problem be solved today? I sure hoped so.

But it has not been – we are now into October in South Africa and all the space remains unbookable. As it happens, I am trying to book a trip with South African Airways, so the matter is all the more urgent!

There are no tips for booking the space at this time – no long sells or need-needs will secure this space unless you have SA miles. We saw American Airlines lose the ability to book Etihad space on a temporary basis a few months back and Aeroplan members lost access to both EVA and Air China earlier this year (though the lost of Air China space was deliberate blocking by Aeroplan).

I have reached out to some contacts to try and find out what is going on and will provide an update as soon as I hear back, hopefully with news that availability has been restored.

In the meantime, remember that Star Alliance members Turkish Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and Egypt Air all have good coverage in Africa and remember that if you are using united.com to search, Brussels Airlines space does not show, many phantom Ethiopian and Egypt Air flights show up, and united.com does not display many Ethiopian and Egypt Air flights that actually are available. Best to use the ANA Tool if you are considering travel to/from/within Africa using your Star Alliance miles.

Previous Article My Delayed Journey to Chicago
Next Article South African Airways Award Space Again Bookable

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Cool: Free Point.Me Award Searches Via Bilt Rewards

    January 26, 2023
  • SWISS First Class Awards Bookable With United Airlines MileagePlus

    January 5, 2023
  • United Airlines Two Agents

    A Tale Of Two 1K Agents At United Airlines

    August 18, 2022

2 Comments

  1. Chris Reply
    October 1, 2014 at 4:02 am

    Not a fan of SAA’s business product, for what it’s worth. Old aircraft, old IFE, terrible food ex-JNB. It would take a whole lot of Taittinger to make it bearable compared to even the angled seats on Lufthansa.

  2. Matthew Reply
    October 1, 2014 at 9:58 pm

    Space has been restored.

    @Chris: I found the service and food to be deplorable, but the business class seat was great (JNB-MUC). Next week, I will fly them in economy from LOS-JNB. Not worth double the miles for 5.5 hours in a lie-flat seat.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Recent Posts

  • United Airlines Crew Hold Times
    Flight Attendants At United Airlines Asked To Self-Report Poor Service Via “Marginal Service Reports” March 27, 2023
  • Waldo Delta LAX
    “Where’s Waldo?” Jumps Out Of Delta 737-800 At LAX, Scoots Down Exit Slide March 27, 2023
  • Hilton Frankfurt Airport Review
    Review: Hilton Frankfurt Airport March 27, 2023
  • Thai entry requirements
    Thailand Entry Requirements: Updated Website March 26, 2023

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Kayleigh Scott United Airlines
    The Tragic Death Of A United Airlines Flight Attendant March 21, 2023
  • United Airlines Domestic First Class Menu
    United Airlines Refreshes Domestic First Class Menu February 28, 2023
  • Southwest Airlines Wife Slap
    Enraged Husband Attacks Man On Southwest Airlines Flight After He Bumps Wife March 8, 2023
  • United Polaris Lounge LAX Review
    Review: United Airlines Polaris Lounge Los Angeles (LAX) March 24, 2023

Archives

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Feb    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.