Dedicated cabin and XL seat. Cape Town-Johannesburg review with Airlink
Airlink is a South African airline founded in 1992. When, in the two years prior to the Covid pandemic, the carrier's [...]
JNB
Airlink is a South African airline founded in 1992. When, in the two-year period before the Covid pandemic, flag carrier South African Airways collapsed, remaining with a handful of planes and routes, Airlink Has become the country's leading airline, growing further and at an accelerated pace after the end of travel restrictions, to have some seventy airplanes and to serve some fifty domestic and international destinations.
In this article:
- Specifications
- Aircraft:
- ERJ-190
- Class:
- Business
- Treat:
- CPT - JNB
- Price:
- Press Trip
- Book
At is now Africa's second largest airline in terms of flights operated daily and third largest in terms of seats offered. However, it has no intercontinental connections and the fleet consists exclusively of ERJ aircraft from Brazil's Embraer. Its hubs are Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Reservation
I flew business class on the busiest route in South Africa (and all of Africa), between Cape Town and Johannesburg, with a ticket that was offered to me by Airlink, part of a press trip organized by the company that also took me to visit the island of St. Helena.
If I had paid for the ticket, it would have cost me 4,699 rand, or about 220 euros.
With the reservation code provided to me along with the ticket, I entered the company's website and selected 'the best seat in the house.' seat 1A. Seat selection on board, both in Economy and Business, is free of charge.
At the airport
Cape Town International Airport has only one terminal, which accommodates both international and domestic passengers.
In the sector at national departures, Airlink has an entire 'island' of dedicated check-in desks. Two are dedicated to Business passengers, who then have a fast track at security checkpoints.
Past those, you enter the 'Slow Lounge' (a South African lounge brand, also present in Johannesburg and Durban and owned by a large bank in the country), which in size, look and food and wine offerings, is very impressive, even more so considering that it is reserved for premium passengers on domestic flights only. Located on two floors, it offers beautiful views of the aircraft apron, even from the elegant toilets located on the upper floor.
Boarding
Cape Town has a dozen or so domestic gates equipped with boarding piers. Nonetheless, my flight 4Z 928 was boarded with an interpista bus, from the gates located in a large hall on the ground floor.
Business Class passengers like me and those with Skybucks status, Airlink's loyalty program, had priority boarding. That, however, only served us to get on the bus first.
Meager consolation since then, when the bus arrived next to the airplane (an ERJ-190), all the passengers were dropped off together with the option of boarding indifferently from the front and rear gates and any priority criteria went out the window. Things would, of course, have gone differently if we had had a gate with a boarding dock.
On board
Upon boarding through the front door of the ERJ, you find yourself in the small but cozy Business Class cabin. That is a true premium cabin, complete with a partition (and not the 'Eurbusiness-style' curtains) separating it from Economy.
E the two rows of seats hosting are not four-seater (2-2) as in Economy, but three-seater, with a 1-2 configuration. And, as a result, the seats are much wider than those in Echo, as well as the legroom is greatly increased.
The chair
Each of the 6 Business seats (but the larger ERJ-195s have 11) is made of gray leather, which I found to be very comfortable though a bit 'lived in' (but not to the point of wear and tear).
There is plenty of leg room, and the backrest reclines quite a bit, allowing a really comfortable position, which perhaps on the two-hour flight between Cape Town and Joburg is not so essential, but it certainly is on routes exceeding four hours operated by Airlink, such as those to the island of St. Helena, Nairobi, and Nosy Be in Madagascar.
Given the distance between the seats, the coffee table pulls out from the right armrest. Only 'flaw' (not insignificant): the chair has no power outlet, nor Usb sockets, so if the phone has little charge, it's your own damn business....
Service
Other limit, related to the fact that ERJs are yes modern aircraft, but not brand new ones, is that of the lack of an in-flight entertainment system (IFE) and the absence of wi-fi connection. There is no cushion or blanket on the Business seats (which may be okay, given the limited duration of most Airlink flights, which are between an hour and two hours long). No vanity kit is distributed (pity). However, as soon as they board, Business passengers are served a welcome drink (water or juice) and are given a small paper menu and a warm, scented towel before their meal.
Food&Beverage
If the cabin and seat are anything to go by (for the better) than what premium passengers find when traveling in so-called 'Eurobusiness', the food & beverage traces that pattern and is a step below what is found in the 'domestic first' of U.S. carriers, where options often include a hot plate.
On my Cape Town-Johannesburg afternoon, the alternative for food was between beef and chicken, with a Greek salad and dessert to accompany it all. I chose the beef, which came on a skewer accompanied by potato salad and grilled vegetables (all at room temperature, not hot). Good in taste, less so in texture (meat too dry).
Good drink offerings included a white, a red, and a sparkling wine. I went with a cabernet from the Cape region., which was served to me in a very large dose in a glass cup. The 'main course', salad and dessert were in porcella plates and bowls, the steel cutlery, all brought to the place on a plastic tray with paper placemat. The napkin was cotton.
In conclusion
In Business Class Airlink offers a 'hard' product (seats and cabin) that is similar to that of domestic First in the United States, while the soft product and particularly the food & beverage are those of the so-called Eurobusiness (cold plates, nice plating, ceramic tableware and steel cutlery, good drink offering). Amazing, to be part of the 'domestic' product, the lounge in Cape Town.
Pro
- The dedicated booth
- The seat
- The leg space
Against
- The absence of power outlets