We had a terrible experience with Airlink and would give them a negative score if we could. My partner and I wanted to book flights to Richards Bay and made sure we were online at the same time to book seats together. However, we noticed a massive price difference: two tickets booked together cost over R10,000, while single tickets were just over R2,400. This made no sense.
We decided to book separately. My partner’s payment went through, but when I tried to pay, their system gave me an error message. When I refreshed, the ticket price jumped to R3,600. After switching to my phone’s internet, I eventually found a ticket for R3,050. Their system error cost me the chance to book at the original price.
Our trip got worse. The flight to Richards Bay was delayed by 30 minutes without any explanation. While the onboard staff were friendly and the flight itself was good, the return flight was another disappointment. It was delayed by 20 minutes, and when we arrived, we discovered our suitcase didn’t make it because the plane was “too heavy.” This was shocking, especially since we had paid for extra luggage.
The staff at the counter didn’t give us much confidence either. When asked about guarantees for receiving our suitcase, we were told that “left-behind” luggage gets loaded first on the next flight, but if that plane is too heavy, more luggage might get left behind. This seems to be a normal practice for Airlink, which is unacceptable.
Airlink has a monopoly on flights to smaller towns, and it shows in how they treat customers. Their pricing is unfair, the booking system is unreliable, and they clearly prioritize profits over service. If you can avoid it, DO NOT fly with Airlink.