Flight never turned up. Fair do's the local manager got us back to the UK (wrong airport but UK). Thomas Cook were no help at all - terrible service. Thomas Cook's "Connected Service" you could never get a person / response, their call back voicemail was useless. We did get a call back from someone in Portugal ? but they couldn't do anything and referred back to their UK - nothing happened, Thomas Cook complaints service were terrible as they kept bouncing complaints back to the hotel or airline when it was Thomas Cook we were complaining about - not resolved to our satisfaction.

Flew to South Africa to join a tour. The plane, while in reasonable order, appeared to be similar to one I flew in 5 years ago so I am guessing that it is that old and it shows. Layout of the seats were not as good as the newer planes and I found it harder to get sleep. To make matters worse, passengers lost power for 30 or 40 minutes which meant my seat was halfway in the recline position and there was no viewing movies for that time. Staff were excellent and meals were as expected. A good point was the duvets in business. Much nicer than blankets.

SAA have always had the friendliest staff. Now they have the right product to match their staff. The business seat configuration is 1:2:1 which is very pleasing for those traveling on their own. Seats are wider and way more comfortable than before and the entertainment system is the latest on the market. Food was of an acceptable standard if you are inclined to eat on planes. The local wine is definitely a notch up on the last plonk list. For such a prominent wine producing country the wine served over the last few years was shocking. The new wine list is a good advert for the country. Overall this was a great step up for the airline and hopefully they can make a profit and stay flying.

Onboard service was good with decent seating and the food was the standard, beef, chicken or vegetarian. However, there aren't any plugins available for electronic devices.

SAA has absolutely dreadful service on the ground when things go wrong. Had a late inbound and missed a connection. Staff are not prepared at all and have very little training.

Further to this Jo’Burg airport is a nightmare for immigration with massive lines and very slow service.

Avoid SAA if you can and use another Star Alliance member.