SAA Flight Cancellations

[Safari Hunter]

South African Airlines have announced that from 1st March they will be cancelling all internal flights within South Africa except to Cape Town. At present what this means is there is no one else, besides SA Airlink, who will carry firearms. SAA will contact anyone who is booked and a refund will be offered or a switch to another flight.
SA Airlink so far do not have many flights so anyone flying to somewhere like PE or East London etc CANNOT take a firearm.
I guess time will tell what will happen and who may take up the firearm carriage.

Adrian

 

[ljs]

That’s not good ........

 

[ljs]

I understand they are still flying the Johannesburg SA to Windhoek Namibia at present

 

[Hanechdene]

I am heading out there in a week’s time and the return flight from East London is in March.

I spoke to SAA customer services and they cannot do anything until notification has been sent to those effected.

It looks like the only way to fly to that part of the country with firearms is via Airlink and to Port Elizabeth.

Also looking into driving back and picking up some more hunting on route, any suggestions?

 

[Gsd99]

Its a very unfortunate situation and a sign of more things to come. I understand the appeal of taking your own firearms but its much easier to hire when out there, especially if wanting to test a new calibre before buying one back home .
Josh

 

[deerstalker.308]

This is not good news at all!

 

[Redneck]

Its a very unfortunate situation and a sign of more things to come. I understand the appeal of taking your own firearms but its much easier to hire when out there, especially if wanting to test a new calibre before buying one back home .
Josh

That may be ok for the type of calibres that you may use frequently in the UK. But what for instance you if want to practice with a med- large bore rifle prior to the trip and then having that rifle to use when hunting
i know for myself that having the 375 for instance in the UK and being able to shoot a good number of rounds will help greatly when using in Africa . But will I use it in the Uk very doubtful,
Having used my own rifles on trips and the outfitters i much prefer my own where they have been set up to suit my individual likes.

 

[Gsd99]

That may be ok for the type of calibres that you may use frequently in the UK. But what for instance you if want to practice with a med- large bore rifle prior to the trip and then having that rifle to use when hunting
i know for myself that having the 375 for instance in the UK and being able to shoot a good number of rounds will help greatly when using in Africa . But will I use it in the Uk very doubtful,
Having used my own rifles on trips and the outfitters i much prefer my own where they have been set up to suit my individual likes.

I totally understand that, but i also think that most guys going to RSA from the UK will be hunting plains game, with the more serious DG hunters travelling elsewhere to places like Zim and Tanzania to shoot the wild DG.

I've personally never had an issue using someone elses rifle whether thats Africa, Europe or NZ but each to their own but i do see the appeal to some (more so DG than anything else).

Josh

 

[TH4]

I have found that in a lot of camps in SA the rifles are useable but the glass is totally crap and really is not nice to use. Nobody wants to pay a few thousand pounds on a hunting trip to have the edge taken off the trip because they do not enjoy using the camp rifle.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Each to his own (post #5) but placing yourself at the mercy of some PH's beat-up Parker Hale on what may well be a trip of a lifetime is not something I'll be queuing up to do.

K

 

[Tazz]

Having done 4 trips to SA flying on to PE for 3 and Kimberly for the other this will be bad news for both the outfitters and hunters alike. Most guys doing plains game want to take their own rifles as it adds to the adventure and you know your own rifle. While some outfitters will have estate rifles for hire They range hugely in quality and condition as does the scopes that are on them, also for the UK hunters used to mods i Have only seen a couple on my travels as the US boys rarely have them at home nor do lots of European hunters. That means firing unmoderated 270/30-06/300 WM etc so then some of us would have to think about wearing cans. Given how small a segment hunters with rifles are how long before everyone bans them or alternatively hikes the charges

i am going to Namibia next month and having used SA last time I opted for BA as I was concerned SA may go bust before we got there or worse go bust while we are over there however BA who do charge £125 a firearms case each way so extra £500 that’s a significant sum, interestingly they partner with BA for the leg to Windhoek so we are still reliant upon them although a lot of carriers do the Johannesburg Windhoek rout

 

[Sika98k]

@Tazz, Ethiopian airlines is a good option to Windhoek. 1 stop through Addis Ababa and no charges for firearms. Their prices are pleasantly surprising also. There’s several ,at least 3, gun shops in Windhoek carrying a good range of Ammo in all the popular calibers.
As the policeman checking our guns in last year mildly admonished us to buy our ammo locally and spend some money !

 

[tusker]

I have booked flights with Ethiopian for 6 this year. No charge for firearms and return flights cost about £580 each. BA just taking the p1$s.
Tusker

 

[GNU]

You can still fly direct to Namibia from Germany. Presumably that won’t change after March.

 

[Safari Hunter]

The SAA internal flights are being taken over by SA Airlink so at first glance all looks positive. This happens from March so time will tell how well it goes. They will also take firearms.

 

[Hanechdene]

I spoke with SAA customer services this morning. It appears the unions are challenging the decision to cease the domestic routes which is apparently why travelers that are effected have not been notified of their options in terms of refund or placed on another flight etc.

They are hoping for a decision by the end of week....

 

[Hanechdene]

Unions may legally challenge cancelation of domestic routes by South Africa Airways : Peoples Dispatch

Along with the cancelation of these domestic routes, the workers employed will also be retrenched. This lay-off is in violation of the collective agreement reached between the workers and the management in November 2019.

peoplesdispatch.org

 

[zambezi]

There’s several ,at least 3, gun shops in Windhoek carrying a good range of Ammo in all the popular calibers.
As the policeman checking our guns in last year mildly admonished us to buy our ammo locally and spend some money !

Per other posts in this thread, shooting your own rifle+ammo combo that you have trained with domestically is a huge draw. Better yet, take home loads you have fine tuned. Also, on the last trip to Namibia none of the dealers stocked my preferred commercially made ammunition. The PH did have some Hornady available, but it performed very poorly in both my rifle and his [did not group].

I cannot see it as wisdom to pay £££ for a safari and roll the dice on ammo availability or performance. I also do not see it as ethical hunting. I know I can achieve one-and-done with my rifle+ammo at ranges I have rehearsed. I have no such confidence with a loaner rifle or untested ammunition.

 

[Gsd99]

Per other posts in this thread, shooting your own rifle+ammo combo that you have trained with domestically is a huge draw. Better yet, take home loads you have fine tuned. Also, on the last trip to Namibia none of the dealers stocked my preferred commercially made ammunition. The PH did have some Hornady available, but it performed very poorly in both my rifle and his [did not group].

I cannot see it as wisdom to pay £££ for a safari and roll the dice on ammo availability or performance. I also do not see it as ethical hunting. I know I can achieve one-and-done with my rifle+ammo at ranges I have rehearsed. I have no such confidence with a loaner rifle or untested ammunition.

I agree with some of what you say but im not sure how its unethical to hunt with the PHs rifle. You zero the rifle when you get there, if youre not comfortable with it and shoot poorly most PHs will allow pracitce or are able to offer another rifle.
If you cant pick up any plains game calibre rifle (bare in mind the PH wants you to kill the animal, so will usually have a rifle/ammo combo that works, the rifle is probably shot alot and is very close to your own zero) and shoot a 3 inch group at 100 yards then more time on the range is probably needed.

Just my opinion, I understand why people want to take their own rifles out but i like being able to just turn up at the airport, relax the whole way and not have to worry/strress about the rifle/ammo going missing or being held at an airport by police.

Josh

 

[Odders]

I hope this is all squared away by next July, as I'll be flying into either Port Elizabeth or East London (PH will pick up from either) for my first taste of plains game.