Delta delays its much-anticipated tag flight to Cape Town
Despite South Africa reopening to tourists, Delta is delaying its entry into Cape Town along with its resumption of service to Johannesburg.
On Friday, the Atlanta-based carrier pushed the launch of the new joint service to March 28, 2021. Previously, the carrier planned to launch the flights on Oct. 24, 2020, before first delaying it to Jan. 8, 2021. Now, it's being pushed back another two months.
For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Delta confirmed the delay to TPG and added: "We continue to adjust our flight schedules in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and customer demand. As a result of this, we have adjusted the planned restart of operations between Atlanta and South Africa. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our customers."
Interestingly, South Africa reopened its borders back in November. However, Delta clearly didn't see enough demand to warrant starting the service in just over a month.
The daily nonstop will fly the following schedule (all times local):
- Depart Atlanta at 5:45 p.m., arrive Johannesburg at 2:45 p.m. on the next day
- Depart Johannesburg at 4:15 p.m., arrive Cape Town at 6:30 p.m.
- Depart Cape Town at 8:30 p.m., arrive Atlanta at 6:45 a.m. on the next day
The entire trip from Atlanta to Cape Town will take 18 hours and 45 minutes. Cape Town passengers will likely not need to deplane during the Johannesburg stop. Delta also won't be selling the domestic JNB to CPT as its own leg; all flyers must book it in conjunction with a flight to or from the U.S.
In May, Delta announced that it will start flying from Atlanta (ATL) to Cape Town (CPT) as part of a triangle route from its fortress hub in Atlanta, to Johannesburg (JNB) before continuing on to Cape Town.
Before the pandemic, the carrier operated daily non-stop flights to Johannesburg on its Boeing 777 aircraft. However, the 777 fleet became a casualty of the pandemic. As such, the route will be flown by the carrier's flagship Airbus A350, outfitted with 32 fully enclosed Delta One business class suites, 48 Premium Select premium economy seats and 226 economy seats.
Flying an A350 from JNB to ATL presented Delta with a problem. Due to the city's high elevation, the A350 couldn't reach ATL at maximum payload. That's why the carrier added the tag flight to Cape Town, allowing the plane to refuel at sea level before beginning the 8,130-mile trek back to the U.S.
Cash rates start at $1,500 round-trip in economy, $2,300 in Premium Select or a whopping $13,500 in Delta One. Award rates are even steeper at roughly 148,000 SkyMiles round-trip in coach, 240,000 in Premium Select or 770,000 miles in Delta One.
Of course, these Delta One rates are hardly a bargain and not worth jumping on unless you're a die-hard AvGeek and want to make sure you have a biz seat on the inaugural flight.
Related: The ultimate guide to Delta One Suites
While there's certainly no guarantee of award space opening up, that would also be when saver-level awards potentially become available to partners like Virgin Atlantic. If and when that happens, you'll be able to book awards for as low as 40,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points one-way in economy or just 60,000 points in Delta One.
Related: Dreaming of South Africa: How I’m planning to return using points, miles and cash
This won't be the first time Delta flies to Cape Town. The airline served the city and Johannesburg from Atlanta and New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) via Dakar (DSS) from 2008 to 2009 using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Connecting passengers did not need to deplane in Dakar on those flights.
Interestingly, Delta's service is slated to resume South Africa service just one day after United launches its new nonstop flight from Newark (EWR) to Johannesburg on March 27, 2021.
Additional reporting by Benji Stawski, TPG.
Top offers from our partners
How we chose these cards
TPG featured card
Rewards
10X | Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
5X | 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. |
2X | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X card is one of the best all-round travel credit cards ever launched. Not only is it offering a tremendous welcome bonus, but cardholders can earn tons of miles on everyday spending and receive a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus to boot. Its annual fee is $395, but cardholders can count on up to $300 in statement credits toward travel booked through Capital One Travel each year and other valuable benefits like access to Priority Pass lounges and Capital One’s own growing family of airport lounges.Pros
- Excellent welcome offer worth 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
- Up to $300 in annual travel statement credits toward bookings make through Capital One Travel.
- 10,000 bonus miles (worth $100 toward travel) each account anniversary.
Cons
- The $395 annual fee might be expensive for some, but this card’s benefits provide much more value than that.
- If you don’t travel frequently, this might not be the best card for you.
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Receive up to $300 back annually as statement credits for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of options
- Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
- Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
- Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
- Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Named editors' choice for "Best New Credit Card of 2021" by The Points Guy
- Earn 10 miles per dollar when you book on Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace, through May 16, 2023
Rewards Rate
10X | Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
5X | 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. |
2X | 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day |
Intro Offer
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel75,000 bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X card is one of the best all-round travel credit cards ever launched. Not only is it offering a tremendous welcome bonus, but cardholders can earn tons of miles on everyday spending and receive a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus to boot. Its annual fee is $395, but cardholders can count on up to $300 in statement credits toward travel booked through Capital One Travel each year and other valuable benefits like access to Priority Pass lounges and Capital One’s own growing family of airport lounges.Pros
- Excellent welcome offer worth 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
- Up to $300 in annual travel statement credits toward bookings make through Capital One Travel.
- 10,000 bonus miles (worth $100 toward travel) each account anniversary.
Cons
- The $395 annual fee might be expensive for some, but this card’s benefits provide much more value than that.
- If you don’t travel frequently, this might not be the best card for you.
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Receive up to $300 back annually as statement credits for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of options
- Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
- Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
- Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
- Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Named editors' choice for "Best New Credit Card of 2021" by The Points Guy
- Earn 10 miles per dollar when you book on Turo, the world's largest car sharing marketplace, through May 16, 2023