There are mixed responses to an online review of South African Airways (FlySAA), with some netizens defending the national carrier after popular travel content creator, Josh Cahill, shared his review on the airline.
The German content creator took to TikTok to share a video commentary on his experience of flying with the airline.
@josh_cahill Troubled South African Airways is back! #southafrica #southafricanairways #flightreview ♬ original sound - Josh Cahill
In his video, “Troubled South African Airways is back”, Cahill boards a 2-hour flight to Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport.
According to the content creator, who does airline reviews as a hobby, the airline’s staff were friendly and he enjoyed his experience but there are quite a few things that the airline needed to improve on.
The content creator said that he was greeted by the stench of urine when he boarded the flight.
“Lovely welcome at the door. However, the first thing that you notice is the very intense and disgusting smell of urine. I don’t know what happened. Maybe there’s something wrong with the loo but it smells really, really gross which is a bit unpleasant,” said Cahill.
He added that the airline needed to do some work in upgrading its fleet.
“You can obviously tell by the scratches and the stains that its a little bit dated. The seats are pretty run down. You can see that the interior didn’t receive a lot of love recently. And even though its a rather modern seat, it feels quite outdated,” said the content creator.
He also criticised the inflight entertainment of just four movies “which isn’t anywhere near any standards”.
Overall, he said that he hopes that the airline can improve these things in the near future.
“How was my experience today on South African Airways? Loved it! Great flight in terms of the crew. The crew was very proactive. They’re very kind, everyone was in a great mood. Loved it!” said Cahill.
He added that it was really great to see that the crew is motivated and trying their best to create a good experience for passengers.
“So overall, I really hope that they are going to succeed and that they spread their wings all over the world again because back in the day it was the greatest airline in Africa,” said Cahill.
While Cahill’s review may be viewed as fair, several netizens defending the airline.
@ndazi185 said: “Well South African Airways has never had a plane crash or emergency landing. So no other airline can compare.”
Another user, @.number_12, said: “I like this content, no sugar coating anything. Just say it as it is.”
@keenankylesamson said: “Still one of the safest airlines in the world.”
Whilst @userb0sngzuhs0 said: “Felt the same on Lufthansa from Johannesburg to Frankfurt, was not worth the money. Very much outdated and the food was horrible.”