Jessicaddc

Hello,

I am a nervous flier (I last posted "scared to fly"!) and I am going to Singita in South Africa next September for my honeymoon. The travel agent told me that we'll most likely be flying Federal Air on a Cessna Caravan. I was wondering if anyone has flown on this airline and on this type of plane. Can you tell me about your experiences?!

Thanks!

atravelynn

I have in both Africa and Alaska. The flights were fine. I enjoyed the view for the more scenic parts and dozed for the rest. Quite uneventful from takeoff through landing.

Each flight is dependent upon the weather and specific conditions, of course.

Whatever plane you fly, you may wish to keep a few Pepto Bismal, or similar tablets, at hand in case of any turbulence. These have worked wonders for me in the air and for rough ground transport as well.

Have a great trip, including the flights.

mkhonzo

Have flown with Fed air frequently. They run a great operation and appear to have well serviced, decent planes.

I gather you'll be on early morning flight, which should be uneventful. The midday heat causes convection currents which can cause the plane to bounce occassionally. The flight to Singita is just over an hour, so imo you should be fine. Cessna Caravan is a safe plane and widely used in Africa to ferry people around the variety of bush lodges.

linjudy

How many seats? I thought the 12 seat ones are a bit better than the 8 seat ones. Not as bumpy.

But it's not scary. It's actually very cool and you'll see animals from the air!

Lolo12

I think there are 12 seats on this plane. If you can, sit under the wing -it tends to be less turbulent there. I don't like these small planes either, but there really isn't much choice.

jasher

Hello,

The Cessna caravan is the largest 'bush plane' and is less prone to turbulence than the smaller 4 and 6-seater planes. I've flown Federal Air to Londoz a number of times and never had any problems -- this is the same flight you'll be using, as Federal Air runs a Joburg-Sabi Sands charter that stops at a number of different private game reserves including Londoz and Singita.

Cheers,
Julian

napamatt

I usually pray for one of these rather than the 4 seaters which can be really bumpy. For the most part, these flights are very comfortable.

lmoneylsauce

I'm not big on flying either so I don't know where you are coming from (to get to Singita) but my fiance and I are going to take one of the luxury trains to the Jo-burg area and then rent a car or hire a driver to take us to either Singita or Londolozi. Just a thought!

mandelieu

We visited Singita 2 weeks ago and flew on Federal Air's Cessna Caravan. Both flights were smooth and comfortable. Federal Air is very efficient and flying with them is very easy. By the way, Singita was amazing. We stayed at Ebony Lodge. The service was beyond compare, the setting was beautiful, and the game viewing was great. You should have a wonderful honeymoon.