Hello!
I am going to visit a friend who is working in Durban- and has not flown from the States in some time. Can anyone suggest what they think is the best choice and/or route from NYC?
Many thanks!

Basically two choices, direct and via Europe/Middle East. The direct flights (either nonstop or with a fuel stop in Senegal) are several hours shorter than going via Europe. Both South African and Delta offer this service. But regardless, it's pretty grueling stuff.

Myself, I'd be inclined to make it easier on the organism by laying over for a night in London or Amsterdam en route, even though it adds 5-6 total flying hours, plus the layover time. A six or seven hour stint on a plane, followed by some walking around time (or even a bed if you take a morning flight from JFK to London) then a 9-hr flight to Joburg and changing for the short flight to Durban, vs. a 15- or 16-hour straight schlep, is worth it to me. YMMV.

That's great advice- thank you!
I love the idea of a stop in Amsterdam...

One nice thing about stopping in Amsterdam is that the transit into the city is so painless, so you can actually maybe make it into town. Also there are some affordable airport hotels.

The KLM flight is one of the few (maybe only?) daylight flights from Europe to JNB. Whether that is good or bad is your call.

The other logical connections points would be London, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich, Munich, or possibly Dubai.

Delta starts a nonstop 777 flight June 1st to J'Burg.I have been starting to plan a family vacation down there so if you find out anything else please share. Thanks!

Sorry-just saw you wanted out of JFK. Nonstop is from Atlanta.

Thanks, everyone- the info about Amsterdam is pretty tempting-
and I didn't know about the Delta flight-
might be worth the connection to Atlanta.

I'll stop back when I've made some plans- thank you!

I sort of assumed you were flying in coach, but if you were flying in business, then Delta's planes on the ATL-JNB non-stop will have their new flat-bed business class seats. This is probably (depending upon your preferences) a better seat than offered by Air France, Lufthansa, or KLM. BA and Virgin Atlantic are more competitive.

That was a good assumption! But I am willing to check into everything.
Do you think that it is worth booking two separate trips-
jfk-atlanta and then, joh-dur?

thanks again,
melanie

There's also a South African Airways direct out of IAD - they may also have one out of JFK. I've flown them a few times, and was satisfied with them. I prefer the direct, since - while I love KLM, and even like Amsterdam - that is a long, long way to get to RSA.....

Thanks!
I did find a direct flight nyc>johannesberg at a good price.

South Africa Airways is a good airlines, even if you are stuck in Economy. Yes, it's a really long flight. And that stop in Dakar can be brutal. But it is ultimately a shorter experience.

MikeT- thank you-
I feel better hearing that, and the Dakar warning is helpful, too! Checked out the upgrade just for fun- WHOA!!! BIIIIIIG difference. Stuck in Economy....

The bad thing about the Dakar stop is that it happens in the middle of the night, you are exhausted, it takes about an hour, and you are just stuck on the plane. They do a complete saftey check.

MikeT-
Thank you. your message is helpful and also reassuring...