Useless and ****py service at South African Airways

I travelled from Trinidad and Tobago to Cape Town to attend an International Youth Leadership Conference last week. I flew South African Airways from London Heathrow to Cape Town (via Johannesburg). I was scheduled to fly out of Cape Town to London Heathrow (via Johannesburg) on Friday (29th September) afternoon. I had a connecting flight in Johannesburg to London Heathrow at 8pm. I checked into my flight at the airport, received my boarding passes and proceeded through security. I waited for my flight, and when it was my turn to board I was told that the flight is full. Now, I was then told that my bags will have to be removed from the aircraft and I would have to go back to the ticket office. At this point I was furious (whilst remaining polite as much as is possible).

I went to the ticket counter in the terminal building and was told I have to buy a new ticket as I am a no-show. Unless I am stupid, I checked-in, got my boarding pass, went through security and whilst waiting to board my flight, I am told that the flight was full. Now I am being told that I have to buy a new ticket for SAA's complete and utter ****-up.

I spoke to 2 ladies at the ticket office who were completely useless and refused to help me as they told me they can't do anything about it. I asked them if I could get another flight out, she told me that I could but I wouldn't arrive in Johannesburg in time. When I enquired further, the flight would have left Cape Town at 5pm and arrive in Johannesburg at 7pm with 1hr to spare for my onward connection. She told me that I couldn't make the connection. As far as i am aware, I have made connecting international flights in less than 1hr, so I don't see why they couldn't have helped me.

When the 2 ladies (I completely forgot to take their names) refused to help me, I got the Team Leader to help and he was even worst. He was utterly useless as he didn't even attempt to help a visitor to his country. I said to him that if I held a US or UK passport or if I was white, he would have happily helped me but because I am black, hey and his colleagues refused to help.

I had to leave the airport, go back to the hotel which I was staying in for the conference and luckily, one of the delegates was staying until Sunday 1st October 2017. Whilst back at the hotel, my new friend (the delegate who stayed until the 1st October) called South African Airways and was told that because the matter involved an international flight, they couldn't do anything and that I should go back to the airport to have the matter sorted. How outrageous is this. A supposedly international airline, couldn't deal with a booking over the phone because it it had an international flight. This is SHOCKING! We went back to the airport and the same 2 ladies were still on duty as they saw us coming the proceeded to closing the shutter at the ticket office and we stopped them only to be told in a flippant and dismissive behaviour 'we are now closed and we can't help you'. How crazy could they get. We explained the situation and they flatly refused to help but told us to email their reservations team which was not going to be in office until Monday. I couldn't even laugh at the situation. I was so flabbergasted at what I was hearing and seeing unfolding in front my eyes.

We were grossly dismissed by the 2 ladies, who didn't even make any attempt to help. We saw another guy from SAA, who seemed approachable and he told us that we could speak his Team Leader who might be able to help us, only to find out its the same Team Leader from earlier. He was even worst than the 2 ladies. he walked off whilst we were talking and refused to even listen to what we were saying. We were not being aggressive, but was trying to get help for me to leave to get home.

With no one to help, we retreated to the safety of the hotel and my friend from Ireland/UK (even though he is a fellow Caribbean brother living in Ireland) decided that he is not leaving me in Cape Town and bought me a ticket on Emirates back to London for departure on Sunday 1st October. He wanted us to travel together on Qatar Airways, but he wasn't going to London (but Dublin). Thank God for my friend for whom I grateful, but the service I received from South African Airways has left a very bad taste and has let me questioned if I should come back to South Africa. My friend told me not to let a few smug people, who should be working in the back office somewhere with no front contact with people and more so international visitors, deter me from coming back to RSA, as this was his second trip and that he loves Cape Town immensely.

Something needs to be done with those staff at South African Airways and someone needs to expose the rotten treatment given to people of a certain racial grouping by some South Africans.

Expose the rotten treatment.

South Africa has Africa's best airport, but not its best airline, that is shocking and its all because of some of the people they have working with them!!!!