South Africans can expect to pay around R4,000 to travel to and from Johannesburg and Cape Town this February, assuming you book a two-way flight.
However, it is possible to find better deals online, provided that you have a flexible schedule and are prepared to book individual trips.
Cheapest flights
TopAuto used Google Flights data to compare the best rates for flights for every major airline in South Africa this February.
At of the time of writing, the best prices for planes heading from O.R. Tambo to Cape Town International were for Monday, 3 February, though similar prices were available on the 5th, 15th, and 23rd.
The search tool was filtered for a single person travelling one-way in economy class with an allowance for a single checked-in bag.
These were the best results for FlySafair, Lift, South African Airways (SAA), CemAir, and Airlink.
| Airline | Departing Flight time (3 February) | Price |
|---|---|---|
| FlySafair | 20h20 – 22h30 | R962 |
| Lift | 19h00 – 21h10 | R1,455 |
| CemAir | 19h10 – 21h25 | R1,760 |
| South African Airways | 21h00 – 23h10 | R2,528 |
| Airlink | 06h05 – 08h30 | R4,173 |
FlySafair is the clear standout with a sub-R1,000 cost per seat, while the price for Airlink was inexplicably high.
Anyone thinking of making their way from Cape Town to Joburg, on the other hand, would need to book for Sunday, 2 February, to get the best ticket, as prices were notably higher for the rest of the month with the cheapest options all starting around R1,100 or more.
These were the cheapest results for each airline:
| Airline | Departing Flight time (2 February) | Price |
|---|---|---|
| FlySafair | 05h45 – 07h50 | R762 |
| Lift | 07h00 – 09h00 | R1,075 |
| CemAir | 08h00 – 10h00 | R1,588 |
| Airlink | 06h50 – 08h55 | R1,597 |
| South African Airways | 07h25 – 09h25 | R2,206 |
Again, FlySafair came out as the best option, though Airlink and South African Airways rates were much closer to the rest of the pack.
Finally, there’s the cost of flights for anyone prepared to book a two-way trip in advance.
This time around, the lowest rate was departing aircraft was Wednesday, 5 February, though there were also good deals on the 8th and 15th.
The best returning options, meanwhile, were for the 12th, with similar asking rates for the 18th and 19th.
These were the results:
| Airline | Outbound flight price (5 February) | Return flight price (12 February) | Final cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| FlySafair | R2,123 (20h30 – 22h45) | R2,123 (19h50 – 22h55) | R4,246 |
| South African Airways | R2,570 (21h00 – 23h10) | R2,570 (10h00 – 12h00) | R5,140 |
| Lift | R2,610 (19h00 – 21h10) | R2,610 (19h00 – 21h00) | R5,220 |
| CemAir | R3,352 (09h30 – 11h45) | R3,352 (07h00 – 09h00) | R6,704 |
| Airlink | R4,056 (06h15 – 08h30) | R4,056 (06h05 – 08h10) | R8,112 |
Across all cases, FlySafair is the winner as far as affordability goes, but it’s worth noting that you may be able to get a substantially cheaper flight if you are prepared to book two single flights, taking advantage of cheap days to fly rather than following a rigid schedule.
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