South Africans can expect to pay at least R2,740 to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town and back this November.
However, this figure will vary greatly depending on the time and day you choose to book your flight, as well as the airline.
Cheapest flights
TopAuto used Google Flights data to compare the best rates for flights for every major airline in South Africa this November.
Booking at the start of the month, the cheapest options were for flights leaving two to three weeks later during the weeks beginning on the 17th and 24th.
Unsurprisingly, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday had the lowest advertised prices, while prices were higher closer to the weekend when demand peaks.
First, we elected to filter the results for a single adult travelling one-way in economy class from Joburg to Cape Town on Monday, 17 November.
These were the best results for FlySafair, Lift, South African Airways (SAA), CemAir, and Airlink.
Note that these figures are accurate at the time of writing and are subject to change based on the time and day you book:
| Airline | Departing Flight time (17 November) | Price |
|---|---|---|
| FlySafair | 19h35 – 21h50 | R1,170 |
| Lift | 19h00 – 21h10 | R1,315 |
| CemAir | 19h10 – 21h25 | R1,575 |
| Airlink | 20h35 – 22h50 | R1,711 |
| South African Airways | 19h00 – 21h15 | R1,788 |
FlySafair was the lowest option at R1,170, while SAA cost noticeably more for the same service at R1,788.
The cheapest flights are all late in the evening, as a midday flight from FlySafair costs an extra R400 on average (R1,570), so it’s up to you to decide whether the convenience of an earlier flight outweighs the additional cost.
On that note, we also looked at booking a flight on Sunday, the 16th, where the cheapest flight started at R1,770, showing how much more expensive a weekend flight is compared to one during the week.
As for a return flight from Cape Town to Joburg, the cheapest listed options were one week later on Monday, 24 November.
These were the cheapest results for each airline:
| Airline | Departing Flight time (24 November) | Price |
|---|---|---|
| FlySafair | 19h15 – 21h20 | R1,570 |
| Lift | 09h30 – 11h30 | R1,655 |
| CemAir | 06h10 – 08h10 | R1,909 |
| South African Airways | 06h00 – 08h00 | R2,006 |
| Airlink | 15h20 – 17h25 | R2,263 |
Interestingly, flights were more expensive this week than the week before, though FlySafair and Lift still emerged as the clear winners with regards to affordability.
If you elected to book both flights with FlySafair, you’d be looking at a total of R2,740.
It’s worth noting that, while these figures were for two one-way flights booked separately, we found near-identical prices for return flights booked on the same days.
Loading ...
