Call of the wild

This was not only our much anticipated trip to South Africa, but an opportunity to compare the C cabin on 4 different Star Alliance carriers and test out Mr. M's new top tier status with Hyatt and Starwood. More importantly, this trip was in memory of my late father who longed to revisit his beloved South Africa. The itinerary was all over the place so we set ourselves up for a few bumps in the road. It went something like this:

LAX>LHR>JNB>CPT>PLZ>CPT>FRA>TXL>CDG>MUC>FRA>JFK>LAX

LAX>LHR:

We got to LAX 40 minutes before the flight and I was stressing. Fortunately, a United angel escorted us to the plane and promised that our bags would make it on the plane. We weren't as optimistic. United cabin was ratty, FAs were cranky, meals were mediocre and IFE was substandard...and yes this was Business class.

We arrived London with six hours to spare so we dashed to the Arrivals lounge, took quick showers and changed into new underwear. Knowing that the only places that would be open on Christmas Eve would be the shops in Knightsbridge, we hopped on the Piccadilly line and headed into town. Harvey Nichs was open so we went straight up to the 5th floor and had ourselves some Yo! sushi, looked at overpriced yet beautifully packaged products and got right back on the tube to Heathrow.

The new Star Alliance lounge at Heathrow is a step up from the old Red Carpet Club but I really miss lounge hopping in the old terminal. We nibbled on curry bits and headed toward our gate.

LHR>JNB

The seats on South African Airways were spacious and they actually lie flat! We knew we would get a good night sleep on the way to Johannesburg. The food was beautifully presented but tasted like airplane food and the service was friendly but nothing special considering that we were one of 4 couples in the cabin. We watched "Baby Mamma" and slept like babies all the way to South Africa.

JNB>CPT

In Jo'burg, we barely had time to make our connection to our flight to Cape Town. We thought for sure our bags would not make it on the flight. They arrived in Cape Town a bit tattered but still in one piece just like us!