A key factor to consider when booking a ticket for an indirect flight is the connecting or transit time, and the number of connections to your final destination. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Most passengers’ first preference is always a direct flight. But the perceived convenience of this sometimes leads airlines to price the seats on a direct flight higher than its competitors operating indirect flights on the same route.
If you are a frequent flyer to the scenic South African city of Cape Town, you must have been thrilled at the recent Kenya Airways announcement of direct flights from Nairobi to Cape Town. The flights, to commence on July 1, will be operated thrice a week via Livingstone, Zambia.
The direct flights will bring an end to the hassle of having to transit via other connecting points currently, your top three options to Cape Town from Nairobi are: Via Johannesburg by KQ, via Johannesburg on South African Airways and via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines.
Most passengers’ first preference is always a direct flight. But the perceived convenience of this sometimes leads airlines to price the seats on a direct flight higher than its competitors operating indirect flights on the same route.
However, there are other factors that motivate passengers to take indirect flights. A large number of passengers do not mind spending extra travel time in transit if the price and service is right.
Today, flying to the United States from Nairobi transiting through Doha by Etihad is much more appealing than through Paris or Amsterdam — at least until there are direct flights from Nairobi to the US to compare with.
But a key factor to consider is the connecting or transit time, and the number of connections to your final destinations. Travellers need to avoid layovers that are short and unreasonable regardless of the sweeteners airlines throw in.
Missing a connecting flight offered by the same airline is straightforward as the airline staff at the connecting points will in most cases take responsibility and make quick arrangements to get you onto the next possible flight to your destination.
It is of course understandable that no single airline can serve all destinations. Hence you will often find travellers moving from point X to point I on carrier A, and then from I to point Y on carrier B. Complications however arise where passengers from carrier A miss the carrier B flight and the blame game that ensues leaving the traveller inconvenienced.
Worse, carriers sometimes even blame the travel agent who booked the ticket. Any connecting time under one and a half hours is cutting it too close and should be avoided, especially when transiting through major hubs, such as Schipol, Heathrow and Dubai airports, where boarding gates may be kilometres away. The ideal transit time is at least two hours if travelling with children and infants.
On the other hand, extended layovers or transit time needs to be treated differently by the carriers. If the layover is more than six hours as a result of airline schedule (not passenger choice), airlines are expected by operating procedure to make the passengers comfortable by offering lounge services or hotel services.
Unless transiting through hubs that have hotels within, the responsibility of informing on visa and migration requirements rests with the carrier. This does not stop the traveller from finding out about the visa requirements of the transit point if you intend to leave the airport for a city tour.
If connecting flights are on different airlines, connecting time factors aside, passengers need to establish at the time of ticket purchase if there is a level of partnership between the airlines under consideration.
Travelling on partner airlines ensures your ticketing and luggage is seamless to the final destination. For instance, on a recent trip to Cape Town from Nairobi, I had to get two separate tickets; one from Nairobi to Johannesburg and another on a separate carrier from Johannesburg to Cape Town. My bags were checked in up to Johannesburg and I had to retrieve them and check them in again to my final destination. In this case, the onward carrier had no obligations to ensure my luggage reached Cape Town.
Where connections on different carriers is inevitable, travellers need to make sure they are booked on partner airlines. Regardless of the number of connections, or carriers involved, passengers should always ensure that their luggage is checked in to the final destination.
While partnerships between carriers vary from simple interlines to codeshares, global airline alliances like Star Alliance (Ethiopian Airline, SAA and Turkish Airways), Sky Team (Kenya Airways and KLM) or One World (British Airways, Qatar Airline and Cathay Pacific) have made it easy for travellers to receive standardised treatment when travelling on the alliance partners’ flight.
The concern of luggage not making it to the final destination remains even when flights are on the same alliance partners, but you stand a better chance of ultimately receiving your bags.
If you intend to be in Cape Town this season, keep in mind it will be winter in South Africa but that does not stop the great food and wine festivals. Plus, the city hosts birthday celebrations for the late Nelson Mandela in July.
See you on the direct flight.
Michael Otieno is a Nairobi-based aviation expert. Twitter: @pmykee143
