Building An Authoritative Travel Blog

Authoritative blogs seem all the rage at the moment but what exactly is an " Authoritative Travel Blog ?" Well my understanding of the matter is it is a blog that is not only very informative to the readers but that the information comes from authoritative type people in connection with what they are writing about.

Hopefully my articles below will give an insight on travel and travel related experiences from all over the world from many authoritative writers as they have been there and done that.

Articles will be and are published often and this means current travel experiences and up to date places to visit. If you have also visited these places or wish to comment then please do so remembering this blog is intended to family orientated visitors so please be respectful.

I have seen many fears raised through my article site and feel that any traveller today that, for one reason or another, decides against travel insurance then they are possibly being a little short sighted. We do not want our boats to sink but are happy to carry life rafts. travel insurance is a similar idea. We do not wish to ever claim on it but if things go wrong as they sometimes do it is a benifit to have the insurance.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

South African Airways

By Tom Martens

South African Airways, established in 1934, is South Africa's largest domestic and international airline. SAA was one of the first national airlines in the world.Modern day SAA has hubs in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It is owned by Transnet, a public transport company. Two percent of the stocks are held by SAA's 9,000 employees.

Employees receive intensive advanced training programs to help SAA maintain its reputation for excellent customer service. It serves 31 cities in 25 countries, carrying more than 7 million passengers per year. Recently a member of the exclusive Star Alliance, the connection vastly extended the number of destinations SAA flies to. Skytrax, the British experts on aviation ratings, declares SAA one of the best international airlines in terms of products offered and service standards.

SAA is a leader in the airline industry. They are called so because of their consistent ranking as number one in terms of performance, revenue, safety and many other categories. It is also called as Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens by Afrikaans.

The first cities served in 1934 were Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Flights to Kenya, Uganda and British East Africa signaled SAA's entrance into the international market. The airline was essentially shut down during WWII, but in 1945, SAA achieved a long-time goal by opening its route to Europe with its first flight to Bournemouth.

The SAA brought the 707 to it's airline in the 1950's. It was the next one in line, after the UK, to operate a pure jetliner flight. These jets would finally start to fly non-stop to the UK and it's European neighbors within two years. Then New York was added as a stop in 1969. The fleet now claims a fleet of more than 45 aircraft.

The Voyager program, SAA's loyalty membership, has some 2 million members. Members are able to receive airmiles on SAA flights as well as other airlines in the Star Alliance. Millions are invested every year by SAA on in-flight entertainment which is a big part of their commitment to customer service. Customers will have a choice of more than a dozen movie channels, video games, music or travel information.

They can also enjoy the Boabab Lounge at Johannesburg, which offers workstations complete with computers, faxes and printers. SAAs Cyclad Premium Lounge in Johannesburg was voted the third best in the world in a Skytrax survey in 2002.Business and first-class passengers are pampered even more. Business class offers the best business flat bed seats in the industry, according to Skytrax.

South African Airways offers lots of great features in their first class cabins. The beds could well be the widest in the industy, being 29 inches wide. They lie flat at 180 degress. Each seat has an ottoman that can be controlled electronically. There are also big, private televisions with on-demand audio and video. So kick back in those comfy seats and enjoy a show!

Business class travelers enjoy most comforts during their travel. Starting from the fully adjustable seats with an adjustable headrest and pneumatic lumbar support to the large private television screens with the audio-video-on-demand.

In economy class, passengers may choose from two main courses accompanied by fine South African Wines while they also enjoy private televisions with audio-video-on-demand.

Safety and maintenance are very important to South African Airways. They have the largest maintenance facility in Africa, located at Johannesburg. Not only do they do their own maintenance, they also do maintenance on British Airways and Air France planes.

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