Mango Airlines Review – Our Personal Experience

This is our opinion based on our personal experience. Whether you agree or disagree, please leave your opinions in the comments.

The route from Johannesburg to Cape Town is a busy one, particularly for businesses / working people. It’s only a two-hour flight so if you leave early morning, you can almost get a full day in at the office. And if you are flying for work, you will usually do so before or after normal business hours.

I attribute this fact to our first flight, which was later in the afternoon, to being hassle-free. However, the mid-morning flight was a hassle because I assume they did not have enough people to fill the seats.

Mango Airlines is a discount airline. They are unlikely to fly an aircraft unless it is full (or near full). We spoke to lots of family and friends in South Africa afterward, and they confirmed that Mango Air has a lot of delays.

With that reasoning, delaying a 10 am flight should probably have been expected because not enough people fly at that time of the day. But the delays kept happening throughout the day because, if my reasoning is correct, they could not get enough people on the airplane. They couldn’t put us on a 4, 5, or 6 pm flight either because those flights were likely already full.

The take-away:

• Mango Air (FlySafair and Kulula Air) are discount airlines. If you are on a budget, it makes sense to use them. However, it comes with the risk of flight delays and/or cancellations.
• Our experience with Mango Air is not an outlier, as is evident by their reviews online. 
• In our opinion, to avoid delays, book flights before or immediately after working hours. For example, 6 or 7 in the morning, or 4,5, or 6 in the afternoon. I do not want to suggest that flights during the other hours will always be delayed. Neither do I want to suggest that flying during the recommended hours will never be delayed. Rather, I’m considering the odds. If they have a full airplane, they will have no reason (other than technical difficulties) to delay.
• Would we fly Mango Airlines again? I’m tempted to say “no way!” That experience put a big damper on our vacation and I would not knowingly put myself or my family through that again. However, if the deal is truly amazing and we are flying during busy flying hours, I may be persuaded. 
• Some friends and family suggested trying the other discount airlines in South Africa, but I reckon that whatever discount airline you choose, it will be hit or miss.
• If you can afford it, fly SAA, Virgin, or British Airways. I’ve flown with these airlines multiple times and I’ve never had an issue. The staff is usually very nice, plus they feed you.