Both of us had been collecting miles on United MileagePlus from quite some time. With the miles we had collected so far, I was scouting for destinations which we wanted to visit and where we could maximize our miles.
Africa was on top of our list and I was trying to figure out how we could do the most with that. We had enough miles between the two of us for 3 one-way tickets from India (Central Asia region) to South Africa (Africa region) which would mean that we would need to purchase 1 one-way for one of us.
As it turns out, a one-way flight from India to South Africa was almost twice as expensive as a one-way flight from South Africa to India. After lots of research and award searches, I was finally able to zero in on our travel plans.
Our first flight would be on Egypt Air on Sunday 25th December leaving Mumbai at 2:20 AM. We would reach Cairo at 5:35 AM in the morning, with a 17 hour layover in Cairo 🔗. Our next flight on Egypt Air would be leaving Cairo at 11:35 PM and reaching Addis Ababa the next morning at 3:15 AM on Monday 26th December. We would then connect onward to an Ethiopian Airlines flight at 8:15 AM reaching Cape Town at 2:15 PM. I booked this itinerary as award tickets for the both of us.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUN 25 DEC | MS 969 | MUMBAI, IN (BOM) | 02:20 | CAIRO, EG (CAI) | 05:35 | EGYPTAIR |
| SUN 25 DEC | MS 851 | CAIRO, EG (CAI) | 22:35 | ADDIS ABABA, ET (ADD) | 03:15(+1) | EGYPTAIR |
| MON 26 DEC | ET 847 | ADDIS ABABA, ET (ADD) | 08:30 | CAPE TOWN, ZA (CPT) | 14:15 | ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES |
After spending 4 days in Cape Town 🔗, for the return I was able to put together an itinerary with day-long layovers in both Johannesburg and Addis Ababa. We would leave from Cape Town at 6:00 AM on Friday 30th December on South African Airways flight reaching Johannesburg at 7:55 AM. After about 15 hours in Johannesburg 🔗 we would then connect to the Ethiopian Airlines red-eye flight leaving at 11:35 PM and reaching Addis Ababa the next morning at 6:00 AM on Saturday 31st December. After about 17 hours in Addis Ababa 🔗 we would take another Ethiopian Airlines red-eye flight leaving at 11:35 PM and reaching Mumbai the next morning at 7:15 AM on Sunday 1st January. I planned to this itinerary as one award ticket and one paid ticket with the same flights.
I tried booking all these flights on the United website but somehow my payment transaction was not going through. I then called up the MileagePlus customer service number and they were able to book the flights for me. They also waived off the telephone booking fee because I was unable to complete the booking on the website due to some technical error.
I also booked two separate one-way tickets for myself; from Cape Town to Johannesburg on South African Airways and then Johannesburg to Mumbai on Ethiopian Airlines directly on each airline website to match the award ticket itinerary for the return journey.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRI 30 DEC | SA 302 | CAPE TOWN, ZA (CPT) | 06:00 | JOHANNESBURG, ZA (JNB) | 07:55 | SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS |
| FRI 30 DEC | ET 848 | JOHANNESBURG, ZA (JNB) | 23:35 | ADDIS ABABA, ET (ADD) | 06:00(+1) | ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES |
| SAT 31 DEC | ET 640 | ADDIS ABABA, ET (ADD) | 23:35 | MUMBAI, IN (BOM) | 07:15(+1) | ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES |
With that we were all set for our week in Africa, thanks to United MileagePlus.
90000 miles redeemed | 3 one-way tickets
3 countries | 3 airlines | 4 new airports