I've taken a LOT of different routes in the past but I don't know and haven't taken them all. I'm not "wealthy" but, I don't live paycheck to paycheck either. I'm a bit of a proponent of Ben Franklin's philosophy "frugality in all things". Frugality does not mean "cheap" it means looking for good value. As I've mentioned in all my posts, all though I've been offered "commissions", I don't take them, so I'm not a compensated booking agent and the products I use or recommend are what I've found to be of good value and they work for me, I'm not a paid "endorser" or given stuff to try and write about. I'm leading with that up front so everyone knows where I'm coming from on all this.
I'm based out of Tampa and generally fly economy class and maybe seat upgrades for the long legs. Once on the plane and meal service is done, I'll take a couple of Nyquil and a couple of drinks and it's "wake me when we get there". I have not taken all the possible combinations but, here's the routes and airlines we've taken in the past. Some routes just once, some multiple times. These are obviously all pre-Rona lockdowns.
1. Delta: Tampa to Atlanta - Jberg and Air Namibia or SAA to Windhoek or Air Bots to Gaborone, multiple times.
2. Lufthansa: Tampa - Frankfurt - Jberg and Air Namibia or SAA to Windhoek, multiple times
3. Lufthansa: Tampa - Frankfurt - Air Namibia direct to Windhoek, twice
4. Swiss Air: Tampa - Zurich - Jberg and Air Namibia or SAA to Windhoek, multiple times and once SAA from Jberg to Port Elizabeth RSA
5. SAA; Jet Blue to JFK and SAA to Jberg - Air Namibia or SAA to Windhoek, multiple times
6. SAA: Jet Blue to Dulles - SAA to Jberg and into Windhoek, multiple times
7. Delta: Tampa to Amsterdam - KLM to Windhoek, once
I haven't personally flown Ethiopian Airlines yet but, the guy going to Jan's last Aug/Sep for a leopard hunt just after Namibia opened it's boarders did and said it was a really good flight and he'd do it again.
Obviously, there are, or at least we're a LOT of other options pre-Rona. What I always try to do is work out with the people I'm taking over, what routes/airlines works for all going. If someone has made the trip before and a bit familiar with navigating the firearms/ammo check-ins and Jberg transit vs someone who's never done it before is a significant consideration and I try to at least meet them before the transatlantic leg over so they don't have to deal with all the things associated with a Jberg transit.
Last year, before the Rona lockdowns, I had booked the June and Aug 2020 tickets on Qatar Air. Decided to try them because a lot of other guys had used that route and and said the airline was terrific and the ticket prices were much better than the old Delta route thru Jberg. Lots of guys have gone via London. I would have tried it except for us out of Tampa would have required an airport change in London between Gatwick and Heathrow and with firearms it was not practical.
We like doing the European routes because they are all overnight flights for us with a full day layover and another overnight flt into RSA. We book a dayroom at the airport, can grab a shower and stretch out in bed for a couple of hours and spend some time shopping in the city. Even if it's only a short 4-6 hr layover, all the European international airports have showers available for $6-$8. We always carry a full change of cloths and always grab a shower in one of them or in one of the "lounges".
You asked about prices. A couple of things with that and can really only address pre-Rona. What I tell prospective clients is to budget about $2500 r/t from the US east coast to Windhoek, RSA or now Bots for economy class. Time of year used to be a factor also. If you started travel over before 15 May or after 15 Aug, you were flying on the "shoulder" season and could save 25-30% on a ticket. Last year, the tickets I had in hand from Qatar Air to Bots were under $1K r/t with seat upgrades included but didn't include the cost of connecting flts. In Jun we were picking up the Qatar flt out of Miami and the Aug trip was out of Chicago.
I've posted over on the Botswana thread, I'm looking now for a flt to Bots to help out with a triple ele hunt as soon as the season opens 1 Apr. I can book tickets direct on the Qatar Air website r/t from Houston for under $1k and just have to add flts from Tampa to Houston and then a one way from Maun back to Gaborone so, with seat upgrades and all, just a bit under $1500 r/t.
In my military career, I've flown to/been TDY or vacationed in stationed in, 68 countries - most of central western Europe a LOT of eastern Europe, Columbia, Panama, Bosnia, Italy, Sardinia, if it has a "stan" at the end, Australia, Mongolia, Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Tonga, Fiji, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Kenya, RSA. In all that, if flying commercial, I do have one "rule of thumb", anytime I have a change of carrier or aircraft at an International airport I want a MINIMUM of 4 hours. I've found that for me personally, any time shorter than that the chances of luggage/firearms not making the transfer increase exponentially. It also provides a little buffer for flt delays.
While in the military, if we weren't flying military transport, the bases have a SATO (Scheduled Airline Travel Office), govt contracted travel agency. You'd just call them give your point A to B and any stops in between and a copy of your orders and they did the rest. After I retired, I tried to use a few travel agents and found that I could do just as well or better booking myself either direct with the airlines or on-line booking sites. I still have a couple of agents that I sometime use if I find the flights I need, but can't get them to pull up on-line. I can give them the routes, and flight numbers I need and they can get them booked on the same tickets...usually.
I have had bags/firearms "lost in the system" a few times and I've found that I can sort out the problem just as fast, on the ground, in the airport directly with the airline as trying to make a call back to the US and trying to have a travel agent sort it out over the phone from thousands of miles away. The other thing with travel agencies is they are bound by the same refund/flt CNX policies of the airlines. So, just because you book via an agent and have to change or CNX a flt doesn't necessarily mean you'll get a full refund or not charged extra change fees.
I will say this again and keep saying it....If you've ever wanted to or dreamed of going to Africa, GO NOW or as soon as you can. Even with all the travel unknows right now, Africa is changing FAST! Some for the better and some, not so much. As long as you "make a plan", can be a bit flexible things just seem to work out. Maybe not the way you initially envisioned, but quite likely better than you imagined. Keep an open mind, and take each days sights, sounds and smells as it comes and enjoy life and all it's experiences. Toss in a little good Scotch and maybe a cigar....life is good.
