IOL staffer Peter Moolenschot has a travel story to tell...
We booked to fly to Gauteng to celebrate my wife's birthday with my son and daughter-in-law. We chose Kulula because they fly to Lanseria. We reckoned a small airport would be nicer than OR Tambo International. The price and availability suited us. We were ready to sample the delights of flying Kulula for the first time.
Booking and paying for the tickets could not have been simpler. Within five minutes we were booked and ready to go. The acid test, the flight itself, awaited us.
The day started off quietly enough, last minute chores around the house to ensure the place was spic and span in case burglars dropped by. The flight was scheduled for 17h40, so after some lawn mowing, nail painting and blow drying, we were off to the airport courtesy of our next door neighbour promptly at 15h30.
No anxious moments as we negotiated serious road works on the way to the airport. The check-in was flawless; relief that our baggage was spot on 40kg gave us a small measure of joy, a welcome lift to a day that was already full of excited anticipation to see our kids and the wild animals in the game park, the two not to be confused. Not long to go now.
We sipped our cold coffee and warm beer at the Sports Cafe counting the minutes to board. At last, we checked in and got on the bus to the plane. We stood and waited, the bus filled up rapidly to overflowing when, for no reason, everyone got off again.
The plane had gone 'technical' at the last minute. Spares would arrive at 19h00, take-off at 20h00, two and a half hours later than scheduled. We would be hopelessly late for the birthday party.
So we called our son. He would have none of it. He would arrange tickets on another airline so we could still be on time for the party. He bought SAA tickets for the 18h50 flight over the Internet. The SAA lady was less than helpful. She would not issue the ticket as the Internet payment was not authorised. Authorisation required a faxed copy of the credit card, not so easy when one does not have a fax machine handy.
That was when the Kulula people, Amie and Amien, showed us what Kulula is all about. They were more than helpful. They retrieved our checked-in luggage, vouched for the payment for tickets bought for my son, and helped us board our flight.
Later, when I contacted Kulula for a refund for my unused Kulula tickets, I was happy to hear the funniest call-waiting message you can hope to hear, even though this went on for five minutes. The consultant I finally spoke to arranged the refund within days, what a pleasure.
I would recommend flying Kulula anytime, what a great bunch of people, well done Kulula.
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