Business & First Class Flights to Cape Town

United flies Newark–Cape Town nonstop with Polaris, and Delta flies Atlanta–Cape Town with Delta One Suites on the A350. Those are the nonstops, and they save three to five hours over anything else. The one-stops are where the best cabins are: British Airways flies London–Cape Town daily on the 777 and A380 with a First Class cabin, Virgin Atlantic flies it in the northern winter, Emirates flies Dubai–Cape Town with First Class, Qatar Airways flies Doha–Cape Town in Qsuite, and Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, SWISS and Turkish Airlines all reach Cape Town from their hubs, some seasonally. From the West Coast and the middle of the country, a same-day connection to Newark or Atlanta for the nonstop competes with the Gulf routing on total time; we price both.

Cape Town's airport is 20 minutes from the city center, the V&A Waterfront and the Atlantic Seaboard (Camps Bay, Clifton), and 45 minutes from the Winelands at Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. Hotels arrange transfers, and a rental car is common for the Cape Peninsula and the Garden Route. The city pairs naturally with a safari: Kruger is a two-and-a-half-hour flight to Skukuza or Nelspruit, the Sabi Sand lodges have their own airstrips, and Johannesburg is two hours; an open-jaw into Cape Town and home from Johannesburg — or the reverse — prices close to a round trip.

Cape Town's summer runs November through March, with Christmas through February the peak for fares, hotels and the beaches; the harvest season in the Winelands is February to April, and the light in March and April is the year's best. May is a pleasant shoulder. June through August is cool and wet — the low season, with premium fares well below our $3,600 starting fare from Newark, and southern right whales in False Bay from June to November. September and October bring the wildflowers and the start of the beach season.