kulula's pre-seating option 'a rip-off'

[Ockie]

Earlier this week kulula.com announced that they are now offering passengers the option of pre-booking a seat of their choice for a fee of R35.

The move seems to be edging dangerously toward infamous Irish airline, Ryanair’s ancillary service model – charging passengers for things that used to be free, while making it sound like a perk - especially in the light of kulula implementing a 'piece baggage concept' last year. With this system customers are only allowed to check one piece of luggage weighing 20kg or less. If the bag weighs more than this they are charged a once-off fee of R250, while extra bags cost R300 a piece.

We asked our readers what they thought of this new service and whether they deemed it useful.

Unsurprisingly most said that they found the service rather redundant, pointing out that you could get pretty much any seat you want anyway if you arrive at check-in early... or even better, check in online 24 hours before the flight.

There were, however, a few who thought it wasn’t altogether a bad move.

Here are a few of the responses. Tell us what you think in the comment section below:

Cool idea, kulula:

Wim Coetzee - Why not! Air Asia has been doing it forever! They are the fastest growing airline In the world. Even better, on Air Asia you can also select from a set menu and pre-pay for your food or extra baggage on the website before you pay for your ticket. How about a Nando's and KFC menu option. On Air Asia you also pay extra for not checking in online. These are successful methods of running so called "low cost" airlines. I cannot understand why South African so called "low cost " airlines do not follow the Air Asia model!

What's with you? Get it right as a so called "low cost airline" or go home

Lynette Christodoulou - You don't have to take it if you don't want it... R35 is really not a lot of money... if you're not willing to pay that then just sit where you are seated...

Peter Rae - £2.11 for decent legroom.....cheaper than a beer......suits me

Natasja Oosthuizen - If you are over 6 feet like myself it is good.

John Hutton - Pay for a seat or get to choose one at exit for extra leg room for 35 bucks is a bargain! It only suits some people ie, people with disabilities ie close to toilets etc etc wake up man it's business NOTHING FOR MAHALA.

No! It’s a rip-off

Craig Lahee - It should be free.. Kulula is more expensive than BA and SAA in most cases so it should be free.

David Bond – Disgusted!

Dale Goodwin - I recently pre-booked a seat on a kulula flight. When I got to the airport, the said that that seat was blocked off and that we could not sit there. It was such a mission to get a refund... They quick to give travel vouchers... But no refund. Its a money making scam...

Paljas Paljassie - Made use of their services 3 times and everytime the flight was delayed and some or other lame excuse. Gave vouchers every time and think it will ease the inconvinience caused. Mango has this option with even wifi on board. Much happier and never late.

Tiaan Olwagen - Tried it and when the confirmation arrived, no pre-seats booked - system allowed me to pre-book and charged me. Now I struggle to get a response to my request to confirm the seats or re-fund.

Ronnie Du Plessis - MONEY MAKING SCAM!!!!! THE NEXT THING THEY WILL BE CHARGING FOR IS THE USE OF THE BATHROOM !!!!

Chris Albertyn - As a frequent flyer on Kulula I see this as a money Making scheme! (Like removing 1 olive from a salad saving $100000's for Delta Air in the USA.) - Guess its back to MANGO! at least MANGO also offers INTERNET /WiFi while you fly

Twolips - That's really crazy. I'll take my chances with the seat allocation without paying. The other online service worked well and I always got the seat I wanted, at no extra cost. Is Kulula perhaps charging for this to pay to land on the new Lanseria runway?

David Dayza Tsele - And thing is if you are early at check in desk you can still pretty much get whatever seat you want.

Mira Sturmair - nothing cheap about flying any airlines in south Africa......thus buses/trains seem the way to go......the most expensive route is from plz

Margo Riley - Kulula is a total rip-off! I've paid for my ticket ie: the SEAT now I must pay even more to have a specific seat of my choice?? Also, why and how can it be more expensive to fly to George (round-trip) from Jhb than it is to fly from Jhb to LONDON?? Please explain that Kulula! Total, utter rip-off artists! I'd rather fly SA Airlink - at least I get free breakfast.

Michelle Lew Tin Wah - Margo Riley i so agree with you. My three return tickets from joburg to george almost cost the same as our three tickets from mauritius to joburg??? CRAZY!!!!!

Ermi Spies Not useful, if it costs extra!!!!

Kat Koebke lame. they are already expensive enough considering they're meant to be a "cheaper" alternative.

We contacted kulula to find out whether cash refunds would be possible in the future, we're still waiting for a response.

http://www.news24.com/Travel/MyTravels/kululas-pre-seating-option-a-rip-off-20131114

Kulula seems to becoming greedy. They have gone from hero to foe. They have become expensive in some cases ... and they cock blocking the competition. TSEK!

How do you guys feel about Kulula these days?

 

[Paul Hjul]

I haven't flown Kulula for a while but I am still a fan -
I used to love their PE to Jhb morning flight:
you get a nice roomy seat, tea, great service and so on.
O wait thats because it was a code share with BA proper service

A flight from PE to Durban was also awesome:
I got a R400 Kulula voucher flew again in a roomy seat, got lunch and some wine
That was because they overbooked a flight and I volunteered to take whatever they could do for me to get to Durban within the next 24 hours as long as there was no expense on my part - so they put me on an SAA Express flight and gave me a R400 Kulula voucher.

Kulula is not as nice as BA proper though. You can't get bumped up to first class

All and all I've been pretty lucky with flying even in the US I had a giant comfy seat with Spirit Airlines on my Vegas to Chicago flight together with early boarding and free hand luggage

 

[diabolus]

Meh, all the airlines , especially international ones are doing this. I flew KLM earlier this year and they had all the good seats (in economy class) priced for an additional fee (easily between R300-R500 extra) . I.e. the seats with the bathroom wall in front of you or where there are a gap row etc. However their normal seats were"free" and you could book them the moment you buy your ticket (helps alot if you want to sit with friends who are booking seperately) .

So yea, i'm a bit in 2 minds over this, i like that you CAN now book your seats earlier , but i find it a little dodgy to pay for a "standard cramped" seat. They can charge me extra to prebook a special seat though (i.e emergency exit or near the front/back exit (to get out quickly) ), but for the window/aisle seat that is just like any other seat? Hmm, not so sure, although R35 on a R1000+ flight isn't alot though, they might as well allow me to add another R35 and serve me food/drinks again too (without having to carry around cash)....

Craig Lahee - It should be free.. Kulula is more expensive than BA and SAA in most cases so it should be free.

What? That dude clearly haven't paid for his own flights. Kulula is by far cheaper than SAA, and BA is the same as Kulula since they are operated by Comair. You even book your BA flight on the freaking Kulula website /boggle.

Admittedly, adding Discovery discount into the mix, makes Kulula by far the cheapest airline right now. So i use them all the time, and trust me i shop around every time. Mango comes close to Kulula on default pricing , but after Discovery discounts they're 30% more expensive. Not even the "promo" launch pricing of FlySafair (they never got to launch though) could beat Kulula.

 

[Ockie]

Meh, all the airlines , especially international ones are doing this. I flew KLM earlier this year and they had all the good seats (in economy class) priced for an additional fee (easily between R300-R500 extra) . I.e. the seats with the bathroom wall in front of you or where there are a gap row etc. However their normal seats were"free" and you could book them the moment you buy your ticket (helps alot if you want to sit with friends who are booking seperately) .

So yea, i'm a bit in 2 minds over this, i like that you CAN now book your seats earlier , but i find it a little dodgy to pay for a "standard cramped" seat. They can charge me extra to prebook a special seat though (i.e emergency exit or near the front/back exit (to get out quickly) ), but for the window/aisle seat that is just like any other seat? Hmm, not so sure.



What? That dude clearly haven't paid for his own flights. Kulula is by far cheaper than SAA, and BA is the same as Kulula since they are operated by Comair. You even book your BA flight on the freaking Kulula website /boggle.

Admittedly, adding Discovery discount into the mix, makes Kulula by far the cheapest airline right now. So i use them all the time, and trust me i shop around every time. Mango comes close to Kulula on default pricing , but after Discovery discounts they're 30% more expensive. Not even the "promo" launch pricing of FlySafair (the never got to launch though) could beat Kulula.

I actually booked on SAA once because Kulula worked out more expensive. True story.

 

[SmartKit]

I want to fly from Lanseria. Kulula and Mango are the only options - Ryanair vs SAA, hopefully this will change with the new runway.

 

[diabolus]

I want to fly from Lanseria. Kulula and Mango are the only options - Ryanair vs SAA, hopefully this will change with the new runway.

I'm lucky to be midway between both airports (OR Tambo and Lanseria). While Lanseria flights are cheaper, i have found their parking costs are a total bloody ripoff! Their "long term" parking is R95 a day and then you can't even find shade/undercover parking in there, just some open parking lot. I had to risk all this hail coming down this past week at Lanseria because of their crappy parking. OR Tambo you can park for like R80 a day in the basement (hell their "short term" parking you can get away with R100 a day) or R45 a day at the "real" long term parking.

So i'm actually starting to calculate that cost into the ticket, if the ticket is less than R300 more expensive on OR Tambo, i fly from OR Tambo.

The gautrain is also an option, but the timing of that train is so stupid, i can rarely bargain on it . I always land in gauteng past 9pm at night, and then there's no gautrain :/.

 

[diabolus]

I actually booked on SAA once because Kulula worked out more expensive. True story.

I'm sure there's always bargains to be had, and alot depends on the route you're flying. For example JHB -> PE , where you actually fly on BA (via Kulula) you have a good chance of finding an SAA flight that is cheaper/same pricing.

 

[Segg]

Old news, had to pay R35 to book my seat when going to Cape Town in September, bloody ripoff, and sending my sister down to East London in December actually worked out to be cheaper on SAA

I think Comair have become very expensive and are anti-competitive, blocking new entrants like safair

 

[SmartKit]

I'm lucky to be midway between both airports (OR Tambo and Lanseria). While Lanseria flights are cheaper, i have found their parking costs are a total bloody ripoff! Their "long term" parking is R95 a day and then you can't even find shade/undercover parking in there, just some open parking lot. I had to risk all this hail coming down this past week at Lanseria because of their crappy parking. OR Tambo you can park for like R80 a day in the basement (hell their "short term" parking you can get away with R100 a day) or R45 a day at the "real" long term parking.

So i'm actually starting to calculate that cost into the ticket, if the ticket is less than R300 more expensive on OR Tambo, i fly from OR Tambo.

The gautrain is also an option, but the timing of that train is so stupid, i can rarely bargain on it . I always land in gauteng past 9pm at night, and then there's no gautrain :/.

I must admit the Gautrain had created an option. Outside peak hours and early enough to get back to Sandton and catch the bus means OR Thambo is an option.

 

[Carol35]

I have to go to jhb next weekend and saw that mango was offering 20% discount to all edgars account holders! I was quite happy since I had to use the husbands edgars account to pay for the ticket. My brother booked a ticket for my mother on the exact same flight and low and behold, he paid less than me. I have no idea how you work that out!!! In essence, there was no such thing as the 20% discount lol.

 

[Venomous]

I have to go to jhb next weekend and saw that mango was offering 20% discount to all edgars account holders! I was quite happy since I had to use the husbands edgars account to pay for the ticket. My brother booked a ticket for my mother on the exact same flight and low and behold, he paid less than me. I have no idea how you work that out!!! In essence, there was no such thing as the 20% discount lol.

Maybe she got a pensioners discount?

 

[Carol35]

Maybe she got a pensioners discount?

Nope, it was a straight forward ticket buy..think will all the added "service" costs of using your edgars account, it made my ticket more expensive in the long run.