$500 Find Cheap Flights from South Africa to the United States - Compare and Save

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KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to the United States

Get data-powered insights and trends for flights to the United States to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest flight to the United States?

The cheapest ticket to the United States from South Africa found in the last 5 days was to Newark Airport, at $838 round-trip. The most popular route is Cape Town (CPT) to Newark Airport (EWR) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $838.

How much is a flight to the United States?

A flight to the United States costs $1,291 on average. The cheapest price found on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks was $827 for the route Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport (JNB) to Atlanta (ATL). The most popular routes on KAYAK are Cape Town to Atlanta which costs $1,066 on average, and Johannesburg to Atlanta, which costs $1,254 on average.

See prices from:

What is the cheapest month to fly from South Africa to the United States?

The cheapest month for flights from South Africa to the United States is February, when tickets cost $727 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and January, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,063 and $998 respectively.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to the United States?

The cheapest time of day to fly to the United States is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost $1,101 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to the United States is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $1,101.

How far in advance should I book a flight from South Africa to the United States?

To get a below average price on the flight from South Africa to the United States, you should book around 2 weeks before departure, which saves you about 1% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 6 weeks before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in the United States?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in the United States is Washington, D.C. Dulles Intl Airport (IAD), with an average flight price of $1,288.

Good to know

Low season

January

Cheapest flight

$500
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 3% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 3% lower on average.
Flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta

FAQs for booking flights from South Africa to the United States

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from South Africa to the United States?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from South Africa to the United States.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from South Africa to the United States?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from South Africa to the United States is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from South Africa to the United States?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly from South Africa to the United States with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from South Africa to the United States?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying from South Africa to the United States up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to the United States?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to the United States is Thursday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $1,083. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Friday, where round-trip prices are $1,275 on average.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from South Africa to the United States

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from South Africa to the United States? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.8
DeltaOverall score based on 8553 reviews
7.8Entertainment
8.1Boarding
8.5Crew
7.8Comfort
7.2Food
Airline reviews

Audio Visual Equipment lacking content and features. No connection ability for noise cancellation pods

8.0 ExcellentFrances, Sep 2026
Read more Delta reviews

Audio Visual Equipment lacking content and features. No connection ability for noise cancellation pods

Audio Visual Equipment lacking content and features. Could not connect to noise cancellation earpods

DL482 did not wait for about 10 of us including a mother and 3 children when we were in the same terminal on DL486, where we were switching from waiting for a jet bridge fix, to moving to a neighboring gate. I understand taxiing delays are ok either but man. We only needed 5 more minutes. DL482 did not adjust from their times at all. This was my first time with Delta.

DL486 could not get to the gate due to jet bridge malfunction. We moved gates. The connecting flight of LAX to MCO was not communicated with. Even though we were in the same terminal, DL482 left without about 10 of us, including a mother and her 3 children. I got to the gate at 7:34 am which is past the 7:20 am last call for a 7:35 am departure. Had they waited 5 minutes, all of us would have made it on board.

All good except the dining. Both meals were the worst I’ve ever encountered on any previous flight.

Both legs on the way were smaller planes, each had a mechanical issue causing a delay

Delta exceeded my expectations! I am beyond satisfied. Thank you!

Flight was on time! That's the most important thing for me.

Delayed flight. Dirty seats, dirty seat belts with food stuck on it from previous passengers maybe. No one cleaned the seats or flight.

Awful. Flight from Cape Town was cancelled, rebooked for another day through Johannesburg, was downgraded to economy

One hour before landing was the most scary part of my life. The plane just dropped from the air . No explanation or apologies from the captain. Women and children screaming everywhere. Would like to know what happened

My flight going to doha had economy seats that had a little more leg room. Coming back the leg room was not there. I'm 6'3" and my knees were against the chair in front of me. I couldn't slide my feet under the chair. The 15 hour flight felt like torture from the lack of sleep I was getting being so uncomfortable. Food and crew were great though.

It was excellent except for at the very end. I woke up about 1.5 hrs before touchdown and wanted to order food in the Business class. I was told they had shut down food service. It would have been good to get a heads up before they closed the service. Anna the air hostess was wonderful. She did get me 2 bowls of fruit and I was very appreciative of her. Wonderful human and a hostess.

Amazing airline accommodations. The cabins were so great. The food was very good and the flight attendants were so nice. Made a 15 hour flight seem easy.

I paid extra for seating when first booking flight to be in a comfortable economy seat They still changed it to a middle seat regardless. When I asked for it to be changed back to aisle, they could only give me one at the back of the plane in the least comfortable seats.

Same as already mentioned. This was more comforting as I got my aisle seat for my knee.

When we checked in at the Siem Reap Airport in Cambodia, we were only given three boarding passes and told that we would have to check in with American when we arrived in Boston. This was a source of stress for us. After we landed in Boston, we had a long passage from Terminal E to Terminal B (American Airline ticketing counter). Because the electronic ticketing kiosks for check-in would not recognize our Confirmation Code, we had to wait for an hour in a long line where only two AA reps were taking care of Special Services passengers. In many years of both business and recreational travel, I have never had this experience. I would expect more from AA being in partnership with other airlines to do a better job with this.

Qatar Airways is an excellent service provider. The crew members were attentive and helpful. The aircraft was very clean. This was the longest leg of our journey, so it would have been nice to have more leg room for comfort. We appreciated the crew's service of four hot meals to all of us during this long flight. Also, it was helpful that the crew asked us to keep the window shades down for the entire journey, allowing the environment to get lots of rest during the trip. For families traveling with little children, this was helpful to them to keep them settled.

The seat cushions are absolutely lacking, not sure if they know the passengers are traveling for 14 hours straight, but the padding made our back and butt ache like crazy. The entertainment console had its own problems, either the headphone jack wasn't working or the power outlet via usb or ac outlet was not working. Not to mention the seat handles were not adjustable in some planes in the middle or on the aisle. Qatar/Indigo may be operating a very old fleet of planes to make as much profit as possible, but passengers may not be following them for long, should this treatment of its customers continue. Qatar/Indigo, wake up and do it right by your customers, or they may not be your customers anymore.

It was very good. It was a long flight and being a tight with little leg room.

Just having a little bit more legroom would've been nice.

This is related to my second leg of the flight, from Washington DC to SFO. I understand things happen, but I got home at 3 am for a 12:59 am landing. I live 10 min from the airport. Bridge breaks when a few rows of the plane are off? Maintenance didn’t catch that?

Boarding, time to take off, in flight offerings, and staff were all great. I recommend using UA for this short flight.

Crew was dismissive. Snacks and refills not offered. Poor business class experience. Bed not comfortable compared to Emirates or BA.

We were Polaris passengers and found the service poor. The food was ok but the flight attendants were not attentive and rushed the service.

Food was very very bad! Same flight from US was amazing with great food but the food prepared for the flight from Cape Town to New York was not eatable. The crew also did not smile once. They all looked like it was a shift they had not signed up for but were forced to take. :(

On time - really well operated flight. Friendly staff. Super impressed with United on this round trip.

Less packaged foods in between meals Appreciated fruits cheese platters ice cream

Flight was canceled and United offered zero assistance. Left many of us in an unsafe situation

The flight itself was fine and the pilots were great. The crew was awful - the purser WOULD NOT SHUT UP, they ran out of food, I would not serve the “beef” dinner option to my dog. The boarding process was a clusterfuck-no announcements were made about boarding groups, and when we did get on the plane, attendants were blocking the aisles taking orders for the premier lounge and not letting the poors get to their seats

Goin to Kenya from JFK was great. I was able to tell I needed help as I can not fly long distances in the economy idea of a middle seat. I became aware on a flight to paris where after the flight for about a month I had a pain in my right leg I feared might be a potential aneurysm + a weak bladder. Coming back at baggage check-in a let the attendant know and she changed me to an aisle, On check-in at the gate they asked if I paid extra for that seat and i said no and I told them what happened the lady downstairs just changed my flight seat and sent me to the gate to wait, the guy then said no the seat is a (I forgot the exact word he used) for sale seat and I said well she did not tell me that downstairs and then he said someone else had this seat and I said she was looking at the same computer screen earlier and I told her my conditionand she changed my seat. He sai come back later ans he'll see what he can do. I came back and he said the plane is filling up fast there was nothing he could do. On the flight there was an open aisle seat that I was able to take (a little earlier than the attendance liked I would admit - but the door was closed and we were about to take off) on. It turns out the seat was not "sold" because the tv screen and control were not working - no sound and no movies - they attendants said they tried to reboot but nothing fixed and it turned out someone knew the condition and just didn't tell me. It's embarrassing to have to tell everyone you see that you have an issue especially at airport gates where it seems everyone's impatient tempers are on full tilt. Beyond this the flight crew were professional and great -food was as good as airplane food can be (I have not yet tried business class to compare) and it was hot too. I will fly Kenyan Air again and recommend to whoever will listen. If you have a policy or mechanism on the Kenyan side I would appreciate knowing ahead of time what my options are. On the JFK side knowing I was a senior and had an issue got better attention. Thank You.

Flight was on time. Crew was amazing, minimal announcement interruptions, clean facilities and spaces.

Flight delay from Nairobi to JFK causing me to miss my connection. While at NBO waiting more than 5 hours for departure, no Kenyan Air representative made any announcement as to why the delay or when a new time would be given.

Very terrible airline. The flights were delayed for long hours and the customer service is terrible. Never flying with Kenya Airways again.

They boarded backwards so our zone meant nothing!!! My TV was broken, the remote was broke, the head set jack was broke! So i was stuck for 15 hours with no form of entertainment!!! The service was ok but they didn't check on us or serve many snacks. They acted like you were a burden when you hit the call button.

The crew was good but the entertainment was poor . All old movies and TV shows and very few of them. Needs current entertainment. Seats too firm. Food just ok. Nice though to have option with upgrade of no one sitting in middle seat

I purchased the upgrade to have 3 seats open, so I was able to sleep 9 hours. Without that I would have been miserable

Got delayed for over 24 hours. Fight was cancelled. Was put up at a nice hotel whose kitchen was unfortunately not prepared for the sudden influx of guests The headphone jacks on the seat were loose and sound kept getting dropped over the headphones. Food was good though. Certain items (Amarula) were not available for purchase over the on-plane duty free. Had been told i would pick my luggage at my final destination*wrong* had to pick it up in JFK and recheck it and then got charged for it**** too tired to argue with the Delta staff on the issue.... after a 15 hr flight.

This one is not bad even it is late, but they apologize and every time they announced the update.

I’m very disappointed for this trip and I will never travel again in this airline. In addition, I don’t recommend to any human being to travel to Kenya Airways. They keep me at Nairobi for 4 days without care. I was at Nairobi from 6 a.m Morning up to 10 a:m Thursday. For that reason, I have trouble for my work and may be I will lose my job. During for those 4 days I didn’t have my medicine, I didn’t have clothes to change because all my clothes were in my checked bags. On Thursday, when I got flight, they don’t even apologize for all consequences I had. During for those 4 days, I learned many things for this airline. It is their system to treat passengers like this because they had hundreds or thousands passengers around Nairobi waiting for their flights after their original flights cancelled. If I lose my job, I planned to file claim to the airline. This is not airline to travel with.

I have a walker I need it to get from the plane to customs and baggage claim. It had a huge orange tag on it saying it should be given to me as I got off the plane. It was not and the flight staff didn’t know where it was—both on my flight to London and on the return. In It was very frustrating

Late lights, lost baggage and cramped seats. Did not feel that lost baggage was a priority. Communication was slow and often unclear.

Had a plane! Have a plan! Have my luggage! 10 hours of travel turned into 50 hours. Good Lord!

The travel on premium economy class was very positive. Comfortable with plenty of space and leg room. The service throughout was top notch. Crew members were kind and helpful. Food and entertainment were excellent.

Based on my wife's damaged condition, BA very kindly upgraded us from cattle to business class. MUCH appreciated!! One of these days, as it gains more experience, BA MAY learn how to depart on time (with over 30 years experience with BA, no flight has EVER managed to leave on time), Once airborne, the entertainment was ever so very pedestrian. But the flight was uneventful and the cabin crew's service was superb. And whichever driver landed the aircraft had obviously done it before. But BA unfortunately is learning from that scuzzy airline Delta. Delta is ALWAYS stunned when one of its aircraft actually turns up anywhere and is NEVER ready to receive it -- even when it turns up where and more or less when it is supposed to, NOT an example worthy of emulation.

Incredible. The upgrade to Business was a phenomenal way to end my trip, beyond grateful for the generosity and hospitality.

Great! Apart from small sitting in one the flight everything else was good

OK. Needed more information on baggage details with different airlines and airport baggage pickup Also, it appeared they offered free WiFi on their info publications but none did.

Great until k found out they never got my check bags onto the plane.

It was pretty decent mostly cause I have leg room.

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