[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

Josh Cahill, renowned for his candid airline reviews, showed viewers his “terrible” experience with the South African carrier, Airlink.

Having built a career scrutinising airlines, Cahill seems to know what makes an airline good or bad. He has an impressive record of travelling on 185 different airlines over 650 flights in the last six years, so yes, he possibly knows a thing or two.

In his recent review in a now-viral video shared on Facebook, Cahill documents his experience on an Airlink flight. To say he is disappointed is an understatement. IOL reports that he described his flight as a complete disaster.

The first knockoff point came from the behind-the-counter agent, who seemed utterly disinterested, buried in their phone and even left during check-in to greet a friend. The second hiccup came from the Airlink lounge.

Having paid $300 (R5,670.42) for a business class ticket, he was turned away because he arrived too early – a situation he claims to have never encountered before.

Cahill then highlights the uncleanliness of the flight, saying that his first impression was that it was “terribly filthy, rubbish everywhere. They don’t really, like, seem to look after their planes or not even clean them”.

Another issue he had, he states that the crew was too “busy with themselves and having a good time in the galley” while the customers sniffed up the stickiness and dust of the previous flight.

Give the review video a watch:

Many locals pointed out that this YouTuber has been unnecessarily harsh, with one commenter, Grant Bernice Clifton, saying “I’ve flown with Airlink many times, including their international flight from JHB to Madagascar. I’ve always found them to be professional, efficient, friendly and clean.”

In fact, most other people seem to have had a fine time on board the airline:

@Kerry-Lee Bekker wrote: “This is definitely an exception NOT the rule! I have flown airlink on multiple occasions to different destinations. Still one of the best airlines in South Africa. This is only 1 persons experience!”

Anthony Mark Bird also commented: “Awesome training experience for airlink in this video. However, i must admit that the times i have flown with airlink, i have always had a good experience.”

@Danie Pretorius said: “I have flown with Airlink several times and I have always received excellent service, excellent and friendly staff, a very clean aircraft and good food.”

About a month ago, Cahill was reportedly banned by Qatar Airways following a negative review of the Doha-based airline. The dispute escalated when he refused to take down the review from social media, even when offered a free return flight anywhere in the world.

Perhaps all that flying has made Cahill feel too high and mighty for his own good.

[source:iol]