When a snake joins you at check-in, you know this is no ordinary flight

From the only airport inside South Africa's Kruger National Park, little carrier Airlink runs direct flights to Johannesburg and also Cape Town, for easy connection on to international flights. The airline codeshares with Qantas and its frequent flyer program.

Tiny Skukuza Airport is a mostly open-air building with pitched, thatch roofs over the check-in desks and departure lounge, which has a cafe window, lounges and bar stools. There's a scuffle and a squeak as a bright green snake has caught a frog and is devouring it, whole, by the ankles of a foreign tourist. All the foreigners gather around for a snap (guilty!) but a local snake owner advises me to step back - boomslangs might be very shy, but they are still South Africa's most venomous snake. A customs officer tells me they catch "the big ones" and take them out of the terminal, but that this little beauty had eluded them. Eventually, it squirms off into the ornamental pond, a frog-shaped bulge midpoint.

The flight is forecast to take just over an hour on an Embraer 190 for the 470-kilometre journey, but we're well ahead of schedule. After a 1.35pm departure, we're already starting our descent 35 minutes later, arriving in Johannesburg on time.

There is a little business class, but why pay the cash on such a short, scenic flight? The seats are configured 2-2 the whole way down the aircraft. My standard economy ticket allows 20kg of checked baggage, and one piece of hand luggage up to 8kg and a personal item. The Y-class economy fares also include lounge access and 30kg checked luggage. I'm in seat 22C, on the aisle, but with nobody beside me, I move to the window, stat.

Lunch is a tidy little box with a sweet bran apple muffin, yoghurt and chicken focaccia, with tea and coffee served on this brief flight. Where there could be corporate branding, the cardboard lunch boxes instead feature different South African birds - mine is the malachite sunbird.

There are no seatback screens, but the entertainment is looking out to spot (and in my case, failing) wild animals as we fly over Kruger and surrounding nature reserves.

Service is fast, efficient and even pleasant; I had to postpone my flight 24 hours owing to the cancellation of my international flight back to Australia. It takes 10 minutes by phone and the drama-free flight change costs $80, unlike the Australian carrier, which charges me $570 to change and pay the fare difference on the same economy seat.

Airlink offers everything a domestic airline should be; a punctual, scenic flight with food, friendly customer service and a beautiful airport unique to its location. Australian airlines - and many others around the world - should take note.

The writer flew courtesy of Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve