AIRLINES IN AFRICA

5 MAJOR PLAYERS…

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS

A Star Alliance member, South African Airways has been in operation since 1934 and flies to 57 destinations around the world. The A330-300, was placed on the London-Johannesburg route last year. flysaa.com

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES Founded in 1945, this Star Alliance carrier flies to more than 119 international destinations. The airline opened a new terminal and own-brand hotel at its Addis Ababa hub in January. The B787-9 was introduced to its fleet in 2017. ethiopianairlines.com

KENYA AIRWAYS

From its Nairobi hub at Jomo Kenyatta International, Kenya Airways flies to 43 destinations in Africa and 14 outside the continent, including London Heathrow. A Skyteam member, its fleet includes the B787 Dreamliner. kenya-airways.com

EGYPTAIR

Egyptair was established in 1932 and now flies to more than 75 global destinations. Operating from Cairo International airport, the Star Alliance carrier launched a twiceweekly service to Hong Kong in September last year. egyptair.com

RWANDAIR

Rwanda’s national airline flies out of Kigali International airport to 26 cities in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, including London Gatwick. It offers direct services to Addis Ababa, and there’s talk of flights to New York and China in the future. rwandair.com

… AND 5 TO WATCH

GREEN AFRICA AIRWAYS

This low-cost Nigerian carrier based in Lagos has not yet begun commercial operations but it has big plans. The airline recently announced a commitment to 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with the goal of building a pan-African network. greenafrica.com

KULULA

Owned by Comair, this South African budget airline connects cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban within South Africa. It also serves Nairobi via a codeshare with Kenya Airways, and interlines on the domestic and regional network Comair operates for British Airways. kulula.com

JAMBOJET

A subsidiary of Kenya Airways, this low-cost carrier flies from Nairobi to six Kenyan and Ugandan destinations. Founded in 2013, it will add two Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft to its fleet later this year. jambojet.com

FLYSAFAIR

Based at Johannesburg OR Tambo International, FlySafair took its maiden flight in 2014. The low-cost airline flies to seven airports in South Africa, including Cape Town and Durban, using B737 aircraft. flysafair.com

AIR SENEGAL

Senegal’s national airline flies to four African cities, including Banjul in the Gambia and Praia in Cape Verde, from its Dakar base. Not even a year old, it launched flights to Paris in February. flyairsenegal.com