African Airlines Connecting The Skies of Africa

For most frequent travelers, it is not just about how fast they can get to their destination especially when flying but it is about quality of the service offered after booking, on flight and of course upon arrival.

In most cases, there are airlines that will make their passengers feel very welcomed on their journey but have the worst polices and after services such as instances when one loses their luggage and ends up vowing not to use the airline due to negligence.

Africa has over 100 airlines operating flights all over the continent with only a small percentage of them are completely based in Africa or owned by Africans even then, there are very few that cater to the ordinary African with prices that are affordable and make it easy to travel through the region.

Where did Africa go wrong in this? In Uganda for instance, there is no official airline flagbearer that represents the country in the skies catering to the different travel routes through the rest of East Africa on a budget suitable for any Ugandan.

Yet there are so many of these Airlines in Africa that keep standing the test of time and growing by the year making stops in almost of every part of the continent.

Here are a few of the top ranking African airlines.

Ethiopian Airlines

The star of the horn, operating for since 1946 with its headquarters in Addis Ababa at the Bole International Airport is one of the best known airlines on the continent. Ethiopian Airlines has been known to fly to more destination on the continent compared to other airlines and has a fleet of over 78 with 101 passenger destinations.

Ethiopian Airlines, image source; flyingireland.com

Kenya Airways

Soaring on from the heart of East Africa, the airlines employs over 3900 people and touches the skyline of 62 passenger destinations across the world with headquarters in Nairobi. The airline has a frequent flight schedule that cuts across to several African countries.

Kenya Airways

South African Airways

You cannot talk air travel in Africa and not hear about the pride of Africa, based in South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport, the airline has been in business for 82 years and continues growing strong with each year. It had a stormy time during the peak of anti-apartheid sanctions from many countries all over the world, but picked up afterwards after apartheid was pushed out of South Africa. The airline has 42 destinations with a fleet of 53.

South African Airways Boeing 747-300, image source; Wikipedia.org

FastJet Airlines

The airlines is a low cost airline based in Tanzania with outlets in Uganda, Zambia, Comoros among many others. The airline was formally known as Fly540 started operations in 2012 and has been expanding into different regions beyond East Africa.

FastJet, image source; Daily News

RwandAir

Probably the fastest rising carrier airline in East Africa, RwandAir has been operating since 2002 under the Rwandan government. It has 18 destinations within Africa and the Middle East and is based at the Kigali International Airport in Rwanda’s capital Kigali.

Rwandair Boing 737-500, image source; Airplanepictures.net

EgyptAir

The airline has 6 other subsidiaries that majorly focus on domestic transportation but does have over 70 destination beyond its own borders at the Cairo International Airport and is now regaining its growth after the 2011 revolution.

Egypt Air, image source; This Day Live

Air Mauritius

Set up in 1967 by Air France, the airline has accumulated 20 destinations is the official airlines for Mauritius and has one of the largest carriers in sub-saharan Africa.

Air Mauritius, image source; blog.airmauritius.com

Precision Air

It might not be the main airline of Tanzania, but Precision Air has the biggest share of air traffic in the country compared to its other counterparts in the business. The airline has over 10 fleets and 9 decisions under its wings.

Precision Air Boieng 737-300, image source; pbase.com