Africa’s biggest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines has emerged as the continent number one airline for the year 2022 for the second time in a row. This is just as South African Airway came second on the ranking list and closely followed by Kenya Airways.
According to africanexponent.com, African airlines have performed admirably on the global scale in recent years. Several of them were recently included among the top 100 airlines in the world by Skytrax, a consumer aviation website.
The rankings were determined by analyzing more than 13 million customer survey responses and evaluating 356 airlines on a variety of factors, including cabin and airport services.
The survey was conducted between September 2019 and July 2021, and Ethiopian Airlines was named the top African airline for the second year in a row. Here’s a closer look at the top ten African airlines in 2022.
10. Fastjet
Fastjet is a British-South African holding company that manages a series of African low-cost carriers. It began operations in Tanzania in November 2012 and Zimbabwe in October 2015. The airline has flown four Embraer E145 aircraft across East and Southern Africa since February 2018. Fastjet has transported over 2.5 million passengers, and its main goal is to become Africa’s first low-cost, pan-African airline.
9. Egyptair
EgyptAir is Egypt’s national carrier and is based at Cairo International Airport. The airline offers domestic and regional passenger and freight services within Egypt and Africa, as well as international routes to Europe, Asia, and North America. Egyptair joined Star Alliance in 2008.
8. FlySaFair
FlySafair is a low-cost South African airline with headquarters in Johannesburg. The airline specializes in providing domestic flights within South Africa, travelling to seven locations using its fleet of 16 Boeing aircraft. The airline started its operations in October 2014 and has hubs at Cape Town International Airport and OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.
7. RwandAir
RwandAir is Rwanda’s national carrier and flies to more than 30 destinations in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The airline, which has Kigali International Airport (KGL) as its hub, is one of Africa’s fastest-growing and has one of the youngest, most modern fleets. The airline’s mission is to connect Rwanda to the rest of the world in a strategic way.
6. Air Seychelles
Air Seychelles is based on the island of Mahe and is the national airline of the Seychelles. The airline flies to a variety of destinations in Africa, Europe, and Asia. It began operations in 1978 and initially only flew domestic flights until 1983, when it began international flights to Frankfurt and London.
Air Seychelles obtained a four-star rating from Skytrax in 2014, as well as awards from the World Travel Awards for Leading Business Class and Leading Cabin Crew in the Indian Ocean.
5. Air Mauritius
Air Mauritius is Mauritius’ national airline, based at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in Port Louis. The airline, which began operations in 1972 under the name Air Mauritius Limited, is the fourth largest carrier in Sub-Saharan Africa. Passengers can fly direct to 23 destinations and connect with the airline’s partners to reach over 100 more destinations.
4. Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc is the main airline in Morocco and is also known as “RAM.” The airline was established in July 1953 when Air Maroc and Air Atlas merged. Casablanca-Anfa Airport is the airline’s headquarters. RAM flies to more than 100 destinations globally, including countries in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia.
3. Kenya Airways
Kenya Airways is one of Africa’s largest airlines, with flights to popular destinations all over the world. Since its inception, the airline has developed immensely and continues to thrive across the African sky.
With a team of cheerful and helpful employees, it’s no surprise that Kenya Airways earned the World Travel Award for Africa’s Leading Airline in 2016 and 2017. Through its sustained service quality, the airline has made a significant contribution to advancing the standards of African aviation.
2. South African Airways (SAA)
South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier of South Africa and ranks second on the African continent in 2022. The airline is fully owned by the South African government and operates a vast network of domestic and international services throughout Africa, as well as to North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe.
1 Ethiopian Airlines
For the fourth year in a row, Ethiopian Airlines has been named Africa’s best airline. It is Ethiopia’s national airline, based in Addis Ababa. The airline flies to over 60 worldwide locations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. The airline also runs a large domestic freight network.
The airline was named “Best Business Class Airline in Africa” for the third year in a row, as well as “Best Economy Class Airline in Africa” for the third year in a row. Ethiopian airline was also recognized as having “Africa’s Best Cabin Crew.” Ethiopian Airlines joined the Star Alliance in December 2011.