Skytrax has revealed the World’s Top 100 Airlines for 2021 and Ethiopian Airlines maintained its number one ranking as the best African airline in 2021.
The awards were based on customer surveys collected for 23 months, from September 2019 to July 2021, and comprise a mix of more normal travel times and pandemic travel. While the pandemic caused some shifting of airline positions compared to 2019, a handful of core airlines still maintained the higher rankings.
Branded as the Passenger’s Choice Awards, over 13 million travelers worldwide nominated their favorite airline in a survey and ranked specific aspects of the customer experience on a scale of one to five, including cabin service, COVID-19 response, ground/airport services, and the onboard product. Over 350 airlines were included in the survey results.
In Africa, the top African three airlines were Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, and Kenya Airways. Globally, Qatar Airways took home the gold for the sixth time since 2001, followed by Singapore Airlines in second and Japan-based ANA All Nippon Airways in third. Qatar also secured five other awards, including Best Business Class , Best Business Class Seat, Best Airline in the Middle East , World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge, and Best Business Class Onboard Catering.
Other noteworthy winners were Saudi Arabian Airlines , winning Most Improved Airline, Singapore’s subsidiary Scoot taking home Best Long Haul Low-Cost Airline, and Spain-based Vueling securing Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe.
Here’s a closer look at the top 10 African airlines for 2021.
10. Fastjet
Fastjet Plc is a British/South African-based holding company for a group of low-cost carriers that operate in Africa. The company’s stated aim is to become the continent’s first low-cost, pan-African airline, and the operation was initially created with the acquisition of Fly540, an airline operating in East Africa; flights in Fastjet’s own name commenced in November 2012 in Tanzania. Fastjet Zimbabwe commenced flights in October 2015, and Fastjet Mozambique in November 2017. Plans have also been announced for domestic operations in South Africa. As of February 2018, the airline operates four Embraer E145 aircraft across East- and southern Africa. It has carried in excess of 2.5 million passengers with an aggregate 90% on-time performance.
9. Egyptair
The national carrier of the Arab Republic of Egypt, EgyptAir is based at Cairo International Airport. The airline’s network includes extensive domestic and regional scheduled passenger and freight services within Egypt and Africa as well as international services to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. EgyptAir is among the largest carriers on the African continent and became a member of the Star Alliance in Jul-2008. EgyptAir Cargo is the airlines dedicated cargo division serving Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
8. FlySafair
FlySafair is a low-cost South African airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The airline specialises in flying domestic flights within South Africa, flying to more than five different destinations across the country.
The airline began operating in October 2014, although the company behind FlySafair has been operating for 50 years. FlySafair has its hubs based in Cape Town International Airport (CPT), OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) and King Shaka International Airport (DUR).
FlySafair flies to 7 domestic destinations within South Africa, including Cape Town, Durban, East London, George, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. It flies to these destinations using its fleet of 16 Boeing aircraft.