If you would like help with your flight arrangements for your Africa trip please do not hesitate to contact us on tel 0208 742 0226 or email absaf@absoluteafrica.com.
We are also more than happy to assist you with arrangements for airport transfers and/or accommodation requirements before and after you safari.
When booking flights to accompany most of our overland trips we suggest that you arrive the day prior to the departure date, and that you allow two days at the end of your trip to cover in the event of an overrun. Remember you are travelling in Africa on an adventure holiday and so you need to build in some flexibility into your travel arrangements.
Depending on the overland trip or travel plans you are doing you will probably be using one, two or three of the following airports.
Nairobi, Kenya.
Mombasa, Kenya.
Entebbe, Uganda.
Kigale, Rwanda.
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
Arusha, Tanzania.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Zanzibar Island, Tanzania.
Lilongwe, Malawi.
Lusaka, Zambia.
Livingstone, Zambia.
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Cape Town, South Africa.
Africa International Carriers
British Airways - www.britishairways.com
Qantas - www.qantas.com.au
Kenya Airways - www.kenya-airways.com
KLM - www.klm.com
Ethiopian Airways - www.ethiopianairlines.com
Emirates - www.emirates.com
Virgin - www.virgin-atlantic.com
Qatar - www.qatarairways.com
Air Namibia - www.airnamibia.com.na
South Africa Airways - www.flysaa.com
Africa Regional & Domestic Carriers
Fly540 - www.fly540.com (Kenya/Uganda/Tanzania)
Rwanda Air- www.rwandair.com/ (Kenya/Uganda/Rwanda/Tanzania/South Africa)
Air Uganda - www.air-uganda.com (Kenya/Uganda/Rwanda/Tanzania)
Precision Air - www.precisionairtz.com (Kenya/Tanzania)
ZanAir - www.zanair.com (Kenya/Tanzania)
Air Botswana - www.airbotswana.co.bw (Southern Africa)
Kulula.com - www.kulula.com (Dar es Salaam & South African Domestic Flights)
FlyMango.com - ww6.flymango.com (South African domestic flights only)
Zambezi Airlines - http://www.flyzambezi.com/ (Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia & South Africa)
Terminology you might find useful when looking at flights
"Open jaw flights" - A flights where you fly into one airport, travel via land to another destination, and then fly out from a different airport.
"Discovery flights" - If you are doing a safari en route from Europe back to Australasia you might want to look at a one way open jaw ticket. One that many of our clients use is a "Discovery flight", flying British Airways from Europe into one African destination (ie Nairobi) and then Qantas out from Johannesburg to Australia / NZ. These flights also usually allow for a stop in either Perth or Sydney if you wish. These arrangements work well with many of our safaris, such as trips that start in Nairobi or Entebbe or Lusaka, and finish in Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Cape Town or Victoria Falls.
A number of the regional/domestic carriers offer cheap connecting flights from Livingstone or Cape Town to Johannesburg. SAA also coordinate with these flights to fly from Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg.
Can't fly? Won't fly? - Bus options are:-
Intercape Southern Africa - www.intercape.co.za (South Africa, Namibia)
Translux - www.translux.co.za. (South Africa)
Greyhound - www.greyhound.co.za (Zimbabwe, South Africa)
Baz Bus - www.bazbus.com
It is important to be aware that conditions on the roads as well as road safety, traffic control and driving practices are not of the same standard regularly in the areas where we travel. In particular road travel after dark should be avoided if at all possible as roads are unlit and driving standards are poor.
We cannot comment on the safety or reliability of any of the above carriers. Before using internal or regional airlines you should check the airline's accreditation and see whether the airline operates in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisations (ICAO) safety standards.