Business Class Flights to Africa

The second-largest continent on the planet by both land area and population, Africa is home to 54 countries and more than 1.4 billion people. It stretches from the Mediterranean coastline in the north to the Cape of Good Hope in the south, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea. Africa is where humanity originated, and its cultural, linguistic, and ecological diversity is unmatched anywhere else in the world, with more than 2,000 languages spoken across the continent.

Business class flights to Africa can be booked to arrive at any of the continent's major international airports. Among the largest and busiest are O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, South Africa; Cairo International Airport (CAI) in Cairo, Egypt; Mohammed V International Airport (CMN) in Casablanca, Morocco; Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) in Nairobi, Kenya. First class flights to Africa are available to these hubs as well as to smaller regional airports that serve safari lodges and coastal resorts.

Travelers book flights to Africa for both business and leisure. South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya have the largest economies on the continent, and cities such as Johannesburg, Lagos, Cairo, and Nairobi serve as regional centers for finance, telecommunications, energy, and mining. Nairobi in particular has become an important technology hub, hosting the regional offices of several global corporations.

Tourism is one of the main reasons visitors purchase tickets to Africa. The continent is world famous for its wildlife, and safari travel remains its signature experience. The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the adjoining Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya host the annual Great Migration, in which more than a million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra and gazelle move across the savannah. Other celebrated parks include Kruger National Park in South Africa, Chobe National Park in Botswana, and Etosha National Park in Namibia.

Africa is also home to some of the world's most recognizable natural landmarks. Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is the tallest mountain on the continent at 19,341 feet (5,895 meters) and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Victoria Falls, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, is among the largest waterfalls anywhere, and the Sahara, which covers much of northern Africa, is the largest hot desert on Earth.

Travelers who book business class flights to Africa for cultural and historical reasons often begin in Egypt, where the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx have drawn visitors for thousands of years. The Valley of the Kings near Luxor and the temples at Abu Simbel are also popular. Farther west, the medinas of Marrakech and Fez in Morocco and the coastal city of Tunis in Tunisia offer historic architecture, markets, and cuisine that blend African, Arab, and Mediterranean influences.

Beach travel is another common reason to book cheap flights to Africa. Zanzibar, an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, is known for its white sand beaches, coral reefs, and the historic Stone Town district. Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Cape Verde are island nations that attract visitors year-round, while the coastline near Cape Town in South Africa combines beaches with vineyards and the dramatic backdrop of Table Mountain.

West Africa is increasingly popular with both business and leisure travelers who book flights to Africa. Accra in Ghana, Dakar in Senegal, and Lagos in Nigeria are lively coastal cities with rich music scenes, growing restaurant cultures, and important historical sites related to the transatlantic slave trade, including Cape Coast Castle in Ghana and Gorée Island off the coast of Senegal.

The cost of airfare to Africa varies considerably depending on the destination and the season. Fares to southern Africa are generally highest between December and February, which is the region's summer, while East African safari destinations are busiest during the dry seasons from June through October and again in January and February. Travelers who plan ahead and remain flexible about dates can often find substantially better rates on premium cabins.