The Best Ways To Travel Between North America and Africa

Featured Image: A South African Airways Airbus A330-200 At Washington Dulles Airport

Africa as a whole is a pretty large market for tourism from the United States. Also, there are a lot of immigrants in North America of people who have immigrated from many locations in Africa. What do these two groups of people have in common? Both groups of people want to fly to Africa from North America, preferably on the best airlines at the lowest price. While nothing is decided yet, I am personally looking into flights to travel to multiple locations in Africa next summer; I have done a lot of research into flying from the US to Africa. Because of all of this research, I figured that I could write about the best ways to get to Africa from North America.

While there are not that many nonstop flights from North America to Africa, in this post, I am going to explain all of the fastest and cheapest ways that one can travel in the shortest way possible between the two continents. Also, there aren’t any low-cost carriers that fly transatlantically to Africa, so while the prices aren’t going to be cheap, they aren’t ultra expensive either. In the list, I will try to order the options to fly to Africa from most convenient to least convenient. Finally, one route that I didn’t include in this article is Kenya Airways’ future flight from New York JFK to Nairobi, Kenya, which will be on a Boeing 787-8 and features flat-bed seats in a 2-2-2 configuration in business class. 

Firstly, I created a map of all of the nonstop flights between the United States and Africa. Please note that if I put a stop in any location, that means that the flight continues without having to leave the aircraft to the final destination. Notably, the flight from Addis Ababa to Los Angeles has to take a stop in Dublin for fuel purposes. If the map seems confusing, I am sorry, but I will try to explain all of it and on which airlines you can fly from where to where in this post. Please note that I have included the future route from Miami to Casablanca in this map. 

Flights From North America to Africa

Delta Air Lines:

Delta Airlines Aircraft in Portland

Best Option If Travelling To Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, or South Africa 

Delta Air Lines (surprisingly) is the only US airline that flies to Africa. United Airlines used to fly from Houston to Lagos (and before that even from Dulles to Accra), but both of those flights have since been discontinued due to unprofitability. Delta currently has five flights from both New York JFK and Atlanta to Africa:

• New York JFK – Accra, Ghana – Boeing 767-300ER -DL220/DL420
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 1-2-1 Staggered Configuration
• New York JFK – Dakar, Senegal – Boeing 757-200 – DL416/DL216
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 2-2 Configuration
• New York JFK – Lagos, Nigeria – Airbus A330-200 -DL415/DL478
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 1-2-1 Reverse Herringbone Configuration
• Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson – Lagos, Nigeria – Airbus A330-200 – DL54/DL55
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 1-2-1 Reverse Herringbone Configuration
• Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson – Johannesburg, South Africa – Boeing 777-200LR – DL200/DL201
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 1-2-1 Herringbone Configuration

If you are traveling to any of these destinations and you are from the US, Delta is probably the most straightforward option. It’s easy to book, isn’t much of a hassle, and is known to have a pretty good onboard experience, especially in its premium cabins (speaking of which, I’ll have a Delta One A350 Guest Review in the coming days). As most of you probably know, Delta is a member of SkyTeam, so you will receive or spend Delta or SkyTeam miles when going on any of their flights. As for prices, see the table below for average prices with miles and money for booking any of these flights. Please note that all of these prices are for round trip tickets and the

South African Airways:

A South African Airways Airbus A340-300 at Washington Dulles Airport

Best Option If Travelling Between Washinton And Accra, Johannesburg, or Dakar or Between New York and South Africa

South African Airways flies to both Washington Dulles and New York JFK in the United States. South African Airways is a member of Star Alliance, so you can earn or spend South African or United miles while booking. As I mentioned in their airline profile, South African does have a very variable business class, and it mostly depends on the type of plane that you fly on.

• New York JFK – Johannesburg, South Africa – Airbus A340-600 – SA203/SA2-4
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 2-2-2 Configuration
  • Daily Service
• Washington Dulles – Accra, Ghana – Airbus A330-200/300 – SA209/SA210
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 1-2-1 Staggered Configuration (Airbus A330-300)
  • Angle Flat Seats in a 2-2-2 Configuration (Airbus A330-200)
  • 4x Weekly
• Washington Dulles – Dakar, Senegal – Airbus A330-200/300 – SA207/SA208
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 1-2-1 Staggered Configuration (Airbus A330-300)
  • Angle Flat Seats in a 2-2-2 Configuration (Airbus A330-200)
  • 3x Weekly
• Washington Dulles – Johannesburg – Airbus A330-200/300
  • 1 Stop in either Accra or Dakar – one can stay on the same aircraft
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Flat Bed Business Class Seats in a 1-2-1 Staggered Configuration (Airbus A330-300)
  • Angle Flat Seats in a 2-2-2 Configuration (Airbus A330-200)
  • 7x Weekly

If you want to book through United (which is also Star Alliance and partners with South African), you can book both business class and economy with money, although it doesn’t seem that there is any award availability in business class on any flights if you book via United. South African Airways has three flights to the United States. South African Airways also has a vast route network within South and Southern Africa, so they are probably the best option if you want to travel there.  Please note that you can continue without leaving the plane from Washington to Johannesburg via either Dakar or Accra. Please note that all of the prices below are for round-trip tickets, although the prices in miles are for one-way tickets, and mileage spendings are for South African Airlines Miles (it will be a different amount if you are booking via another airline).

Ethiopian Airlines:

An Ethiopian Airlines Airbus A350 (Photo: Ethiopian Airlines)

Best Option If Travelling Between North America And East Africa

Ethiopian Airlines flies to a lot of destinations within North America from Addis Ababa. Because of the high elevation in Addis Ababa, many of those routes need to make a stop for fuel (primarily in) Dublin on the way to North America but (sometimes) not on the way back to Ethiopia. Within the next few weeks I should be doing an airline profile on them, but overall, their business class isn’t that good because they have angle flat seats on most 777s and 787s, which are the aircraft that they fly to America. 

• Addis Ababa – Chicago O’Hare – Boeing 787-8 – ET510/ET511
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with angle-flat seats
  • 3x Weekly Service
  • Addis Ababa to Dublin (Fuel Stop) to Chicago – Chicago to Addis Ababa is Nonstop
• Addis Ababa – Newark – Boeing 787-8 – Via Abidjan or Lome
  • ET512/513 to Abidjan – 3x Weekly
  • ET508/509 to Lome – 3x Weekly
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with angle-flat seats
• Addis Ababa – Toronto – Boeing 787-8 – ET502/ET503
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with angle-flat seats
  • 5x Weekly Service
  • Addis Ababa to Dublin (Fuel Stop) to Toronto – Toronto to Addis Ababa is Nonstop
• Addis Ababa – Washington Dulles – Boeing 777-200LR/Boeing 777-300ER – ET500/ET501
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-3-2 configuration with angle-flat or flat bed seats
  • 7x Weekly Service
  • Addis Ababa to Dublin (Fuel Stop) to Washington – Washington to Addis Ababa is Nonstop
• Addis Ababa – Washington Dulles – Boeing 787-8 – ET504/ET505
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with angle-flat seats
  • 3x Weekly Service
  • Addis Ababa to Dublin (Fuel Stop) to Los Angeles – Los Angeles to Dublin (Fuel Stop) – Addis Ababa

Along with booking on Ethiopian Airlines’ website, one can also book via the United Airlines website. Along with being able to book with money on United, you can also book with miles in economy and business class on United. The best part is that you can book saver awards in business class with United, so you will end up not paying that many miles if you book with United. You can book business class on Ethiopian Airlines using United miles for basically anywhere in the US to anywhere in Africa for around 80,000 miles one way, which I would qualify as a pretty good deal, given the other more expensive options. Ethiopian Airlines also has a vast network within Ethiopia and Central Africa (Such as the Democratic Republic of Congo or Tanzania), so they probably are the best option if you want to travel there. Please note that all of the prices below are for round-trip tickets, although the prices in miles are for one-way tickets.

Royal Air Maroc:

Image Credit: Royal Air Maroc

Best Option If Travelling To Morocco Or North Africa

Royal Air Maroc is very convenient for people traveling to Morocco from North America as they are the only airline that offers direct transatlantic flights to Morocco (besides Air Canada). On their flights to the US and Canada, they operate a fleet of Boeing 787-8s which all feature flat-bed seats in business class. 

• Casablanca – New York JFK – Boeing 787-8 – AT200/AT201
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with flatbed seats
  • 7x Weekly Service
• Casablanca – Montreal – Boeing 787-8 – AT208/AT209
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with flatbed seats
  • 6x Weekly Service
• Casablanca – Washington Dulles – Boeing 787-8 – AT218/AT219
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with flatbed seats
  • 3x Weekly Service
• Casablanca – Miami – Boeing 787-8 – Begins April 3, 2019
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with flatbed seats
  • 3x Weekly Service

Unfortunately, Royal Air Maroc isn’t in any airline alliance and doesn’t partner with any other airlines much (although I do think that they sometimes partner with JetBlue and Turkish Airlines). That means that you shouldn’t expect to be able to pay for Royal Air Maroc flights with miles unless you have a lot of miles collected on the airline. I also didn’t mention that Air Canada also flies from Montreal to Casablanca on an Airbus A330, with ticket prices very similar to Royal Air Maroc. Please note that all of the ticket prices here are for a round-trip ticket, except the mileage tickets which are for one-way tickets.

Egyptair:

An Egyptair Boeing 737-800 (Photo Credit: Egyptair)

Best Option If Travelling To Egypt

Egyptair flies from Cairo and Toronto and New York both on Boeing 777-300ERs. In business class, Egyptair features angle-flat seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. Also, they are the only airline that flies directly from North America to Egypt; a direct flight always beats a connection, so while Egyptair isn’t world class, the direct flight most likely is worth it.

• Cairo – New York JFK – Boeing 777-300ER – MS985/986
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-3-2 configuration with angle-flat seats
  • 7x Weekly Service
• Cairo – Toronto – Boeing 777-300ER– MS995/996
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-3-2 configuration with angle-flat seats
  • 3x Weekly Service

Egyptair also is in Star Alliance so that you can book flights with them via United Airlines. Booking with miles is a pretty good option since there are both saver economy and business class seats available when traveling in business class. Also, if you decide to book with money and you are from the US or Canada, book with United instead of Egyptair as you will earn miles that you will be more easily able to spend. Please note that all prices in money listed below are for round-trip tickets but all prices in miles will be through United’s website and will be for one-way tickets. 

Tunisair & Air Algerie:

A Tunisair Airbus A330-200 (Photo Credit: Tunisair)

Best Option If Travelling To Tunisia or Algeria

First of all, I include Tunisair and Air Algerie in the same section of this post for two reasons. First, because both airlines only have one transatlantic flight. Secondly, because both airlines’ only transatlantic flights are to Montreal. Also, both airlines operate Airbus A330-200s on their transatlantic flights. Tunisair features angle-flat seats on their Airbus A330s which they use to fly to Montreal while Air Algerie features angle flat seats in business and flatbed seats in first class on those aircraft. No other airlines fly directly from North America to Algeria or Tunisia, so if you are traveling there (especially if it’s from Montreal), these two airlines are the most convenient way to go.

• Tunis – Montreal – Tunisair – Airbus A330-200 – TU202/203
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with angle-flat seats
  • 2x Weekly Service
• Algiers – Montreal – Air Algerie Airbus A330-200 – AH2700/2701
  • Personal IFE Screens at every seat
  • Business Class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with angle-flat seats
  • First Class is in a 1-2-1 Reverse Herringbone Configuration
  • 4x Weekly Service

The bad news is that both Tunisair and Air Algerie both don’t have any mileage partners, so good luck trying to fly on any of them with miles. As you can see below, the prices are relatively low on both Tunisair and Air Algerie compared to on other Europen airlines.

Via Europe:

A Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-300 at Washington Dulles Airport

Best Option If Travelling To Areas That Have No Direct Flights From The US To Africa

Because this post is all about the best ways that you can travel between the US and Africa, I figured that I should include that sometimes, the best way is to fly via Europe. Because I don’t want to go on and on about this, I only will talk about this a little bit. The baseline is that if you are flying from a city that has no direct flights to Africa to a city that has no direct flights to the US, the best way is to fly through various cities in Europe. This is because most large(ish) cities in Africa (especially in northern Africa) are flown to from a destination in Europe, so it a lot of times is more convenient to fly via Europe. For example, if traveling from (random example cities) San Francisco to Lagos, probably the most convenient way would be to fly from San Francisco to Frankfurt or Paris to Lagos, as there are no direct flights from San Francisco to Africa directly.

Also, in many cases, taking a direct or even nonstop flight is significantly more expensive (in money or miles) than to fly via Europe, so in some other cases, it may make sense to fly via Europe rather than taking the direct flight. For example, to fly from New York to Johannesburg, the direct flight on South African has no business class saver awards and generally has steep prices, so in that case, you might want to think about flying via Europe, where business class tickets with miles are pretty cheap on airlines such as Swiss.

I won’t show every flight from Europe to Africa – that would make this an utterly insane article. I know that I am not elaborating on flying through Europe that much, mainly because you can fly to anywhere in Africa from Europe. The reason why I included this section is that really, in many cases, the best way to get between North America and Africa is not to fly direct, but is instead to connect in Europe. The following airlines fly to a significant number of destinations in Africa, such as larger cities such as Lagos, Johannesburg, and Accra, or even cities that you might not expect such as Cape Town, Lome, Banjul, or Freetown.

• Air France
• British Airways
• Brussels Airlines
• KLM
• Lufthansa
• TAP Portugal
• Swiss International Airlines

Conclusion:

I hope that I simplified the many different ways that you can get between North America and Africa and maybe even opened your eyes to new direct routes that you didn’t know of between the two continents. While you can only fly directly between the two continents on one US Airline, Delta, you can fly direct on airlines that partner with US Airlines, such as South African Airways and Ethiopian Airlines that partner with United. No, there aren’t that many direct flights from between North America and Africa, but I do hope that I made planning your trip a bit easier now!

Have you ever flown on any of the airlines mentioned in this article? Share about your experience below in the comments section!