Three SA airlines rank among Africa’s best

SAA, FlySafair and LIFT feature in Skytrax’s best airlines in Africa for 2026.

SAA ranked sixth, dropping two places from last year’s ranking. FlySafair remained eighth while LIFT dropped to tenth. Ethiopian Airlines retained its place at number one.

FlySafair remains the ‘Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa’. In a ranking of the ‘World’s Best Regional Airlines for 2026’, RwandAir ranked ninth globally.

The full ranking for The Best Airlines in Africa in 2026:

1. Ethiopian Airlines
2. EgyptAir
3. Air Mauritius
4. Royal Air Maroc
5. RwandAir
6. South African Airways
7. Kenya Airways
8. FlySafair
9. Fastjet
10. LIFT

In the global rankings Singapore Airlines was ranked the world’s best airline, overtaking last year’s leader, Qatar Airways, which fell to second.

The World’s Top 10 Airlines of 2026:

1. Singapore Airlines
2. Qatar Airways
3. Cathay Pacific
4. ANA All Nippon Airways
5. Turkish Airlines
6. Emirates
7. Air France
8. Hainan Airlines
9. Japan Airlines
10. Korean Air