Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways is East Africa's strongest hub carrier, and for South African travellers it is the most direct route into Nairobi and onward to East Africa, the Indian Ocean islands, and selected European destinations. The airline operates daily Boeing 737 and 787 services from Johannesburg to Nairobi with onward connections to Mombasa, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Kigali, Mauritius, Seychelles, and most West African capitals. For business travellers heading to Nairobi, Kenya Airways is almost always cheaper and more direct than the alternative — an Ethiopian routing via Addis Ababa, which adds three to four hours.

The airline is a SkyTeam member, so miles credit on Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Delta SkyMiles, and the rest of the alliance. Online check-in opens thirty hours before departure (twenty-four hours for US-bound flights, which Kenya Airways operates daily from Nairobi to New York JFK). Practical notes: Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International is roughly fifteen kilometres from the city centre with significant peak-hour traffic — allow ninety minutes for the airport-to-CBD drive at rush hour, or use the SGR train to bypass the worst of it for onward journeys to Mombasa. Yellow fever vaccination is required for entry to Kenya from South Africa or any other country with risk; bring the certificate.