Flights to Malawi
Three airlines now fly daily to Malawi with connections to London and other major airports worldwide.
Kenya Airways/KLM
As a family we have been using Kenya Airways for many years and always found the staff very helpful and the service good; with a state of the art modern fleet, the service is usually excellent. Departures from Heathrow and other European Airports are usually in the late evening, arriving in the early morning at Nairobi, with the flight on to Malawi arriving in Lilongwe before midday. Return flights leave in the early afternoon to connect to the overnight flight from Nairobi which arrives at Heathrow early in the morning. Kenya Airways/KLM have very good connections to all airports in Europe and beyond. Kenyan Airways have competitive prices when tickets are booked several months in advance or even earlier. Luggage allowance is usually 2 pieces each of 23kgs.
Ethiopian Airlines
The oldest, most experienced airline in Africa is also considered to be one of the best airlines on the continent. Ethiopian Airlines have now upgraded from 2 flights per week to daily flights to Malawi. Flights are through Addis Ababa which has a new International Airport with good facilities. For flights from Europe the times of departure and arrival are similar to Kenyan Airways. Most flights also land briefly at Rome or Frankfurt for passengers with connections to Europe. Ethiopian offer some of the most competitive fares, particularly when booking at short notice and during the peak seasons. Luggage allowance is usually 2 pieces each of 23kgs.
South African Airlines
SAA have flights daily via Johannesburg . It is a good airline with excellent service and Johannesburg airport is a large modern airport. However if you are taking flights via Johannesburg please ensure that you have at least 3 hours to change planes. Being a large airport luggage takes time to be transferred and on several occasions guests who had short changeover times had to wait up to 48 hours for their luggage to arrive. Some flights from South Africa to Malawi terminate at Blantyre in the South of Malawi; we suggest that guests coming on such flights should take a domestic connection to Lilongwe.
Other Airlines
Many airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, fly into Johannesburg and from time to time enter into agreements with other airlines to fly passengers from Johannesburg to Malawi. The points about transfer time and luggage at Johannesburg airport mentioned above should also be considered for these flights.
Prices for flights
As a registered tour operator we can obtain fairly good prices for air tickets; however some guests have managed to find slightly cheaper tickets either though travel agents in their own countries or on the internet . Usually the cheaper tickets are available by booking well in advance.