Africa Travel Centre

What Africa Travel Centre does

Africa Travel Centre is the consumer-facing flight-booking brand of Cleveland Travel Ltd, a private limited company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 2797491). Founded in 1993 and headquartered in London, the company specializes in selling flight tickets from the United Kingdom to destinations across all 54 African countries, with additional worldwide and US-origin route coverage. It is fully bonded by IATA and holds ATOL licence 3384, providing statutory financial protection for UK customers. The customer base consists primarily of individual leisure travellers, visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travellers, and small-business flyers, served through a sales-led model spanning phone, email, WhatsApp, and an SEO-driven website at africa.flights.

The operating model is a human-assisted online travel agency: customers request quotes via web form or callback request, and agents source, compare, and book flights across a network of roughly 20 airline partners including British Airways, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Royal Air Maroc, Kenya Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. Following COVID-19, the company closed its physical walk-in office and transitioned to a fully remote workforce, retaining a UK phone line, a US toll-free number, and dedicated sub-brands for business class and USA flights. Revenue is generated through airline commissions on ticket sales, with pricing set dynamically by route, class, and carrier rather than published tariffs.

The company's 100-250 person organization functions as a specialized niche operator rather than a scaled OTA. Its defensible position rests on three decades of accumulated African route expertise, regulatory licensing, and a multi-channel sales posture — not on proprietary technology. No external venture funding, acquisitions, or material capital-raising events are recorded in the available data.

Name

Africa Travel Centre

Legal name

Cleveland Travel Ltd

Website

https://africa.flights

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Africa Travel Centre, the flight-booking brand of Cleveland Travel Ltd, is a UK-based IATA-bonded and ATOL-protected travel agency specializing in flights from the UK to all 54 African countries, serving leisure, VFR, and small-business travellers via phone, WhatsApp, and web channels since 1993.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Agency Services

NAICS

Travel Agencies (56151), Travel Agencies (561510), Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (5615)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail/Leisure Air Ticketing Agencies (Walk-in & Phone Booking) (THAKALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Air Travel Booking Platforms (Flights) (BPAMAIAB), Corporate/Business Retail Travel Agencies (THAKABAB), Air Booking Platforms & Flight Marketplaces (THALAFAA)

Keywords

• Africa flight booking
• Travel agency services
• Airline ticket booking
• Uk to africa flights
• Business class flights

Headquarters

HQ city

Hammersmith

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Flight Booking Commission: Africa Travel Centre earns commissions from airline bookings made through their agency. They offer flights to African destinations and worldwide destinations from the UK, with multiple airline partners including major carriers like British Airways, Emirates, and Ethiopian Airlines.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Africa Travel Centre is a UK-based travel agency that sells airline tickets from the United Kingdom to all 54 African destinations and worldwide routes, acting as a booking agent for over 20 airline carriers. The company operates via phone, email, WhatsApp, and its website africa.flights, providing personalized fare quotes, airline comparisons, and booking services. Africa Travel Centre is the ticketing brand of Cleveland Travel Ltd and is fully bonded by IATA with ATOL 3384 protection.

Product overview

Africa Travel Centre is a single unified flight booking service (the ticketing brand of Cleveland Travel Ltd) that specializes in flights to Africa and worldwide destinations from the UK. The service allows customers to search and book flights to African countries across all major regions (West, East, South, North, Central Africa) as well as other worldwide destinations. The company connects customers with multiple airlines including Air France, British Airways, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, and others. Services include flight booking, flight schedule changes, and fare checking, with additional related services for business class flights and USA flights through affiliated brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Africa Travel Centre Flight Booking Online and phone-based flight booking service specializing in flights from the United Kingdom to all 54 African destinations and worldwide routes, offering fare comparison across more than 20 airline partners including British Airways, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Air France, KLM, Qatar Airways, and Royal Air Maroc. The service is delivered via website quote requests, phone, email, and WhatsApp, with ATOL 3384 financial protection included.
• Business Class Flights (Affiliated brand) Affiliated brand offering worldwide business class flight bookings, accessible via the Africa Travel Centre website. Targets business and premium leisure travelers seeking premium cabin fares.
• USA Flights from UK (Affiliated brand) Affiliated brand focused on flights from the United Kingdom to the United States, marketed alongside Africa Travel Centre on the africa.flights website. Targets UK travelers with personal, family, or business ties to the USA.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Air FrancecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAir France is one of the airline partners offering flights to Africa through Africa Travel Centre. The agency facilitates booking for Air France flights departing from the UK to African destinations.
• British AirwayscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBritish Airways is a key airline partner providing flights to African destinations. Africa Travel Centre acts as a booking agent for British Airways routes.
• EmiratescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEmirates airline partnership for flights to Africa via Dubai hub. Africa Travel Centre facilitates Emirates bookings to African destinations.
• Ethiopian AirlinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEthiopian Airlines is a key partner for flights to East Africa. Africa Travel Centre offers booking services for Ethiopian Airlines routes.
• Turkish AirlinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTurkish Airlines partnership for flights to Africa via Istanbul hub. Booking services available through Africa Travel Centre.
• Qatar AirwayscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorQatar Airways partner for flights to Africa via Doha hub. Africa Travel Centre facilitates bookings on Qatar Airways routes.
• KLMcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKLM Royal Dutch Airlines partnership for flights to Africa. Africa Travel Centre offers KLM flight bookings.
• LufthansacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLufthansa airline partnership for African routes. Booking services available through Africa Travel Centre.
• Royal Air MaroccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoyal Air Maroc is a key partner for North African routes. Africa Travel Centre facilitates bookings to Morocco and other North African destinations.
• Kenya AirwayscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKenya Airways partnership for East African destinations. Africa Travel Centre offers booking services for Kenya Airways routes.
• South African AirwayscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouth African Airways partner for Southern Africa flights. Africa Travel Centre facilitates bookings to South Africa and neighboring countries.
• Brussels AirlinesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBrussels Airlines partnership for flights to Africa. Available for booking through Africa Travel Centre.
• EgyptaircoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEgyptair partnership for North African and Middle Eastern routes. Africa Travel Centre offers booking services.
• Air PeacecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAir Peace is a Nigerian airline partner offering West African routes. Africa Travel Centre facilitates Air Peace bookings.
• RwandAirminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRwandAir partnership for East African destinations. Booking services available through Africa Travel Centre.
• Virgin AtlanticcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVirgin Atlantic partnership for flights to Africa from the UK. Africa Travel Centre offers Virgin Atlantic bookings.
• IberiaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIberia airline partnership for African routes. Available for booking through Africa Travel Centre.
• Swiss AirminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwiss Air partnership for flights to Africa. Africa Travel Centre facilitates Swiss Air bookings.
• TAP AirminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTAP Air Portugal partnership for African routes via Lisbon hub. Booking services available.
• IcelandAirminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIcelandAir partnership for flights to Africa. Available through Africa Travel Centre.
• JetBlueminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJetBlue partnership for flights to Africa. Booking services available through Africa Travel Centre.
• IATAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrica Travel Centre is fully bonded by IATA, enabling them to sell flights and provide ATOL-protected bookings.
• ATOL (Civil Aviation Authority)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerATOL 3384 protection provides financial security for customers. If Africa Travel Centre ceases trading, ATOL protects customers from losing money on prepaid flights.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Kayak: Flight meta-search engine competing on price comparison for long-haul routes including UK-Africa — relevant alternative for the same shopper profile.
• Booking.com: Large online travel platform that, while accommodation-led, increasingly sells flights — broad incumbent shaping consumer expectations on self-serve booking.
• Skyscanner: Global meta-search and flight comparison platform — competes on fare discovery and price transparency, eroding the agent's traditional discovery role for UK-Africa routes.
• Expedia: Major global OTA with broad flight inventory and consumer brand — competes for self-serve bookings on the same UK-to-Africa routes.

Direct peers

• Trailfinders: UK-based, phone-led retail travel agency offering long-haul flight booking with high-touch service and multi-carrier choice — closest like-for-like on phone-based, high-service UK travel retail model.
• Travelstart: Africa-focused online travel agency offering flight booking across the continent — competes for the same UK-to-Africa traveler and shares the Africa-specialist positioning.
• Wakanow: Nigeria-headquartered OTA with strong West Africa flight inventory and diaspora targeting — directly comparable Africa-route specialist with overlapping customer base.
• Globepoint Travel: London-based specialist travel agency focused on African diaspora and VFR travel from the UK — direct niche competitor in the same UK-to-Africa corridor.

Emerging players

• Jumia Travel: Pan-African online travel marketplace operating across multiple African markets — comparable Africa-focused digital travel inventory with overlapping end-destination demand.
• STA Travel / StudentUniverse: Specialist travel retailer targeting younger and student travelers, with Africa routes in its portfolio — overlapping diaspora and experiential traveler segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/afrifares
• Instagraminstagram.com/AfricaTravelCentre
• Xx.com/AfriFares

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Africa Travel Centre