AIR SEYCHELLES / ETIHAD NOW ON 8 FREQUENCIES
The codeshared flights by Air Seychelles and partner airline Etihad, between Mahe and Abu Dhabi, have now gone to eight per week, operated four times by an Etihad A320 and four times by an Air Seychelles A330-200 aircraft, they leased from Etihad as their own B767-300s are returned to the lessor ILFC. This makes the partnership second on the Seychelles route only after Emirates, now operating 13 flights per week but ahead of Qatar Airways, which operates daily to the archipelago.
It was also confirmed overnight that the French civil aviation authorities have now granted approval for the codeshare between Air Seychelles and Etihad to display both airlines flight numbers on the services by Etihad between Abu Dhabi and Paris, which should go a long way to satisfy demands by the French travel trade for flights to the Seychelles on an Air Seychelles flight number, albeit no longer nonstop as was the case until January this year.
The Hon. Joel Morgan, Minister for Home Affairs and Transport and also Chairman of the Board of Air Seychelles, expressed his satisfaction and delight over the decision by the French authorities: This is something we have been pushing hard to achieve in order to maintain our connectivity with the very important French market. I am pleased that the French Civil Aviation Authorities have now granted us approval for this code share venture into Paris. It means that Air Seychelles can now avail of Etihad Airways connectivity into Paris to sell our tickets directly. This will no doubt generate more revenue for our national airline as it continues to recover its financial viability through its partnership with Etihad Airways.
Flying the Creole Spirit once again into the world, surely a source of pride for all Seychellois and in particular all the staff of Air Seychelles, who only months ago looked at a very uncertain future. Watch this space for regular and breaking news updates from the Indian Ocean islands aviation industry.
