EMIRATES LOOKING AT DOUBLE DAILY TO SEYCHELLES SOON AFTER DXB FULLY OPEN AGAIN
(Posted 10th May 2014)
The present scaled back operation by Emirates from Dubai to Mahe, the main island of the Seychelles archipelago, is entirely attributed to the curtailed operations during the 80 day resurfacing of the two runways at Dubai International Airport, in short DXB, which led to the airline taking 22 planes out of operation and reducing flight frequencies to some 41 destinations, among them Nairobi, Johannesburg and Cape Town among many others.
Rose-Marie Hoareau, Director of Marketing at the Seychelles Tourism Board, at the just concluded Arabian Travel Market in Dubai signed a renewed partnership agreement with Emirates, in which the two committed themselves for a longer term cooperation and intensified promotion of travel to the Creole paradise islands across the Emirates network.
When the Dubai airport fully re-opens on the 20th of July will the present one flight a day using a B777 aircraft return to 12 frequencies per week using an Airbus A340 but it has emerged that Emirates has committed itself to upping the 12 flights to a double daily service, which will ensure that anyone flying on Emirates, from any of their destinations across the world, will have a swift onward connection to the Seychelles, with but one stop enroute and all services flown on wide body aircraft equipped with the latest inflight entertainment, award winning cuisine and to a growing extend inflight connectivity. With the onset of the traditional winter schedule at the end of October therefore will Emirates add the extra two flights, arrival times conveniently scheduled for arriving and departing passengers from Mahe International Airport.
Once the double daily flights have been established will many of the archipelago’s hoteliers but in particular the owners of small Seychellois owned establishments sigh a breath of relief over the added seat capacity to the islands to fill the growing number of beds – three major hotels on Mahe will soon open their doors to the public, the Savoy at Beau Vallon Bay and two more along the Bel Ombre stretch beyond the Berjaya Resort – all of which are now vying to achieve good occupancies without having to dilute the present rate structure too much.
Operators of B&B’s, self-catering chalets, holiday villas and apartments in fact, as expressed recently in an interview with John Stravens, Chairman of the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association, in short SHTA, are likely the biggest beneficiaries of the extra seats as more and more travelers opt to put their own ‘package’ together, booking flight and accommodation separately. On this subject is a major feature article coming up in a few days, of how the Seychelles, apart from the glitz and glamour of the five and six star resorts, also offers some very affordable accommodation, as can also be seen on the tourism board’s website www.seychelles.travel by following the link to ‘Seychelles Secrets’. Watch this space for breaking news stories from across the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands, of which the Seychelles is an active founder member.
