AIR SEYCHELLES AND AIR FRANCE SIGN NEW DEAL
(Posted 13th April 2015)
Ahead of the resumption of nonstop flights between the Seychelles and Paris have Air France and Air Seychelles put pen to paper to seal a new commercial deal. The MoU was signed over the weekend in France by the Chairman of Air Seychelles who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport, Joel Morgan and the Air France President and CEO Frederic Gagey.
The agreement will pave the way for codesharing the flights from Paris to Mahe but also extends to other areas of cooperation such as cargo uplift and extending frequent flyer benefits for participating and entitled passengers.
Minister Morgan was quoted to have said, after signing the documents: ‘This new era of cooperation is the result of a bilateral meeting between President Michel and President Hollande held in Paris last December where it was decided that direct links between France and Seychelles were a necessity. The renewed partnership with Air France is a significant milestone for Air Seychelles and forms a key part of our strategy to build upon tourism arrivals from France and the wider Europe region. It is something that we have worked very hard to achieve. The MOU I have signed will continue to build upon our already excellent relations between Seychelles and France and will also boost business between our two countries’.
Air Seychelles CEO Manoj Papa added his own voice at the event when he said: ‘We are excited about this partnership with Air France, which represents a shared commitment to build the passenger and cargo market between Seychelles and France’.
From the 01st of July will Air Seychelles return to Paris CDG with initially three nonstop flights a week, using one of the airline’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft which offers a two class configuration for passengers.
The Seychelles hospitality and tourism industry has broadly welcomed the new flights when they were announced a few weeks ago and pledged their full support to make the new route a success. Air Seychelles previously flew to Paris via Abu Dhabi but market pressure had the airline’s managers go back to the drawing board and in the space of a year change tack and bring back the nonstop services. It was in particular the French tour operators which had demanded for the changes, supported by their Seychellois counterparts.
As a result of this change will the flight schedule of Air Seychelles also be amended and details can be obtained via www.airseychelles.com
