Air Seychelles

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Air Seychelles
Air Seychelles logo
Air Seychelles - Airbus A330-243
IATA code : HM
ICAO code : SEY
Call sign : SEYCHELLES
Founding: 1979
Seat: Victoria , Seychelles
SeychellesSeychelles 
Turnstile :

Seychelles airport

Home airport : Seychelles airport
Company form: Limited
IATA prefix code : 061
Management: Manoj Papa ( CEO )
Sales: US $ 106.9 million (2014)
Passenger volume: 0.4 million (2014)
Alliance : Alliance vanilla
Frequent Flyer Program : Seychelles Plus
Fleet size: 7th
Aims: National and international
Website: www.airseychelles.com

Air Seychelles is the national airline of the Seychelles , based in Victoria and based at Seychelles Airport . It is a member of the Alliance Vanille aviation alliance .

history

Origins and establishment

Air Seychelles was founded in the spring of 1979. Its origins go back to Air Mahé , founded in 1972 by John Faulkner Taylor , which initially offered air taxi services from Mahé Airport to the islands of Bird Island and Praslin with a Piper PA-34 and later with Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander . Air Mahé also used a De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide for a short time .

On August 12, 1976, Inter Island Airways ( ICAO code : HM) was a second private air taxi company that started its flight operations at the beginning of 1977 in competition with Air Mahé with a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander and a Britten-Norman Trislander recorded. The government of the Republic of Seychelles founded another regional airline, Seychelles Airlines , on September 15, 1977 . This state-owned company did not go into operation because the market was already covered by the two private air taxi companies. In May 1978 Inter Island Airways bought its competitor Air Mahé and integrated it into its own company.

The Republic of Seychelles then acquired the majority stake in Inter Island Airways and merged this company in March 1979 with the dormant state company Seychelles Airlines , from which the new state airline Air Seychelles emerged . It used the Air Operator Certificate and the ICAO code of Inter Island Airways to continue flight operations, which initially took place with three BN-2A Trislanders and two BN-2 Islanders. In the spring of 1980 Air Seychelles used two BN-2A Trislanders and four BN-2 Islanders in national scheduled services .

1980s

The leased Airbus A300 in November 1985

International flight operations from Mahé to London-Gatwick began on October 26, 1983, with a stopover in Frankfurt . The company entered into a cooperation with British Caledonian Airways , which used a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 on the weekly flight pair. A year later, the Dutch Martinair was commissioned to carry out the international flights, with a DC-10 again being used. In October 1985, Air Seychelles leased an Airbus A300 from Air France on a long-term basis . In contrast to the DC-10, the Airbus A300 used in the wet lease was painted in the company's colors. This machine served London and Frankfurt twice a week and opened a new weekly connection via Rome to Zurich . Due to the insufficient range of the Airbus A300, all flights to / from Europe took place with scheduled stopovers in Jeddah ( Saudi Arabia ). In April 1985, a DHC-6 Twin Otter was used for the first time on the domestic routes alongside the BN-2 Islander and Trislander .

The first of two leased Boeing 707-320s , which had previously been operated by VARIG , was used from January 8, 1988 to replace the Airbus A300. The second Boeing 707 followed a month later. In addition to London, Frankfurt and Rome, the two aircraft also served Paris and Singapore . In the same year, the company took over Aviation Seychelles , the company responsible for handling at Mahé Airport , which was then renamed Air Seychelles Ground Service . In June 1989 the airline leased a Boeing 767-200ER from ILFC , which was transferred directly from Grand Rapids Airport (USA) to Mahé on July 27, 1989 and covered a distance of 14,311 kilometers (8,892 miles ). Pilots on this flight, which set a record for twin-engine commercial aircraft, were Captain Williamson and co-pilot Norman Mousbe. After taking over the Boeing 767, the two Boeing 707s were returned to the lessor on August 31, 1989.

1990s

A Boeing 767-300ER of Air Seychelles

In early 1990 the company's fleet consisted of two BN-2A Islanders, a Cessna 172 , three DHC-6-300 Twin Otter and the Boeing 767-200ER. From August 14, 1992, the company also used a Boeing 767-300ER from the Italian Air Europe , which was operated in its livery until the beginning of 1993. On March 29, 1993 Air Seychelles took over a leased Boeing 757-200ER , with which it set up new routes from Mahé via Nairobi ( Kenya ) to Johannesburg ( South Africa ) as well as to Bahrain and Dubai ( United Arab Emirates ). Further international destinations at that time were Frankfurt, London, Madrid , Paris, Singapore and Zurich. As of April 28, 1995, Bombay ( India ) was flown to once a week with the Boeing 757 via Dubai. Scheduled connections to Tel Aviv ( Israel ) and Manchester (Great Britain) followed in December 1995 and February 1996 respectively. The Boeing 757 was replaced in December 1996 by a Boeing 767-300ER leased on a long-term basis by ILFC, so that the international fleet was made up of one Boeing 767-200ER and a 767-300ER existed. In island traffic, the company operated a BN-2 Islander and four DHC-6-300 Twin Otter at the same time.

2000s

The DHC-6-300 Twin Otter (S7-AAJ) in special paint

Air Seychelles replaced the Boeing 767-200 in April 2001 with a second leased Boeing 767-300ER. On November 21, 2001, a leased brand new Boeing 737-700 was delivered , which the company operated until May 2005. With this aircraft, new routes to Mauritius , Mayotte and Moroni in the Comoros were established. At the same time, the company also flew internationally to Dubai, Frankfurt, London, Johannesburg, Male , Mumbai , Munich , Paris, Rome, Singapore and Zurich. In the spring of 2003 , Air Seychelles operated a BN-2 Islander, three Twin Otter and a Shorts 360 , which it had leased on a long-term basis from September 2002 onwards. At the time, the company employed 640 people. In the same year, the short-lived Air Seychelles Cargo division , which used an Antonow 12 of the Kenyan Astral Aviation in wet lease, was set up to take up cargo flights to Kenya, Mayotte and Mauritius . The company gave up its connections to Frankfurt and Zurich in November 2004 and to Dubai at the end of 2004 due to insufficient capacity utilization. When the leased Boeing 737 was returned in spring 2005, scheduled flights via Male ( Maldives ) to Mumbai (India) as well as to Mayotte and Moroni were also discontinued, meaning that the company only served Johannesburg, London, Mauritius, Paris, Rome and Singapore internationally.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Seychelles, a DHC-6-300 Twin Otter ( registration number : S7-AAJ , baptismal name: "Isle Of Desroches " ) was given a special livery in 2006. At the beginning of April 2007 the company ordered two DHC-6-400 from the manufacturer Viking Air and thus became the first customer of this type of aircraft. In addition, the company ordered two Boeing 787s , the delivery of which was originally planned for 2010, but was delayed several times. A Boeing 767-200ER leased until the end of 2008 was added to the fleet on November 11, 2007. On December 17, 2007, Bangkok ( Thailand ) was flown for the first time as a stopover on the route to Singapore. The company opened a new connection to Milan-Malpensa (Italy) on January 12, 2008.

To resume scheduled flights to Male and Mumbai, Air Seychelles put a second leased Boeing 767-200ER into service in October 2008. The company also flew to Frankfurt and Zurich again from March 2009 and opened another route via Abu Dhabi to Moscow-Wnulowo in the same month . In response to pressure from national business associations, the Seychelles government allowed Emirates , Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways to start daily flights to Mahé in 2009. Air Seychelles was then forced to expand. In order to increase the number of its flight frequencies and to be able to develop new routes, the company took over a further leased Boeing 767-200ER on April 10, 2009 and a further leased Boeing 767-300ER on July 24, 2009. These aircraft had slightly different lettering on the fuselage. At the same time, three DHC-6-300 Twin Otter and a Short 360 were operated in domestic traffic. In addition, a second Short 360 and a BN-2 Islander were registered with the company, which Air Seychelles no longer used in 2009 and had stored at Mahé Airport. The company was unable to use its five Boeing 767s permanently and at the end of 2009 took part in a tender by the British Department of Defense to transport military personnel between the RAF base Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and Mount Pleasant airfield in the Falkland Islands .

2010s

Air Seychelles Boeing 767 on Ascension Island

After Air Seychelles won the Royal Air Force's contract of carriage for the South Atlantic Airbridge at the beginning of January 2010 , they stationed a Boeing 767-300ER ( registration number : S7-AHM ) at the RAF base Brize Norton in Great Britain. The military charter flights to the Falkland Islands began on January 24, 2010 and were limited to two years. They were conducted in both directions with stopovers at Wideawake on Ascension Island .

In April 2010, the company discontinued the scheduled connections to Frankfurt and Zurich that had been resumed the year before due to insufficient demand. On January 26th 2011 Air Seychelles took over their first Viking Air DHC-6-400 , which has a special livery and replaced the last Short 360. After the company flew in for the first time after 13 years of losses in the 2010 financial year, the management was replaced in early 2011. Operations remained in deficit afterwards. Air Seychelles ended its scheduled flights to India in the summer of 2011, where it had flown to Chennai Airport instead of Mumbai from November 2010 . Although the company was unable to utilize its fleet to full capacity through its own operations, the management prematurely terminated the charter contract with the British Ministry of Defense on September 1, 2011. The release of this machine also increased overcapacities. At the beginning of September 2011, a new Chief Executive Officer took over the management of the state-owned company, which presented a new corporate design that same month . A Boeing 767-300ER ( S7-AHM ) was the first aircraft to be painted in the new corporate colors in October 2011 . Due to the ongoing losses in operations, the company returned its two leased Boeing 767-200ERs to ILFC on November 1, 2011 and ended its scheduled flights to Singapore on November 24, 2011. At the same time, the Seychelles government sought a partial privatization of the state enterprise. The unprofitable connections to London, Milan, Paris and Rome were discontinued on January 10, 2012. At the same time, Air Seychelles returned two of its three Boeing 767-300ERs to the lessor and then only flew to Mauritius and Johannesburg internationally.

The first Airbus A320 was taken over on November 30, 2014

In March 2012, Etihad Airways acquired a 40% stake in Air Seychelles . This also set up a connection to Abu Dhabi Airport , where the partner company offers connecting flights to Europe and Asia. In the same month, Air Seychelles leased an Airbus A330-200 from Etihad Airways to replace its last Boeing 767-300ER . She took over a second Airbus A330 on March 7, 2013 for the opening of a route from Mahé via Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong . From July 2014, Paris was first served again via Abu Dhabi and again non-stop from July 2015 . As part of a codeshare agreement , Air France offered connections within Europe for this direct connection, and its passengers could also use the non-stop flights to the Seychelles.

To resume scheduled services to Mumbai and for new connections to Antananarivo ( Madagascar ) and Dar es Salaam ( Tanzania ), the company put its first Airbus A320 into service at the beginning of December 2014 , a second followed on September 2, 2015. After Air Seychelles the route from Abu Dhabi After ceding to Etihad Airways in Hong Kong in the summer of 2015 , it flew to Beijing in addition to Abu Dhabi, Antananarivo, Johannesburg, Mauritius, Mumbai and Paris from February 2, 2016 to February 14, 2017 . The company has signed a codeshare agreement with South African Airways for the direct connection to Durban (South Africa), which opened on March 30, 2017 . One day later, Düsseldorf was first served by scheduled services. This connection was discontinued on September 10, 2017 due to insufficient utilization. At the same time, Air Seychelles reduced the number of its flights to Paris to three a week.

On January 23, 2018, Air Seychelles announced the end of its flights to Paris on April 24, 2018. The company named the existing competitive situation on the long haul to Europe as the reason. This tightened further in spring 2018 because Air France and British Airways opened their own connections to the Seychelles. Air Seychelles decommissioned its two leased Airbus A330s at the same time and also stopped the regular service to Antananarivo. The company stated that in future it would primarily limit itself to national and regional flights.

Destinations

In addition to national destinations, Air Seychelles currently flies internationally to Abu Dhabi , Johannesburg , Mauritius and Mumbai .

In the German-speaking area , Düsseldorf was last served twice a week from March 31, 2017 to September 10, 2017. Codeshare connections exist from Frankfurt , Geneva , Munich , Vienna and Zurich through Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi.

fleet

Current fleet

Viking Air DHC-6-400 from Air Seychelles

As of January 2020, the Air Seychelles fleet consists of seven aircraft with an average age of 5.6 years and a total capacity of 399 seats:

Aircraft type number ordered annotation Commissioning Seats
( Business / Economy )
Airbus A320neo 2 2019; 2020 168 (12/156)
Viking Air DHC-6-400 5 2011 19 (- / 19)
total 7th

Former aircraft types

Short 360 at the Praslin airfield

Air Seychelles previously used the following types of aircraft:

Indian Ocean Pass

The "Indian Ocean Pass" is a joint offer by Air Seychelles , Air Austral and Air Mauritius , which was launched in 2002. The pass enables passengers of the three companies to fly to various islands in the Indian Ocean with one flight ticket. After Etihad Airways acquired a stake in Air Seychelles , it initially withdrew from the agreement. Since 2015 the "Indian Ocean Pass" has been offered again.

See also

Web links

Commons : Air Seychelles  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

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  2. ↑ a b airseychelles.com - Air Seychelles posts third consecutive year net profitability, March 12, 2015 (English) accessed on September 1, 2015
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Ben R. Guttery: Encyclopedia of African Airlines . McFarland & Company Inc., Jefferson 1998, ISBN 0-7864-0495-7 .
  4. ↑ a b JP airline-fleets international, Edition 79
  5. ↑ a b Flight International, July 26, 19080 (in English), accessed March 16, 2017
  6. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 80
  7. ↑ Rzjets: Airbus A300B4 F-BFGM
  8. ↑ Flight International, September 19, 1987 (in English), accessed April 7, 2017
  9. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 86
  10. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 90/91
  11. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 97/98
  12. ↑ Rzjets, Boeing 767-200ER S7 AAS
  13. ↑ Rzjets, Boeing 767-300ER VH-NOE
  14. ↑ Rzjets, Boeing 737-700 S7 SEZ
  15. ^ Flight International, March 12, 2002 (in English), accessed March 19, 2017
  16. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2003/04
  17. ↑ a b seychelles.net, Air Seychelles launches regional cargo network, June 20, 2003 ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English), accessed March 21, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.seychelles.net
  18. ↑ Seychelles Nation, Air Seychelles to drop Zurich, Frankfurt flights, November 15, 2004 (in English), accessed on March 24, 2017
  19. ^ A b Seychelles Nation, Air Seychelles launches Mumbai sales drive, August 4, 2008 , accessed March 21, 2017
  20. ↑ Seychelles Nation, Air Seychelles is “launch customer” for new Twin Otter DHC6-400, April 7, 2007 (in English), accessed March 21, 2017
  21. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, born between 2008 and 2012
  22. ↑ Rzjets, Boeing 767-200ER, S7-EXL , accessed April 8, 2017
  23. ^ Seychelles Nation, Air Seychelles announces new services to Bangkok and Milan - Increases frequency to Paris and Mauritius, November 7, 2007 , accessed March 26, 2017
  24. ^ Seychelles Nation, Air Seychelles' third Boeing aircraft arrives, October 20, 2008 (in English), accessed March 21, 2017
  25. ↑ airliners.de: Air Seychelles flies again from Germany, November 13, 2008 , accessed on March 24, 2017
  26. ↑ Seychelles Nation, Air Seychelles launches new service to Moscow, March 24, 2009 , accessed March 24, 2017
  27. ↑ a b Seychelles Weekly, Captain Savy broke his silence over Air Seychelles, December 12, 2011 (in English), accessed March 24, 2017
  28. ↑ rzjets, Rzjets, Boeing 767-200ER S7-SEZ
  29. ↑ rzjets, Rzjets, Boeing 767-300ER S7-FCS
  30. ↑ airliners.de: Air Seychelles expands its fleet, August 14, 2009 , accessed on March 24, 2017
  31. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2010/11
  32. ↑ a b Seychelles Nation, President welcomes Air Seychelles' contract to serve Falklands, January 27, 2010 (in English), accessed March 24, 2017
  33. ^ N-TV: Air Seychelles cancels flights, February 17, 2010 , accessed March 24, 2017
  34. ↑ ZRH-Spotter, Air Seychelles gives up flights to Zurich, December 14, 2009 , accessed on March 24, 2017
  35. ↑ Production list Viking Air DHC-6-400
  36. ^ Seychelles Weekly, Air Seychelles drops Chennai - more financial losses on the books , accessed April 1, 2017
  37. ↑ Times of India, Chennai - Air Seychelles to stop service from city, May 12, 2011 (in English), accessed April 1, 2017
  38. ↑ Global Travel and Industry News: New Chief Executive Officer at the helm of Air Seychelles, September 16, 2011 ( Memento of the original from March 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English), accessed March 26, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eturbonews.com
  39. ↑ Global Travel and Industry News: Air Seychelles presents new livery and logo, September 20, 2011 ( Memento of the original from March 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English), accessed March 26, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eturbonews.com
  40. ↑ World Airline News: Air Seychelles' first Boeing 767-300 in the new livery arrives in Mahe , accessed on March 26, 2017
  41. ↑ Routesonline, Air Seychelles to Drop Singapore Service, November 14, 2011 (in English), accessed April 10, 2017
  42. ↑ World Airline News, Air Seychelles to end service to London, Paris and Italy on January 10, January 1, 2012 , accessed April 2, 2017
  43. ↑ The National, Etihad flies in to save Seychelles, March 18, 2012 , accessed April 2, 2017
  44. ↑ Rzjets, Airbus A330-200 S7-ADB , accessed on April 10, 2017
  45. ↑ Rzjets, Airbus A330-200 A6-EYZ , accessed on April 10, 2017
  46. ^ Etihad Airways, Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, today commenced services to Hong Kong, March 25, 2013 (in English), accessed April 10, 2017
  47. ↑ Seychelles News Agency, Bonjour Paris! Air Seychelles to start flights to French capital in July, May 14, 2014 (in English), accessed April 10, 2017
  48. ↑ Seychelles News Agency, Only two weeks to go - Air Seychelles all set to launch non-stop Paris flights, June 17, 2015 (in English), accessed April 10, 2017
  49. ↑ Aerotelegraph, Air Seychelles and Air France conclude codeshare agreements, August 18, 2015 , accessed on April 10, 2017
  50. ↑ Karryon, Air Seychelles first A320 touches down, December 1, 2014 (in English), accessed April 10, 2017
  51. ↑ Rzjets, Air Seychelles Airbus A320 S7 SIL , accessed on April 10, 2017
  52. ↑ Air Seychelles, Seychelles welcomes first Air Seychelles non-stop flight from Beijing, February 3, 2016 (in English), accessed April 10, 2017
  53. ↑ International Transport Journal, Air Seychelles' last flight to Beijing, February 14, 2016 (in English), accessed April 10, 2017
  54. ^ African Aerospace, SAA announces code-share route with Air Seychelles, February 20, 2017 , (in English), accessed on April 10, 2017
  55. ↑ Flugrevue, From Düsseldorf to the Seychelles, March 31, 2017 , accessed on April 10, 2017
  56. ↑ Travel One, Air Seychelles cancels the Düsseldorf connections ( Memento of the original from October 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 1, 2017 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.travel-one.net
  57. ↑ Air Seychelles, Air Seychelles announces business transformation plan to safeguard long-term profitability, January 23, 2018 , accessed January 23, 2018
  58. ↑ Air Seychelles, route network 2018
  59. ↑ Aerotelegraph, Air Seychelles expands , accessed November 4, 2016
  60. ↑ Düsseldorfer Anzeiger, Air Seychelles landed in Düsseldorf , accessed on March 31, 2017
  61. ↑ Aero, Air Seychelles cancels flight connection to Düsseldorf , accessed on July 31, 2017
  62. ↑ a b Ch-Aviation, Air Seychelles fleet as of January 2020 (in English), accessed on January 6, 2020
  63. ↑ a b Air Seychelles Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. April 12, 2020, accessed on April 12, 2020 .
  64. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, various years
  65. ↑ ch-aviation - Air Air Seychelles streamlines Twin Otter fleet operations (in English), accessed on March 10, 2017
  66. ↑ seychelles.net - New Indian Ocean Pass launched for regional tourists ( Memento of the original from May 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English), accessed May 28, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.seychelles.net
Members of Etihad Airways Partners


Current members

Air Serbia  • Alitalia  • Etihad Airways  • Jet Airways

former members

Air Berlin  • Air Seychelles  • Darwin Airline  • Niki Luftfahrt