What's Happening with Air Mauritius?

Founded on the 14 of June, 1967, Air Mauritius has established itself as a major competitor on flights to and from African destinations. The Mauritius-based carrier has operated an extensive number of aircraft during the past, and is continuing to offer some of the most efficient and comfortable jets in its the world. With both A350s and A330Neos on order, the carrier is set for a fleet revamp, whereby inefficient Airbus A340s will be phased out and new destinations will be added to its already competitive network. Its partnership with many airlines still stands, including its partnership with South African Airways and Air India. Although South African Airways (SAA) is currently making a loss, SAA continued to help the airline and, in the past, contentedly leased Boeing 747SPs and other aircraft which helped the airline to expand its network and give passengers more choice and gave the airline more capacity. Air India on the other hand, has been partnering with Air Mauritius ever since it had been created. Its alliance long-stands and Air India has continued to enhance its codeshare agreement for years on years.

With some remaining Airbus A350s on order, Air Mauritius is currently renewing its entire fleet. The airlines' inaugural commercial A350 flight was to Singapore which flew via Kuala Lumpur from its hub in Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in Port Louis, Mauritius. The airline currently has 2 Airbus A350-900s in its fleet, however, it has 4 outstanding orders for the type. The aircraft are mainly seen on the Paris Charles Du Gaulle route, one of Air Mauritius' most important routes.

Although the Airbus A350 is a very important aircraft for the airline, the A330-900Neo is also set to be a major contributor to Air Mauritius' expansion plans. Not only does the A330-900Neo have the efficiency and range that the company needs, it also has the potential and capacity to replace the carriers' ageing Airbus A340Es. The A340 aircraft family has formed the baseline of their fleet since the 1990s and early 2000s. Although the carrier posted a loss in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and more recently, 2015, the Airbus A340s have allowed the carrier to operate long haul destinations while also spreading its name across the world. However, the aircraft are becoming increasingly older and a couple of leases are set to expire by the end of this year. The Airbus A330-900Neos, are set to arrive starting September 2018, while the final delivery of the two aircraft should be delivered by October, both of which will be replacing two Airbus A340 Enhanced Version (A340E) aircraft that are now coming to the end of their lives as commercial aircraft. The aircraft were delivered in 2006. Leases will now expire on the Airbus A340Es in November and December 2018. The Airbus A330-900Neos are both on long-term leases from Air Lease Corporation (ALC) and will eventually replace the Airbus A340Es, once they are put out of service.

The Airbus A330-900Neos have been scheduled to serve many new routes. The airline has been focusing on its medium-haul network and has found that the use of Airbus A330Neo equipement is one of the best suited aircraft for the job.

The aircraft are scheduled to serve the following routes. Mauritius to:

Antannarivo: 1 weekly, starting November 1 2018

Delhi: Starting 3 November there will be 1 weekly flight although between the period of 03DEC18 and 14JAN19, there will be 2 weekly flights but will resume to 1 daily after the period ends

Geneva: The flight will commence on the 12 of October 2018 and will operate until the 22 of February 2019.

Perth: This flight will start being operated by the Airbus A330-900NeoAirline on the 14 of December 2018, once weekly, except during the period between the 12 of January and 27 of February 2019.

Mumbai: The A330-900Neo will operate this flight once weekly, starting on the 1 of March 2019, however one unique flight is scheduled to be operated on the 7 of December 2018.

Johannesburg: Operating twice weekly effective 4 of December 2018, the A330-900Neo is scheduled to be replacing the current aircraft that is operating the route.

Hong Kong: Commencing 4 of November 2018, this flight will be operated once weekly. However, effective 5 of December 2018, the A330-900Neo will operate this flight 3 times weekly. In addition to that, between the 24 of January and the 28 of February 2019, the A330Neos will operate the flight twice weekly.

Shanghai: The A330-900Neo will operate this flight once a week commencing 6 of November 2018. However, starting 12 of January 2019 till the 27 of February 2019, the aircraft will operate the route twice weekly on selected dates during this period.

St. Denis de La Reunion: This route is very interesting since, commencing 1 of November 2018, there will be mixed weekly schedules.

2017 proved itself hard and forced the carrier to post a lower profit thanks to increased fuel prices and competition. Although the number of passengers carriers increased by 4.8% compared to the previous year, Air Mauritius witnessed a yield drop of 3.6%. In addition to this, the carrier saw its load factor decrease to 79.9% compared to 81.1% in 2016. This was mainly due to the fact that capacity inxreased by 5.0% in terms of passengers. The airline says that due to rising oil prices, and higher operating lease costs driven by the delivery of two brand new Airbus A350-900s, the carriers' profits were severely interupted. Air Mauritius saw an operating revenue increase of 4.6% however operating expenses amounted to 128.2 million Euro which was an increase of 6.3%. Sadly this meant that the airline was not able to post a profit even close to that of 2016, accounting to 3.7 million Euro compared to 12.6 million in the previous year.

The future of Air Mauritius is seeming very hard. The rise in oil prices and intensifying competition, Air Mauritius must find a way to help its business grow and become a top choice for passengers. Not only do the new Airbus A350s and A330s have the comfort that passengers expect, but it gives Air Mauritius an advantage over competitors thanks to the outstanding fuel efficiency of the Airbus A350 and A330Neo. The benefits of flying Air Mauritius continue, because thsnks to the carriers' extensive network, passengers are able to choose from a variety of destinations which come with great comfort, service and a variety of travel times.