Air Mauritius is the
flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.
Hi ...
airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
.
The airline is headquartered in
Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's e ...
, Mauritius, with its
hub based at
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is the main international airport in Mauritius. It is located southeast of the capital city of Port Louis. The airport was previously known as the ''Plaisance Airport'' and has direct flights to ...
.
The company was placed in
voluntary administration on 22 April 2020 in wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and exited administration mid-2021.
History
Foundation
The company was set up on by
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
, the
BOAC enterprise, and the Government of Mauritius, with a 27.5% stake each; the balance was held by Rogers and Co. Ltd., the general sales agent for Air France and BOAC in Mauritius.
In the beginning, the carrier operated international services in conjunction with Air France,
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...
and
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
, which jointly had a 25% holding in Air Mauritius at that time.
Until 1972, the company restricted its activities to ground services only; it started flight operations in its own right in August 1972 with a six-seater
Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft leased from
Air Madagascar, connecting Mauritius with
Rodrigues.
The aircraft wore an Air Mauritius
decor, but kept a
Malagasy registration
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts entertainment, and media Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), th ...
.
In 1973, a
wet-lease
Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...
d
Vickers VC10
The Vickers VC10 is a mid-sized, narrow-body long-range British jet airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd and first flown at Brooklands, Surrey, in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance route ...
from British Airways enabled the company to launch a long-haul route to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
via
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
,
whereas services to
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
were operated by
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...
. The Navajo was replaced with a 16-seater
Twin Otter that was acquired in 1975. When an agreement with
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
and
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
came to an end, a
Boeing 707-400
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
wet-lease
Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...
d from
British Airtours helped the airline to start long-haul services in its own right. Long-range operations started on .
A second Twin Otter arrived in 1979.
Services expansion
By , the company had 414 employees and a fleet of one
Boeing 707-420
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
, one
Boeing 737-200
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
and two Twin Otters to serve a route network of passenger and cargo services to Bombay, London, Nairobi,
Réunion, Rodrigues,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and
Tananarive. Ownership of the company had changed to have the government of Mauritius as the major shareholder (42.5%), followed by Rogers & Co. (17.5%), Air France and British Airways (15% each) and Air India (10%).
Air Mauritius acquired a second-hand
Boeing 707-320B in 1981. It had previously belonged to
South African Airways (SAA), and permitted the airline to return the Boeing 707-400 to British Airtours. In , a joint service between Air Mauritius and Air Madagascar began in the Tananarive–Mauritius–
Comoros–Nairobi and Réunion–Mauritius runs, following the lease of an Air Madagascar
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
. During the early 1980s, routes to
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
and
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
were inaugurated using Boeing 707-320B aircraft flown with Air India and British Airways
crew
A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involved ...
s. The incorporation of a second aircraft of the type, bought from Luxavia, allowed the carrier to expand the European route network to Rome and
Zurich in 1983, whereas
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
was added in the mid-1980s. Leased from SAA, a
Boeing 747SP
The Boeing 747SP (for ''Special Performance'') is a shortened version of the Boeing 747 wide-body airliner, designed for a longer range.
Boeing needed a smaller aircraft to compete with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar ...
named ″Chateau de Réduit″ entered the fleet in and was deployed on services to London. By , the fleet comprised two Boeing 707-320Bs, a Boeing 737-200, a Boeing 747SP and a Twin Otter.
That month, the first of two
Bell 206 JetRanger
The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progr ...
s was incorporated. In , a 46-seater
ATR 42 was ordered,
and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
was added to the route network with a weekly service using
Boeing 707 equipment. In that year, Air Mauritius joined the
African Airlines Association
The African Airlines Association ( French: ''Association des Compagnies Aériennes Africaines''), abbreviated AFRAA, is a trade association of African airlines. AFRAA was founded in Accra, Ghana, in 1968, and is, as of February 2021, headquarte ...
. The carrier made a profit of
GBP3.5 million for the fiscal year 1985–86.
In 1986, a second Boeing 747SP that was also leased from SAA entered the fleet; it was named ″Chateau Mon Plaisir″. The incorporation of this aircraft allowed the carrier to phase out a Boeing 707. In 1987, South African Airways' landing rights on Australian soil were suspended by the
Australian government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...
and
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
ceased its operations in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. There had been an increase in demand from businessmen since that time, as most passengers travelling from South Africa to Australia had to stop at
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
,
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
or Singapore.
Given that landing rights in Australia for Air Mauritius had not been approved yet,
a Boeing 747SP non-stop service to Hong Kong commenced on , in cooperation with
Cathay Pacific. Flights to
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
had started in .
Fleet modernisation
Valued at million and financed by a group of banks that included
Barclays,
BNP,
Crédit Lyonnais
The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th c ...
and the Spectrum Bank,
the company took delivery of two
Boeing 767-200ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
s in .
These aircraft were named ″City of Port Louis″ and ″City of Curepipe″.
One of them set a record-breaking distance for commercial twinjets on , when it flew non-stop from
Halifax,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
to Mauritius, covering a distance of almost in less than 17 hours.
A contract worth million including
spare parts for these two Boeing 767s had been signed a year earlier.
Also in 1988, a Boeing 707 was leased from Air Swazi Cargo to operate freighter services, and the first ATR-42 started revenue flights in , replacing the Twin Otters on inter-island services. A second ATR-42 was ordered in .
By , the route network included
Antananarivo, Bombay, Durban,
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
,
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London,
Moroni,
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, Nairobi, Paris, Reunion, Rodrigues, Rome, Singapore and Zurich. A new route to
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
was inaugurated in . Named ″Paille en Queue″ and leased from
ILFC, the first
Airbus A340-300
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel wit ...
entered the fleet in ; following delivery, a Boeing 747SP that was on lease from SAA was returned. The airline became the first in the
Southern Hemisphere to fly the
A340-300.
A second A340-300, named ″Pink Pigeon″ and purchased directly from Airbus, was handed over by the aircraft manufacturer in . Services to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
were launched in and that year. Also leased from ILFC and named ″Kestrel″, Air Mauritius' third A340-300 joined the fleet in . The airline started trading on the
Stock Exchange of Mauritius during the year.
In 1996, the last Boeing 747SP was sold to
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netwo ...
and direct flights to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
were launched.
Recent years
At , Air Mauritius had 2,000 employees. At this time, the airline had a fleet of five Airbus A340-300s, one
ATR42-300, two
ATR42-500s and two Boeing 767-200ERs that served a route network including Antananarivo, Brussels, Cape Town,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
, Durban, Frankfurt, Geneva, Harare, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London,
Mahe Island, Manchester,
Maputo
Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...
, Mauritius,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, Munich, Paris, Perth,
Rodrigues Island
Rodrigues (french: Île Rodrigues, link=yes ; Creole: ) is a autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rod ...
, Rome, Singapore,
St Denis de la Reunion,
St Pierre de la Reunion,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
.
African
medium-haul routes started utilising the
Airbus A319
The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final assem ...
following its delivery in 2001.
The
A340-300 Enhanced version was ordered by the carrier in mid-2005.
The A340-300 Enhanced was put on service on the
London Heathrow route in December 2006, soon after delivery.
In late 2007, the fleet saw the incorporation of the
Airbus A330-200;
a second aircraft of the same type was delivered in .
In March 2016, Air Mauritius launched the 'Air Corridor' with its first direct flights to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, which was previously served via
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
. The new route aimed at improving air connectivity between Mauritius and Singapore in order to stimulate the growth of passenger and cargo traffic between Asia and Africa through these two hubs.
Corporate affairs
On 22 April 2020, the board of directors took the decision to place the Company under
voluntary administration after
coronavirus-related disruptions made it impossible for the airline to meet its financial obligations for the foreseeable future. The pandemic had a major impact on the revenue of the company while it was seeking to change its business model to address existing financial problems. The company will continue its operation, this decision was taken to safeguard the interest of the company and its stakeholders.
Key people
Dev Manraj Dharam Dev Manraj (born 30 March 1949) is a prominent figure of Mauritius. After becoming a fellow of thAssociation of Chartered Certified Accounts he obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma at the International Institute for Management Development. He is ...
, G.O.S.K held the
chairman position and BUTON Indradev was the officer in charge.
Dev Manraj Dharam Dev Manraj (born 30 March 1949) is a prominent figure of Mauritius. After becoming a fellow of thAssociation of Chartered Certified Accounts he obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma at the International Institute for Management Development. He is ...
was a key figure in the MCB-NPF financial scandal which came to light in 2003. In December 2022, Krešimir Kučko, former
Croatia Airlines
Croatia Airlines Ltd. is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Croatia. Its headquarters are in Buzin near Zagreb and operates domestic and international services mainly to European destinations. Its main hub is Zagreb International Airport ...
and
Gulf Air
Gulf Air ( ar, طيران الخليج ''Ṭayarān al-Khalīj'') is the state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950 by British Pilot Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airli ...
CEO, was appointed CEO of Air Mauritius.
Ownership and subsidiaries
Air Mauritius was the first Mauritian company with its majority owned by the state that made their shares public. Listing was granted in November 1994 and share trading on the stock exchange of Mauritius commenced in February 1995.
, shareholders having more than 5% of direct participation in the airline were Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd. (51%) and the government of Mauritius (8.37%), while other investors held the remaining stake.
Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd. was in turn owned in its majority (43.83%) by the Mauritian Government. Air Mauritius Limited's wholly owned subsidiaries were Airmate Ltd., Air Mauritius Holidays Ltd., Air Mauritius Holidays (Pty) Ltd. Australia, Air Mauritius Institute Co. Ltd., Air Mauritius SA (Proprietary) Ltd., Mauritian Holidays Ltd. (UK) and Mauritius Helicopters Ltd.; partly owned subsidiaries were Mauritius Estate Development Corporation Ltd. (93.7%), Pointe Coton Resort Hotel Company Ltd. (54.2%), and Mauritius Shopping Paradise Company Ltd. (41.7%).
Business trends
The key trends for Air Mauritius over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 March):
Headquarters
, Air Mauritius had its headquarters at ''Air Mauritius Centre'' in Port Louis, Mauritius.
[ ]
Controversies
Air Mauritius was the focus of a politico-financial scandal known as the
Caisse Noire Affair. As a result of the investigation which lasted from 2001 to 2015 several senior members of its management including Gérard Tyack, Sir
Harry Tirvengadum and others were prosecuted. Gérard Tyack was jailed.
Destinations
In , the carrier signed a cooperation agreement with
Air Austral
Air Austral is a French airline, based at the Roland Garros Airport, in the Indian Ocean. It operates scheduled services from Réunion to metropolitan France, South Africa, Thailand, India and a number of destinations in the Indian Ocean. The c ...
,
Air Madagascar,
Air Seychelles and
Inter Ile Air that established
Vanilla Alliance and is aimed at improving air services between the
Indian Ocean Commission
The Indian Ocean Commission (french: Commission de l'Océan Indien, COI) is an intergovernmental organisation that links African Indian Ocean nations: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (an overseas region of France), and Seychelles. Ther ...
members.
, Air Mauritius served 22 destinations from its hub in
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is the main international airport in Mauritius. It is located southeast of the capital city of Port Louis. The airport was previously known as the ''Plaisance Airport'' and has direct flights to ...
, three of them domestic.
Codeshare agreements
Air Mauritius has
codeshare agreement
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
s with the following airlines:
*
Air Austral
Air Austral is a French airline, based at the Roland Garros Airport, in the Indian Ocean. It operates scheduled services from Réunion to metropolitan France, South Africa, Thailand, India and a number of destinations in the Indian Ocean. The c ...
*
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
*
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...
*
Air Madagascar
*
Emirates
*
Hong Kong Airlines
*
Kenya Airways
Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its hub a ...
*
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (Th ...
*
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines ( abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in corporat ...
*
South African Airways
*
Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as ''Virgin Blue'', with two ...
Frequent flyer programme
Air Mauritius' frequent flyer programme is called ''Kestrelflyer'', which offers Silver and Gold accounts.
Fleet
Recent developments and future plans
In , during the
Farnborough Air Show, it was announced Air Mauritius signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for six
Airbus A350-900s, of which two will be leased from
AerCap Holdings and with the option to place additional orders for up to three more aircraft of the type between 2023 and 2025. It was originally planned that the leased aircraft would join the fleet by the end 2017 and the other four would join in 2019 and 2020.
In , Air Mauritius announced that it would be leasing two
Airbus A330-900 aircraft from
Air Lease Corporation
Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is an American aircraft leasing company founded in 2010 and headed by Steven F. Udvar-Házy. Air Lease purchases new commercial aircraft through direct orders from Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and ATR, and leases them to ...
to replace two
Airbus A340-300E aircraft from September and October 2018. Due to delays from Airbus, these aircraft were delivered in April and June 2019. The two Airbus A350-900 that were due to be delivered in 2020, were pushed back to 2023. It was also announced that the airline's existing aircraft would be refurbished with new seats, new inflight entertainment systems and onboard Wi-Fi. The revamp of the cabin interiors was planned to be completed by June 2018. The two Airbus A350-900s that were due to join the fleet in 2019 were sublet to South African Airlines for 3 years. In August 2020, these aircraft were returned early by SAA, due to financial difficulties.
In July 2021, the airline completed the sale of its two Airbus A319 and remaining Airbus A340 aircraft. The retirement of the Airbus A340 marked the end of 27 years of service of the fleet type with the airline. The retirement of the two
Airbus A330-200 from the fleet was completed by end of November 2021.
Current fleet
, the Air Mauritius fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
The airline also operates two
Bell 206 JetRanger
The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progr ...
helicopters that are used for tour services.
Former fleet
The airline previously operated the following aircraft:
*
Airbus A319-100
The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final assem ...
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Airbus A330-200
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Airbus A340-300
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel wit ...
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ATR 42-300
The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France.
On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and A ...
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ATR 42-500
The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France.
On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...
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Boeing 707-320B
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Boeing 707-420
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
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Boeing 737-200
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
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Boeing 747SP
The Boeing 747SP (for ''Special Performance'') is a shortened version of the Boeing 747 wide-body airliner, designed for a longer range.
Boeing needed a smaller aircraft to compete with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar ...
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Boeing 747-200B
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Boeing 767-200ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
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Boeing 767-300ER
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de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
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Lockheed L-1011-500
The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, also known as the L-1011 (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") and TriStar, is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter comme ...
See also
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List of airlines of Mauritius
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Transport in Mauritius
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{authority control
Airlines of Mauritius
Airlines established in 1967
Government-owned airlines
1967 establishments in Mauritius
Vanilla Alliance
Government-owned companies of Mauritius
Companies based in Port Louis