Air Seychelles is the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles. Its head office is located at

Seychelles International Airport Seychelles International Airport , or ''Aéroport de la Pointe Larue'' in French, is the international airport of the Seychelles located on the island of Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé near the capital city of Victoria, Seychelles, Victoria. The airp ...

on the island of Mahé and it operates inter-island and international flights and charter flights.

History

Establishment

Seychelles Airlines was formed as the national airline of Seychelles on 15 September 1977 by merging two local carriers: Air Mahé and Inter-Island Airways. It was named Air Seychelles in September 1978. The airline began international routes in 1983 to Frankfurt and London.

Investment

In February 2012, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

national carrier,

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and ...

, invested US$45 million in Air Seychelles for a 40% share in the airline following problems of management and profitability. After operating at a loss for two years in a row, Air Seychelles planned to restructure and re-position itself to return to profit. The airline entered into codeshare agreements with Etihad Airways and started flying to

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

in March 2012 to connect to Etihad Airways' network of destinations. On 16 March 2012, Air Seychelles announced a two-year business plan including the renewal of its fleet, leveraging Etihad Airways equity partnership – known as Etihad Airways Partners (which also includes

Alitalia Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia (), was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. ...

, Air Serbia and Virgin Australia), the introduction of Airbus A330−200 aircraft after over two decades of an all-Boeing fleet, increased frequencies to key destinations, and closer cooperation with Etihad Airways. On 12 March 2015, Air Seychelles released their results for 2014, declaring US$3.2 million in net profits.

Restructuring

In January 2018, Air Seychelles announced the closure of its sole long-haul route (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

), the return of its two

Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body airliner developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus began developing larger A300 derivatives in the mid–1970s, giving rise to the A330 twinjet as well as the Airbus A340 quadjet, and launched both designs along ...

long-haul aircraft, and a focus on its regional network.centreforaviation.com - Air Seychelles to suspend services and restructure fleet under strategic transformation plan
24 January 2018 The plan is aimed at ensuring the long-term profitability and sustainability for the airline, in response to rapidly increasing competition. Remco Althuis, Interim

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, said, 'The launch of competing air services from Europe to Seychelles will significantly impact Air Seychelles' flights to and from Paris, which account for approximately 30% of total passenger revenue at the airline, making the route unsustainable.' The airline will refocus on its domestic and regional networks, with a reduced workforce.

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Air Seychelles was established and originally owned by the Government of Seychelles, having purchased and merged several small aircraft operators into one airline. Following problems of management and profitability,

acquired a 40 percent stake in Air Seychelles in 2012, in a deal worth $45m. On 1 May 2021 it was announced Etihad Airways sold its 40% stake back to the Government of Seychelles.

Business trends

The key trends for Air Seychelles over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):

Services

Air Seychelles VIP is a specialised facility offering services for VIP passengers, aircraft crew and aeronautical technical support, including fixed-base operation which is managed in conjunction with Royal Jet. The Air Seychelles Plus Programme has been fully integrated into Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of

, since June 2012.

Destinations

, Air Seychelles serves the following destinations:

Codeshare agreements

Air Seychelles has codeshare agreements with the following airlines: * Air Botswana *

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier of South Africa. Founded in 1929 as Union Airways it later rebranded to South African Airways in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannes ...

SriLankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier Air Ceylon. As of t ...

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...

Fleet

Current fleet

, the Air Seychelles fleet comprises the following aircraft:

Livery

In October 2011, after nearly 25 years in their

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

using traditional red, white and green local colours with two white terns ('' Gygis alba'', the national bird of Seychelles), Air Seychelles painted its first Boeing 767-300ER aircraft in the company's new colours. The colours used on the tail end are blue, green, red and white.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Airlines of Seychelles Etihad Airways Partners Airlines established in 1977 Government-owned airlines Vanilla Alliance 1977 establishments in Africa