Air Seychelles (Mahe) on July 5 took delivery of its first Airbus A330-200

Air Seychelles (Mahe) on July 5 took delivery of its first Airbus A330-200, leased from its new strategic partner Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi). Another A330-200 is due by the end of the year. The airliner is named “Aldabra” after the world’s second largest coral atoll. Aldabra is located in the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean which is part of the Seychelles Islands. Aldabra is uninhabited and isolated and has distinctive fauna including the Aldabra Giant Tortoise. Aldabra is designated a World Heritage Site.

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Route Map. Air Seychelles is now feeding all of its European traffic through Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airways.
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‘First Airbus marks new start for Air Seychelles’ -

Air Seychelles yesterday got a state-of-the-art and its first ever Airbus aircraft that President James Michel said is a new beginning for the airline, which only recently faced with global economic difficulties which are still challenging other carriers.

A proud moment … President Michel and other guests pose in front of the new aircraft

He said being able to weather the crisis “and spread its wings” at this time – as a result of the airline’s strategic partnership with Etihad Airways – is historic, noting Air Seychelles will be able to maintain a global presence, showing its colours while building the capacity of its Seychellois staff through Etihad’s contacts and continuing to contribute to the country’s economy.

Mr Michel said one could feel the pride of the airline’s staff he met on board when he boarded the plane after its arrival, after he cut the ribbon to inaugurate the new Airbus 330-200 which can carry 236 passengers in the economy class and 18 in the First Class cabin.

Some members of the cabin crew in a souvenir photograph with President Michel inside the new aircraft

The plane’s first officer was Seychellois Captain Paul Belle and had an all Seychellois cabin crew and other Air Seychelles staff returning from training in Abu Dhabi as well as Etihad crew here to serve on an outward bound flight.

The A330 – christened Aldabra – had 150 passengers when it arrived to a traditional water cannon reception to start serving on a lease from Etihad.

The aircraft gets a traditional water cannon reception upon arrival at the airport

Mr Michel was the chief among guests who went to the Seychelles International Airport to greet the arrival of the new plane, along with Vice-President Danny Faure, speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Herminie, chief justice Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, government ministers, chief of defence forces Brigadier Leopold Payet, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly David Pierre, members of the diplomatic corps and top representatives of the local tourism and aviation industries.

Home Affairs and Transport Minister Joel Morgan said: “We made a promise and today we have made good on that promise.

“Only three months ago, Air Seychelles announced that it would modernise its international fleet by retiring the remaining Boeing 767's and bringing in newer Airbus A330s with a much improved product, state of the art in-flight entertainment at every seat and lie-flat seats in the premium cabin.”

He said Air Seychelles now offers a product equal, if not better than that of its competitors.
“To see our new aircraft touch down, emblazoned with Air Seychelles’ brightly-coloured livery, represents a moment of immense patriotic pride for our nation,” he said.

He said it is “a huge undertaking to accomplish so much in such a short time. It has not been an easy transition and there have been many challenges along the way. A fleet change, especially to a new manufacturer, is a momentous task”.

He recognised Air Seychelles’ current and past staff for having worked towards, and allowed the change process, “no matter how arduous”.

“On behalf of our government, I want to say thank you to all who have played a role in making it a reality.”

He thanked Mr Michel for steadfastly believing that Air Seychelles must continue as our national carrier, at a time when it faced seemingly impossible odds for its future survival and who, through his vision, determination and perseverance, has made it achievable.

Guests impressed with the state-of-the-art features of the aircraft

“A very special recognition therefore goes to our President, Mr James Michel, for re-positioning our national airline on a secure and steady course for the future through the Air Seychelles-Etihad partnership.

“This has been possible through the President’s very close ties of friendship with the leaders of the UAE who have shown much goodwill towards this viable commercial partnership,” he said.

Source Seychelles Nation
http://www.nation.sc/index.php?art=28012

Seychelles Minister attends Air Seychelles cabin crew graduation ceremony in Abu Dhabi

http://www.airseychelles.com/en/news/index.php?aid=78

First Air Seychelles profit in three years highlights strong turnaround


Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, today reported a net profit of US$1 million for the 2012 financial year.

The positive result comes just 12 months after Etihad Airways acquired a 40 per cent stake in the airline and was awarded a five-year management contract. The profit follows three years of significant losses.

The chairman of Air Seychelles, Joel Morgan, said the past year had been focused on reshaping the business of the iconic Indian Ocean airline for success.

“The choice of Etihad Airways as a strategic partner has been the right one. Working with our new partner, we have had to make some hard decisions to turn the airline around. We are now seeing the successful results of our strategy,” he said.

“To record a profit after the immense challenges we faced a year ago is an incredible achievement. I am proud of the enormous progress Air Seychelles has made. The recovery of Air Seychelles is a new chapter not only in our airline’s history—but our nation’s. I am confident we have now laid the ground work for sustainable profitability and our brightly-coloured aircraft will cheer the skies for years to come.”

Chief executive Officer of Air Seychelles, Cramer Ball, said: “In the first instance, this meant looking at the cost-base, and then stripping down the business right across the airline’s operations to find the right shape and size for our national carrier.

“We introduced strict fiscal control in parallel with business process re-engineering to make our operation more efficient. We are a very different business today.”

He attributed this success to leveraging the economies of scale and synergies arising from the equity alliance with shareholder, Etihad Airways.

This entailed the renegotiation of contracts for catering, ground handling and in-flight entertainment, and the conclusion of joint contracts for fuel, uniforms and stationery supplies, all of which improved service and significantly reduced costs.

“Our first focus was on a new network plan which could support the hugely important tourist sector in Seychelles more effectively with good connections and broader choice for visitors to the archipelago.”

To optimise the schedule and enhance connectivity with its partner airlines, the Air Seychelles’ network was expanded through 19 codeshare destinations with Etihad Airways, opening up key European markets, and with the introduction of four flights a week to Abu Dhabi.

The network expansion was made possible by renewed investment in fleet. During the year, the airline introduced an Airbus A330-200 and wet-leased an Etihad Airways’ Airbus A320 on the Mauritius route.

“We are going to continue to build our capacity with a second A330-200, allowing us to start flights to Hong Kong to capture the lucrative Asian leisure market in March 2013. We will also be increasing the frequency of flights to Abu Dhabi, Johannesburg and Mauritius.”

A recently announced codeshare with airberlin will expand the island carrier’s network throughout Europe.

Network development was accompanied by investment in product and service enhancements.

“We have responded to the demand from our affluent leisure and tourism guests by introducing a new international inflight product and can now offer a business class experience to rival any airline. Air Seychelles offers on demand dining in business class and is the only airline to offer a lie-flat business class seat flying into Seychelles,” said Ball.

Seychellois produce now features on the food and beverage menus introduced to enhance the dining experience.

In-flight entertainment was also upgraded with every seat offering video-on-demand, with expanded movie selections and games scheduled for early in 2013.

The year also saw the integration of the frequent flyer programme, Seychelles Plus, with Etihad Guest, opening the doors to many more exciting offers and opportunities for its 18,000 members.

An important element of the airline’s turnaround strategy was a people program supported by cross-functional teams from Etihad Airways, introduced to transform the structure of the organisation to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

In addition to right-sizing the workforce to 550 staff, the plan makes for extensive and ongoing training both in the Seychelles and at Etihad Airways’ state-of the-art Training Academy in Abu Dhabi. One hundred and thirty-six cabin crew underwent training in Abu Dhabi to deliver a higher quality service. Twenty-nine pilots have also been fully-trained on the A330-200.

“Our team and our warm Seychellois hospitality is our secret ingredient and we are doing everything we can to make sure we nurture and develop our talent. We have forged partnerships to develop Seychellois talent and build career paths through MOUs with Seychelles Tourism Academy and the University of Seychelles. In 2012, 11 candidates were selected to join Etihad Airways technical engineering, graduate manager, and cadet pilot training programs.”

An ongoing programme will select Seychellois candidates for the career development programs in Abu Dhabi.

“Our partnership with Etihad Airways has made us a bigger player in the global aviation scene and we are better able to withstand the uncertainties and volatility in the global economy. In addition to our natural organic growth, in 2013 we’re looking to broaden our network through partnerships. Now we need to maintain our strategic focus and effort,” Ball said.

Source Arabian Areospace