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Showing posts with label Air Mauritius. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Air Mauritius. Show all posts

Thursday, January 31, 2013

► MAURITIUS: Air France unwilling to commit to Air Mauritius citing "lack of means".

Air France logoAir MauritiusFollowing speculation in the French aviation press, Air France (AF) has shot down any chance of closer strategic and financial ties with Mauritian carrier, Air Mauritius. The possibility of a tie up was discussed with French President François Hollande during the visit of Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navin Ramgoolam, to the Elysee Palace on January 21.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

► MAURITIUS: Air France, Air Mauritius to take their relationship to the next level?

Air France logo
Air Mauritius
Relations between Air France (AF) and Mauritian national carrier Air Mauritius (MK) could develop into a closer strategic and financial partnership following a state visit to France on 21 January by the Prime Minister of Mauritius.

Monday, December 10, 2012

► SINGAPORE: Air Mauritius maintains Singapore service from late January 2013.

Air MauritiusAccording to Airline Route, Air Mauritius (MK) will maintain its 1x weekly service to Singapore on/after 21 January 2013. The flight currently operates with an Airbus A330-200.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

► HONG KONG: Air Mauritius to go 3x weekly to Hong Kong from July 2013.

Air MauritiusFresh from last week's announcement of direct Shanghai flights from 2013, Air Mauritius (MK) will from 2 July 2013 add a 3rd weekly flight on its Mauritius – Hong Kong route. The 3rd weekly flight is expected to be maintained into the Northern Winter 2013/14 season as well.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

► CHINA: Air Mauritius goes direct to Shanghai from January 2013.

Air MauritiusAir Mauritius (MK) has announced that, from 24 January 2013, it will launch twice weekly Airbus A340 Mauritius - Shanghai, China non stop flights, with connections being offered to and from Reunion and South Africa. The flight will continue to operate via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia until the January switch over.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

■ MAURITIUS: Situation improving at Air Mauritius despite Q2 $11million loss.

Air MauritiusMauritian carrier Air Mauritius (MK) has posted a pretax loss of USD11.4million (EUR8.9 million) for H1 (Q2) of its 2012/2013 Financial Year. 

Friday, August 31, 2012

► MAURITIUS: Emirates to go 14x weekly as Air Mauritius, Air Austral & Air Madagascar band together to survive.

EmiratesBucking the ongoing trend amongst European carriers of reducing their frequencies to the Indian Ocean island, Dubai based mega-carrier, Emirates (EK), has announced an increase in its weekly frequencies from 11x weekly to 12x weekly from 28 October 2012, with the route going 14x weekly from 28 November 2012.

Emirates: Dubai, UAE - Port Louis, Mauritius
- EK3705/3706 operate Day 23456 from 28 October 2012 until 27 November 2012
  • EK701 DXB 0310 – 0940 MRU 773 | 2457
  • EK3703 DXB 0310 – 0940 MRU 773 | 136
  • EK3705 DXB 1000 – 1645 MRU 773 | 1234567
  • EK3706 MRU 1820 – 0110+1 DXB 773 | 1234567
  • EK702 MRU 2320 – 0555+1 DXB 773 | 2457
  • EK3704 MRU 2320 – 0555+1 DXB 773 | 136

Thursday, August 30, 2012

► MAURITIUS: Air Mauritius confirms Viljoen as CEO; appoints new Chairman.

Air MauritiusFollowing a meeting of the board of directors of Air Mauritius (MK), Appalsamy Thomas, the current Chairman of Mauritius Telecom, and Andre Viljoen were elected Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Mauritius respectively.

Andre Viljoen
Andre Viljoen (FM)
Viljoen was previously CEO of South African Airways from 2001 until 2004, before taking up the positionof Officer-in-Charge, Chief Finance Officer and Chief Information Officer at Air Mauritius. He joined the

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

► MAURITIUS: Air Mauritius resumes direct Durban flights over Christmas period.

Air MauritiusMauritian carrier Air Mauritius (MK) will, between 21 December 2012 and 13 January 2013, operate a twice weekly Durban night flight on a Friday & Sunday. No mention as yet has been made as to what equipment they will operate on the route, though it is likely to be an Airbus A319. 

Air Mauritius Tweet Durban Christmas 2012 Flights
Whilst currently operating directly to Durban, Air Mauritius will axe the route from 23 October 2012.

Air Mauritius: Port Louis, Mauritius - Durban, South Africa
- Effective 21 December 2012 until 13 January 2012
  • MK8845 MRU 2045 - 2305 DUR A319 | 57
  • MK8846 DUR 2355 - 0545+1 MRU A319 | 57
Source [Amadeus]


Sunday, August 12, 2012

► MAURITIUS: Despite record passenger numbers, Air Mauritius still in the red for Q1 2012.

Air Mauritius
Despite having increased passenger numbers by 7.4 % on Q1 2011 to 292'449, persistently high global oil prices coupled with the Eurozone crisis have eaten away at Air Mauritius' (MK) profits for the first quarter of the 2012 Financial Year. Overall the company posted a net loss of €10.4million - a 12% improvement on the airlines' performance in 2011 - which it claims, would have been significantly less at just €2.4million had it not been for a weaker Euro/US Dollar exchange rate.


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

► MAURITIUS: Air Mauritius wants either 787s or A350s for fleet renewal; announces further Africa route changes.

Air Mauritius
Mauritian national carrier Air Mauritius (MK) has gone on record as saying it is considering finding a suitable strategic partner in the form of a larger airline "to help it" in its fleet rejuvenation plans, something akin to Air Seychelles' (HM) deal with Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways (EY) which has already seen the struggling Seychellois carrier receiving its first A330 as part of its turnaround efforts.

Air Mauritius boss Andre Viljoen said the objective was for Air Mauritius to be rid of its A340s by 2017 at the latest, and for them to be replaced by either Boeing 787 Dreamliners or Airbus A350s.
A strategic partner may assist with our own required future fleet requirements,” he said in the presentation, adding that new twin-jet planes will be a “game-changer,” offering a saving of as much as 30 percent over the four-engine A340s."
For the recent financial year, Air Mauritius posted a €30million loss compared with a €6.3million profit a year earlier, with operating expenses rising 14 percent. Viljoen was adamant though that in order for Air Mauritius to achieve its most important short term goal of returning to profitability in 2013/2014, it would have to undergo some much needed belt tightening in the form of route cancellations and modifications amongst which Durban, South Africa.will be dropped effective October 2012.

In the meantime, Air Mauritius has announced various operational changes to its African routes effective 28 October 2012 (European Winter) 2012).

Air Mauritius' Africa Network.

 

● Air Mauritius Africa Operational Changes Winter 2012 ●

-Effective 28 October 2012
-Additional changes remain possible:

Mauritius – Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Service increases from 4 to 5 weekly, with operational aircraft changes. Previously the airline planned to operate 6 weekly flights
- Service until 27October 2012 operates 4x weekly with an Airbus A340-300
  • MK288 MRU1430 – 1510TNR 343 247
  • MK288 MRU1430 – 1525TNR 319 35
  • MK289 TNR1655 – 1940MRU 343 247
  • MK289 TNR1655 – 1940MRU 319 35
Mauritius – Cape Town, South Africa 
- Planned service increase from 2x to 3x weekly remains unchanged
  • MK843 MRU0900 – 1305CPT 319 246
  • MK844 CPT1355 – 2110MRU 319 246
Mauritius – Johannesburg, South Africa
- Service increases from 5x to 10x weekly. Previously the airline planned to increase flights to 14x weekly.
  • SA851 MRU0915 – 1150JNB 343 246
  • SA851 MRU0915 – 1150JNB 319 x246
  • SA847 MRU2040 – 2315JNB 319 246
  • SA848 JNB0005 – 0605MRU 319 357
  • SA852 JNB1335 – 1935MRU 343 246
  • SA852 JNB1335 – 1935MRU 319 x246
Mauritius – Durban, South Africa 
- Service ceases from 28 October 2012.

Mauritius – Nairobi, Kenya
- Planned service increase from 2 weekly to 3 weekly remains unchanged
  • MK534 MRU0855 – 1215NBO 319 246
  • MK535 NBO1305 – 1820MRU 319 246

Thursday, June 14, 2012

● IATA: Strong growth for Africa in 2011/2012 but lower profits; The winners & losers so far.

IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents some 240 airlines worldwide and comprising 84% of total air traffic, has released its annual statistics for the year 2011/2012, with Africa showing very strong growth in terms of actual passengers carried, as well as freight tonnage hauled, in stark contrast to crisis ridden Europe, which has struggled some what.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

► AUSTRALIA: Bomb scare on Air Mauritius flight ex-Melbourne.

Air Mauritius
Press reports out of Australia state that Air Mauritius flight MK943, en-route over south Australia, from Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport to Port Louis, Mauritius, was today (23 May) forced to turn round and return to Melbourne, after the discovery in the aft cabin, of a soft drink can with the word "bomb" scrawled on it.

Air Mauritius A340
Air Mauritius A340 "3B-NAU" (Axel J)
The aircraft, 3B-NAU, touched down at Melbourne again at 14h55 (Melbourne time) with all 197 passengers disembarking under the supervision of Australian authorities, before police conducted a thorough search of the plane. 

One report states that "a man was detained by federal police", though has not yet been corroborated.

The flight will now operate as MK3943 on 24 May leaving Melbourne at 11h30 (Melbourne time) and reaching Mauritius at 16h55 (Mauritius time).

Monday, May 14, 2012

■ BOTSWANA: Open Skies deal signed; will Air Botswana survive more competition?

Air Botswana
The Botswana Government has recently signed two Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) with Mauritius in Gaborone agreements bringing to nine the number of BASAs signed - the other eight being with Belgium, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

► MAURITIUS: Air Mauritius increases seats despite rumours of serious trouble ahead.

Air Mauritius
Following in the footsteps of Air Seychelles who dropped London, Paris, Milan and Rome before entering into a strategic alliance with Etihad Airways, Air Mauritius has axed 7 International destinations with effect from May 2012 (From 31st May 12: Milan, Sydney, Melbourne and Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva and Durban.from 31 October 2012), whilst increasing seating capacity on its remaining flights by 3% to 1,943,946 seats from 01 April 2012 to 31 March 2013, in an attempt to consolidate its market base.

In a statement on its Facebook, Air Mauritius stated:

The following destinations have been retained: Paris, London, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Cape Town, St Denis, St Pierre, Antananarivo, Rodrigues, Perth, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.

The following additional weekly flights have been added:
With effect from April 2012:
  • Mumbai + 1 frequency to reach 4 frequencies
With effect from beginning of June 2012:
  • Perth + 1 frequency to reach 2 frequencies
With effect from end of October 2012:
  • Nairobi + 1 frequency to reach 3 frequencies
  • Johannesburg + up to 7 frequencies to reach up to 14 frequencies
  • Cape Town + 1 frequency to reach 3 frequencies Antananarivo + 2 frequencies to reach 6 frequencies
  • Kuala Lumpur 3 nonstop frequencies

However, rumours still abound that the Mauritian carrier, Air Mauritius (MK), is in for rough next few months. Recently, the Mauritius Ministry of Tourism signed a major strategic partnership with Emirates to bring traffic via Dubai on its 11x-weekly services to the island in a move that will put even greater pressure on the airline. This comes at a time when even the larger European carriers have cut frequencies to Port Louis, given the economic slowdown seen in Europe.

Sources claim that recently the airline sold its headquarters building, its hotel interests as well as its helicopter division in order to remain buoyant for the short term, though for how much longer is uncertain.

Watch This Space.

Friday, May 4, 2012

► MAURITIUS: Air Mauritius to increase Madagascar and Kenya from 28 October 2012.

Air Mauritius
Air Mauritius (MK) will boost its winter-time service to Nairobi & Antananarivo effective 28 October 2012.

Mauritius – Antananarivo Service increases from 4 to 6 weekly, with operational aircraft changes
  • MK288 MRU1435 – 1515TNR 343 247
  • MK288 MRU1435 – 1530TNR 319 135
  • MK289 TNR1655 – 1940MRU 343 247
  • MK289 TNR1700 – 1940MRU 319 135
Service until 27OCT12 operates 4 weekly with A340-300

Mauritius – Nairobi Service increases from 2 weekly to 3 weekly
  • MK534 MRU0855 – 1215NBO 319 246
  • MK535 NBO1305 – 1820MRU 319 246