Air Austral unveils provisory new aircraft fleet

PARIS, France – Reunion Island’s home carrier, Air Austral, announced this week its intention to integrate two new Boeing 777-300ERs replacing its current Boeing 777-300. The announcement follows an earlier decision to acquire two Boeing 787-80 Dreamliners, which will help the airline to intensify its long-haul network outside the Paris route.

The airline is looking again at expanding, after following a severe restructuring which started back in 2012 and helped to finally turn the tide by generating profits for the year 2014. The carrier is now looking at a prudent expansion. In late January, it ordered two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners which will be delivered respectively in May and October 2016. The aircraft will offer a capacity for 242 passengers with two classes of service. Offering a smaller capacity than the Boeing 777-300, the aircraft will be ideal for long-haul flights to destinations in Africa and Asia, while it could also be put into service for flights linking Reunion Island to Mayotte and Paris. The Boeing 787 will replace the ageing B777-200.

Strategically, the Boeing 787 will be put into service to Bangkok, perceived as Air Austral’s main hub to the rest of Asia. The current flight in a Boeing 737-800 makes a stop-over in Chennai, putting Reunion Island a seven hour’s flight away from Thailand. With many passengers flying further to China, Air Austral’s unique route to Asia does not consequently look so attractive. The Dreamliner could also open the opportunity to offer a couple of weekly flights to Guangzhou, the main destination for the Chinese community living in Reunion Island. The airline’s management also mulled out an option to operate a codeshare flight with LAM Mozambique Airlines for a direct route between St. Denis-Maputo-Lisbon. LAM is looking to return to Europe, and an agreement between both airlines could pave the way for the Mozambique national carrier.

“The arrival of all these new aircraft is at the center of our medium-term strategy with aircraft fitting ideally our cost structures and Réunion Island’s market potential,” says Marie-Joseph Malé, Air Austral’s CEO.

Air Austral just finalized early this week the leasing of two brand-new Boeing 777-300ERs from Air Lease Corporation. The two aircraft will be equipped with the brand-new Air Austral product, including the totally-rebranded Business Class with a sleeper seat turning into a true bed and a Premium Economy (Confort) offering a seat similar to a business class in many other airlines. The two new models will replace the two current Boeing 777-300ERs. They will stay in service until Air Austral takes a brand-new fleet of aircraft, due to join by 2022.