The other Seychelles Airlines back in the headlines

A regular source close to the aviation industry in the Seychelles has confirmed that the country’s Supreme Court has apparently directed the Registrar of Companies to provide detailed information regarding how the name “Seychelles Airlines” was struck off the register after initially being confirmed.

This is the latest in the ongoing saga of attempts by Mr. Philippe Boulle, the principal owner of Intershore Aviation, and his CEO, Mr. Ahmed Afif, to launch a private airline and fly to a number of destinations in Europe and Asia. The dispute arose after the trade name was registered in August 2013 but later on in December of the same year it was cancelled, in the process stalling the pending application by Intershore Aviation Limited for an air service license with the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA).

The aggrieved party had subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court of the Seychelles, a process provided for by law, and the ruling communicated to this correspondent appears such that the Registrar of Companies now has to provide a transparent reason for the cancellation or else must restore the trade name to the applicant.

The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority had deferred a decision for a license while the legal process over the name of the new airline was in court.

Since then, facts have been created on the ground, or rather in the air, as Air Seychelles had a year ago re-launched flights to Paris, albeit via Abu Dhabi, but has since then announced that from July onwards the airline will restore nonstop services from Mahe to Charles de Gaulle three times a week.

Paris was one of the main destinations the planned new airline was intending to fly to, as was Mumbai in India. According to sources on Mahe, this destination is now, however, also being served already four times a week by Air Seychelles.

No matter the outcome of the legal battle over the trade name of the new airline, this changed situation will no doubt have to be taken into account as it is unlikely that a new carrier will be able to effectively compete with the national airline on the same routes, notwithstanding that they first need designated status for such destinations while existing bilateral air services agreements must also allow for two Seychelles’ registered airlines to fly to the same destinations.

This legal case has raised additional interest in the Seychelles and among close observers of the island’s politics as the airline’s Chief Executive Ahmed Afif is now linked to a recently-registered opposition party launched by some former government ministers and notably includes the former Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Dr. Ramadoss, putting him in direct opposition with the archipelago’s political establishment and all its organizations of state, including the SCAA.

“There is no telling which way this will develop. The registrar can still submit reasons why the name was initially registered in error and that error then had to be corrected. But even if the registrar loses the case, the airline then has to apply to the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority for a license and the hurdles can be very high to meet all the requirements. Again this process can be long and drawn out and in the meantime Air Seychelles is the one and only flying to certain lucrative destinations. Third countries may not allow a second Seychellois airline to fly into their territory unless one of their own airlines flies first to the Seychelles. The loss of time since the issue with the name erupted has cost the new company a lot, and if delayed more, it may not be viable because all the key destinations are taken up. Yes, perhaps Italy would be an exception, but an airline has to keep their aircraft in the air, not on the ground, and the Italian market may not easily support all the codeshared Alitalia – Etihad – Air Seychelles flights and additional flights by another airline. It will be price dependent, too, and you can guess which of the two have the deeper pockets. Some people may tell you politics [has] nothing to do with this all, but it is politics pure and simple which brought these plans to a halt and to court. The new company can expect no favors from anyone, and if one T is not crossed or an I not dotted, they will be told to correct their documents and then come back later, and more time is lost for them and time is money,” suggested a regular source from the islands with good insights into both politics and aviation.

Air Seychelles in the meantime, now operating two Airbus A320 and one Airbus A330-200 – the second A330 is now operated by Etihad but remains in Air Seychelles’ livery – has reached out across the Indian Ocean to fly more frequencies to Mumbai, to Mauritius, to Antananarivo, and also serves Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg on the African mainland, effectively capturing routes to the Seychelles’ main trading partners while on long-haul routes covering an unprecedented number of codeshared destinations from where traffic reaches Mahe via the intermediate stop in Abu Dhabi.

No doubt interesting times ahead for aviation pundits and observers of the archipelago’s politics, where elections for President must be held in less than ten months from now.