Air Seychelles to axe key Paris route, aircraft & jobs

Fierce competition has forced Air Seychelles to cut its Paris route, which generates 30% of revenue, as well as two Airbus A330s and an undisclosed number of staff under a wide-ranging restructuring plan. “It is important that we take these tough, but necessary steps at this time to safeguard the future of Air Seychelles,” tourism and civil aviation minister Maurice Loustau-Lalanne said. Etihad Airways’ equity partner Air Seychelles is making the changes in response to a “major influx” in capacity in 2018. Austrian Airlines, German leisure carrier Condor, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, Qatar Airways, Sri Lankan and Turkish Airlines already serve the Seychelles. BA will launch London flights in March, followed by Air France from Paris in May and Swiss carrier Edelweiss Air from Zurich in September. Air Seychelles said this overcapacity from Europe will depress airfares, load factor and forward bookings on the airline’s 3X-weekly Paris service, which will end April 24. “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 in the long term. After considering all the options, we have taken the decision to withdraw from both Paris and Antananarivo [Madagascar] and refocus on our core strengths—our domestic and regional networks. Doing so will enable us to concentrate on more profitable areas of the business, while people in Seychelles will continue to have nonstop access to France and wider Europe through airlines that can operate at more efficient international scale than Air Seychelles,” interim CEO Remco Althuis said.<br/>