Air Seychelles new Düsseldorf flights in the spotlight at ITB Berlin

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, hosted a media conference in the German capital today as part of the run-up to the upcoming launch of its Düsseldorf service.

Set to commence on 30 March, the twice-weekly service is being showcased at ITB Berlin, the largest annual tourism fair in the world, which kicked off this morning and is expected to attract over 100,000 visitors.

The press conference panel was headed by Roy Kinnear, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Seychelles, who was joined by Thomas Schnalke, CEO of Düsseldorf Airport, Goetz Ahmelmann, Chief Commercial Officer at airberlin and Sherin Francis, CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board.

Roy Kinnear, CEO of Air Seychelles, said: “In just three weeks’ time Air Seychelles will begin serving the great city of Düsseldorf, connecting our one-of-a-kind tropical islands to Germany. The excitement is building quickly and ITB Berlin, as the biggest travel exhibition in the world, is the perfect event to meet the future holidaymakers who will be flying with us. We are working closely with our partners, especially airberlin and the Seychelles Tourism Board, on a collaborative approach to make our new air link from Germany a success."

Thomas Schnalke, CEO of Düsseldorf Airport, said: “We are all looking forward to welcoming Air Seychelles to Düsseldorf Airport on the morning of 31 March, 2017. We feel honoured that Air Seychelles has chosen Düsseldorf as their second destination in Europe. The Seychelles archipelago is a popular leisure destination in Germany and we are sure the service will be well-received by the millions of travellers that fly out of Düsseldorf every year.”

Goetz Ahmelmann, Chief Commercial Officer at airberlin, said: “airberlin has built a strong and valuable relationship with Air Seychelles since we signed a codeshare agreement in 2013, and will be working together to offer our mutual guests fantastic connections to Mahé and other points in Seychelles and the Indian Ocean via Düsseldorf from a number of domestic points in Germany and Switzerland.”

Sherin Francis, CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, said: “Everyone in the Seychelles tourism sector is eagerly anticipating the launch of non-stop flights from Düsseldorf, which will offer convenient travel options to one of our most important tourism markets. Last year nearly 39,500 people from Germany set foot on our shores, and we are sure our national airline’s new service will boost these numbers further.”

During ITB Berlin, which runs from 8 until 12 March, Air Seychelles will have a presence at both the Seychelles Tourism Board and the airberlin stand, where visitors will be able to meet cabin crew and learn more about the airline’s travel offering.

In addition, Air Seychelles and the Seychelles Tourism Board will co-host a cocktail reception for travel, trade and media representatives at the official Seychelles stand tomorrow, 9 March.

The Air Seychelles service between Düsseldorf and Seychelles will be operated on a wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft with 18 Business Class and 236 Economy Class seats.

Flight schedule for Düsseldorf flights, commencing 30 March:

*All departures and arrivals above are listed in local time.