Air Seychelles lays strong foundation for further growth on Mumbai route

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, has laid a strong foundation for the further growth of its Mumbai service, with an enhanced network, a dedicated team in Mumbai and wide support from the Indian travel trade.

Joël Morgan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Chairman of Air Seychelles, said: “Since launching a non-stop three-flights-per-week service between Mumbai and Seychelles in December 2014, Air Seychelles has continued to enhance its travel offering and build on its operation.

“Today it is well positioned for further growth in India, which remains a fast-growing travel market with significant potential for inbound tourism into Seychelles.

“India and Seychelles have long-standing and trusted bilateral relations, as reflected by the reciprocal state visits of President James Michel and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and I am proud to say that by enhancing air connectivity, Air Seychelles is bringing our nations closer together.

Return fares from Mumbai to Seychelles in economy class start from INR 33,000, while business class fares start at INR 58,379 including all taxes and charges. Air Seychelles operates four-flights-per-week on a modern Airbus A320 aircraft that departs Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 04:00 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and arrives in Seychelles the same morning at 06:55.

Roy Kinnear, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles said: “As the gateway into India with a population of more than 20 million people, Mumbai represents a strategically important point in our network.

“Air Seychelles has carried thousands of passengers from Mumbai to Seychelles and travel demand has been so strong that we increased frequencies from an initial three flights-per week, to four-per-week in April 2015, providing a total of 1,088 return seats to and from the archipelago each week.

“In May 2015, we made our islands more accessible to the Indian market by signing a codeshare agreement with Jet Airways for domestic flights between Mumbai and nine cities in India, including Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Cochin and Trivandrum. This has opened up seamless and convenient one-stop connections to Seychelles via Mumbai.

“Going further, Air Seychelles offers some of the fastest connections over its Mahé hub in Seychelles to Antananarivo, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg and Mauritius. The archipelago is geographically well-placed as a stepping-stone between India, East and South Africa and the Indian Ocean, and we have optimised our schedules to ensure that onward connections are short and convenient.

“Whatever the final destinations, we are  committed to ensuring that our guests in India experience a high level of service, both in the air and on the ground, where we have an excellent support team.”

Air Seychelles has appointed and is represented by Jet Air as its General Sales Agent in India. The airline is also working closely with Jet Airways and more than 75 travel agents to develop its presence in the market and offer support services to the travelling public.

Mr Kinnear added: “There is a strong level of cooperation between Air Seychelles and the travel trade, which has committed to booking 800 seats on Air Seychelles in the coming weeks, with the aim of booking over 700 more for travel before the end of 2015.

“This demonstrates the strong sales platform that we have developed in India and our commitment to continue driving tourism growth in the Seychelles, which remains the core engine of the economy.”

Flights to Mumbai can be booked through the Air Seychelles website on www.airseychelles.com, through any Air Seychelles sales office or through local travel agents.

Schedule of Mumbai - Seychelles flights:

Note: All departures and arrivals are listed in local times.