You might also like:
Seychelles International Airport saw the first British Airways flight in 14 years touch down at Mahé International Airport yesterday, Sunday March 25. This marks an important day for tourism to the island, with British Airways being the only airline offering a non-stop service from the UK. This will be the second time in the past six months that the airline has grown its presence in the Indian Ocean Islands – in October it expanded its three Boeing 777 services from Gatwick to Mauritius, to five a week.
The new twice-weekly flights to Seychelles will depart from London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and return on Thursdays and Sundays.
The Seychelles Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, commented: “The return of BA after 14 long years of absence is a very significant development. It confirms your trust and confidence in our tourism industry. It is the best news for the Seychelles tourism industry for both its short-term and long-term viability.” He further believes that that the non-stop service will benefit visitors from Canada and the US.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner touched down at 06h10 with 214 passengers on board, including British Airways Vice President of Sales, Richard Tams, and a number of media representatives.
Tams said: “We have already seen that tourism to the Seychelles grew by 15% last year, so we are sure that this new direct route between the Seychelles and UK will prove to be a great success.” He further announced that instead of previous seasonal flights, the airline would offer a year-round service to Seychelles. The airline will now offer twice-weekly flights to Seychelles from Heathrow.
British High Commissioner, Caron Rohsler, said the UK government would add new advice about sustainable tourism to its website, as it was conscious of the environmental impact tourists could have on island destinations. “This will include tips on how visitors can help preserve the ocean and island habitats so that future generations can enjoy them.”
With 2017 seeing 21 991 visitors travelling from the UK and Northern Ireland to Seychelles, and 3 608 already visiting the island in 2018, Loustau-Lalanne noted that BA’s return made a new target of 25 000 visitors achievable.
Seychelles Tourism Board CEO, Sherin Francis, has also welcomed BA’s return and year-round services offering. “The UK market is a year-round market, and we must also not forget that we have a Seychellois diaspora living in the UK who travel year round, especially during the winter period and Christmas holidays. Locally, the Seychellois population is also well travelled and with the historic link with the UK there would be a lot of outbound travel from Seychelles. So it’s good news that this will be a year round service and I am confident that the flights will be a success.”
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is not only fuel-efficient, but offers a four-class cabin product to its passengers: First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.
The route and capacity expansion comes as BA rolls out a £4,5bn (€5.15bn) five-year customer investment plan, with its focus resting on excellence in its premium cabins and higher quality and choice for its customers. The plan will also see BA installing the best-quality WiFi in every seat, upgrading the interiors of 128 long-haul aircraft and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft.
Other flight offerings include weekly flights from Johannesburg to Mauritius, through BA’s franchise partner, Comair; more seats to Lagos, and a second A380 added to its double-daily Johannesburg service from October.
Source: tourismupdate.co.za