Air Mauritius

History

Foundation

The company was established on 14 June 1967 by Air France, BOAC and the Government of Mauritius, with a 27.5% stake each; the balance was held by Rogers and Co, the general sales agent for Air France and BOAC in Mauritius.

In the beginning, the carrier operated international services in conjunction with Air France, Air India and British Airways, which jointly had a 25% holding in Air Mauritius at that time. Until 1972, the company restricted its activities to ground services only; it started flight operations in its own right in August 1972 with a six-seater Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft leased from Air Madagascar, connecting Mauritius with Rodrigues. The aircraft wore an Air Mauritius decor, but kept a Malagasy registration.

In 1973, a wet-leased Vickers VC10 from British Airways enabled the company to launch a long-haul route to London via Nairobi, whereas services to Bombay were operated by Air India. The Navajo was replaced with a 16-seater Twin Otter that was acquired in 1975. When an agreement with Air France and British Airways came to an end, a Boeing 707-400 wet-leased from British Airtours helped the airline to start long-haul services in its own right. Long-range operations started on 1 November 1977. A second Twin Otter arrived in 1979.

Services expansion

By April 1980, the company had 414 employees and a fleet of one Boeing 707-420, one Boeing 737-200 and two Twin Otters to serve a route network of passenger and cargo services to Bombay, London, Nairobi, Réunion, Rodrigues, Rome and Tananarive. Ownership of the company had changed to have the Government of Mauritius as the major shareholder (42.5%), followed by Rogers & Co. (17.5%), Air France and British Airways (15% each) and Air India (10%). the carrier's network consisted of Bombay, London, Nairobi, Réunion, Rodrigues, Rome and Tananarive.

Air Mauritius acquired a second-hand Boeing 707-320B in 1981. It had previously belonged to South African Airways (SAA) and permitted the airline to return the Boeing 707-400 to British Airtours. In November 1981, a joint service between Air Mauritius and Air Madagascar began in the Tananarive–Mauritius–Comoros–Nairobi and Réunion–Mauritius runs, following the lease of an Air Madagascar Boeing 737. During the early 1980s, routes to Durban and Johannesburg were inaugurated using Boeing 707-320B aircraft flown with Air India and British Airways crews. The incorporation of a second aircraft of the type, bought from Luxavia, allowed the carrier to expand the European route network to Rome and Zürich in 1983, whereas Paris was added in the mid 1980s. Leased from SAA, a Boeing 747SP named "Chateau de Réduit" entered the fleet in November 1984 and was deployed on services to London.

By March 1985, the fleet comprised two Boeing 707-320Bs, a Boeing 737-200, a Boeing 747SP and a Twin Otter. That month, the first of two Bell 206 JetRangers was incorporated. In April, a 46-seater ATR 42 was ordered, and Singapore was added to the route network with a weekly service using Boeing 707 equipment. In June that year, Air Mauritius joined the African Airlines Association. The carrier made a profit of GBP3.5 million for the fiscal year 1985–86.

In 1986, a second Boeing 747SP that was also leased from SAA entered the fleet; it was named "Chateau Mon Plaisir". The incorporation of this aircraft allowed the carrier to phase out a Boeing 707. In 1987, South African Airways' landing rights on Australian soil were suspended by the Australian government and Qantas ceased its operations in South Africa. There had been an increase in demand from businessmen since that time, as most passengers travelling from South Africa to Australia had to stop at Hong Kong, Taipei or Singapore. Given that landing rights in Australia for Air Mauritius had not been approved yet, a Boeing 747SP non-stop service to Hong Kong commenced on 29 October 1989, in cooperation with Cathay Pacific. Flights to Kuala Lumpur had started in May 1988.

Fleet modernisation

Valued at million and financed by a group of banks that included Barclays, BNP, Crédit Lyonnais and the Spectrum Bank, the company took delivery of two Boeing 767-200ERs in April 1988. These aircraft were named "City of Port Louis" and "City of Curepipe". One of them set a record-breaking distance for commercial twinjets on 18 April 1988, when it flew non-stop from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Mauritius, covering a distance of almost 9000 mi in less than 17 hours. A contract worth million including spare parts for these two Boeing 767s had been signed a year earlier. Also in 1988, a Boeing 707 was leased from Air Swazi Cargo to operate freighter services, and the first ATR 42 started revenue flights in December, replacing the Twin Otters on inter-island services. A second ATR 42 was ordered in September 1989.

By March 1990, the route network included Antananarivo, Bombay, Durban, Geneva, Harare, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Moroni, Munich, Nairobi, Paris, Reunion, Rodrigues, Rome, Singapore and Zürich. A new route to Perth was inaugurated in December 1991. Named "Paille en Queue" and leased from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), the first Airbus A340-300 entered the fleet in May 1994; following delivery, a Boeing 747SP that was on lease from SAA was returned. The airline became the first in the Southern Hemisphere to fly the A340-300. A second A340-300, named "Pink Pigeon" and purchased directly from Airbus, was handed over by the aircraft manufacturer in October. Services to Brussels and Cape Town were launched in July and November of that year. Also leased from ILFC and named "Kestrel", Air Mauritius' third A340-300 joined the fleet in April 1995. The airline started trading on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius during the year. In 1996, the last Boeing 747SP was sold to Qatar Airways and direct flights to Manchester were launched.

2000 onwards

At April 2000, Air Mauritius had 2,000 employees. At this time, the airline had a fleet of five Airbus A340-300s, one ATR 42-300, two ATR 42-500s and two Boeing 767-200ERs that served a route network including Antananarivo, Brussels, Cape Town, Delhi, Durban, Frankfurt, Geneva, Harare, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mahe Island, Manchester, Maputo, Mauritius, Melbourne, Milan, Mumbai, Munich, Paris, Perth, Rodrigues Island, Rome, Singapore, Saint-Denis, Saint-Pierre, Vienna and Zürich.

African medium-haul routes started utilising the Airbus A319 following its delivery in 2001. The A340-300 was ordered by the carrier in mid 2005. The A340-300 Enhanced was put on service on the London Heathrow route in December 2006, soon after delivery. In late 2007, the fleet saw the incorporation of the Airbus A330-200; a second aircraft of the same type was delivered in October 2009.

Shanghai became the destination served by the company in early . During 2012, the airline suspended its services to Frankfurt, Geneva, Melbourne, Milan and Sydney. At , the airline's five top routes in terms of available seats were Mauritius–Reunion, Mauritius–Paris, Mauritius–Johannesburg, Mauritius–Antananarivo and Mauritius–London; the biggest international markets served by the carrier in terms of seat capacity were Southern Africa and Western Europe.

In March 2016, Air Mauritius launched the 'Air Corridor' with its first direct flights to Singapore, which was previously served via Kuala Lumpur. The new route aimed at improving air connectivity between Mauritius and Singapore to stimulate the growth of passenger and cargo traffic between Asia and Africa through these two hubs.

On 22 April 2020, the board of directors decided to place the company under voluntary administration after COVID-19 related disruptions made it impossible for the airline to meet its financial obligations for the foreseeable future. The pandemic had a major impact on the revenue of the company while it was seeking to change its business model to address existing financial problems. The company will continue its operation, this decision was taken to safeguard the interest of the company and its stakeholders. It exited administration in mid 2021.

Corporate affairs

Key people

, Dev Manraj held the chairman position, and Buton Indradev was the officer in charge. Dev Manraj was a key figure in the MCB-NPF financial scandal which came to light in 2003. In December 2022, Krešimir Kučko, former Croatia Airlines and Gulf Air CEO, was appointed CEO of Air Mauritius. However, in September 2023, CEO Kučko and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Laval Ah Chip were both stood down after an investigation which revealed that they had enjoyed free holidays paid for by a supplier of Air Mauritius. CEO Kučko was replaced by Charles Cartier in 2022.

, the chair position was held by Kishore Beegoo. On 29 May 2025, Andre Viljoen was appointed as the new CEO with effect from 15 October 2025.

Ownership and subsidiaries

Air Mauritius was the first Mauritian company with its majority owned by the state that made its shares public. Listing was granted in November 1994 and share trading on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius commenced in February 1995. , shareholders having more than 5% of direct participation in the airline were Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd. (51%) and the Government of Mauritius (8%), while other investors held the remaining stake. Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd. was in turn majority owned (44%) by the Mauritian Government.

Business trends

The key trends for Air Mauritius over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 March):

Headquarters

, Air Mauritius had its headquarters at Air Mauritius Centre in Port Louis.

Controversies

Caisse Noire

Air Mauritius was the focus of a politico-financial scandal known as the Caisse Noire Affair. As a result of the investigation which lasted from 2001 to 2015, several senior members of its management including Gérard Tyack, Harry Tirvengadum and others were prosecuted. Tyack was jailed.

Complaints about CEO Cartier's family trip

Employees of Air Mauritius lodged official complaints in May 2024 with the Prime Minister's Office, ICAC about the approval process and discounts received by CEO Charles Cartier and six of his family members who were upgraded to Business Class during a trip to South Africa.

In their letter, these employees recalled that Cartier's predecessor Krešimir Kučko and his Chief Financial Officer, Laval Ah Chip, were stood down in 2023 after being investigated for benefitting from an all-expenses-paid stay in a hotel in France from a leasing company which also happened to be a key supplier of Air Mauritius. Krešimir Kučko was replaced by Charles Cartier after holding the position of CEO for only a few months.

Former CEO's claim for Rs 19.65 Millions

Following his dismissal in October 2016, the former CEO has been suing Air Mauritius, the most recent being his claim in 2024 for compensation of nearly Rs 20 million for sick leave, annual leave, bonuses and gratuities, although he only served as CEO for seven months with a monthly salary of Rs 0.75 million.

Destinations

Following is a list of destinations Air Mauritius flies to according to their passenger scheduled services, . The table below provides each country served along with the destinations the airline flies to, as well as the name of the airports served. Terminated destinations are also listed.

In September 2015, the carrier signed a cooperation agreement with Air Austral, Air Madagascar, Air Seychelles and Int'Air Îles that established the Vanilla Alliance and is aimed at improving air services between the Indian Ocean Commission members.

, Air Mauritius served 22 destinations from its hub in Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, two of them domestic.

Codeshare agreements

Air Mauritius has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

• Air Austral
• Air France
• Air India
• Emirates
• Hong Kong Airlines
• Kenya Airways
• KLM
• Madagascar Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Saudia
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• TUI Airways
• Virgin Australia

Frequent flyer programme

Air Mauritius' frequent flyer programme is called Kestrelflyer, which offers Silver and Gold accounts.

Fleet

Recent developments and future plans

In July 2014, during the Farnborough Air Show, it was announced Air Mauritius signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for six Airbus A350-900s, of which two would be leased from AerCap and with the option to place additional orders for up to three more aircraft of the type between 2023 and 2025. It was originally planned that the leased aircraft would join the fleet by the end of 2017 and the other four would join in 2019 and 2020.

In February 2017, Air Mauritius announced that it would be leasing two Airbus A330-900 aircraft from Air Lease Corporation to replace two Airbus A340-300E aircraft from September and October 2018. Due to delays from Airbus, these aircraft were delivered in April and June 2019. The two Airbus A350-900 that were due to be delivered in 2020, were pushed back to 2023. It was also announced that the airline's existing aircraft would be refurbished with new seats, new inflight entertainment systems and onboard Wi-Fi. The revamp of the cabin interiors was planned to be completed by June 2018. The two Airbus A350-900s that were due to join the fleet in 2019 were sublet to South African Airways for three years. In August 2020, these aircraft were returned early by SAA, due to financial difficulties.

In July 2021, the airline completed the sale of its two Airbus A319 and remaining Airbus A340 aircraft. The retirement of the Airbus A340 marked the end of 27 years of service of the fleet type with the airline. The retirement of the two Airbus A330-200 from the fleet was completed by end of November 2021.

On 19 June 2023, Air Mauritius announced that it confirmed an order for three Airbus A350-900, an increase of one plane from the original 2014 order. The aircraft are expected to be delivered between 2025 and 2026.

Current fleet

, Air Mauritius operates the following aircraft:

Air Mauritius also operates two Bell 206 JetRanger helicopters that are used for tour services.

Former fleet

In the past, Air Mauritius has operated the following aircraft:

• Airbus A319-100
• Airbus A340-300
• ATR 42-300
• ATR 42-500
• Boeing 707-320B
• Boeing 707-420
• Boeing 737-200
• Boeing 747SP
• Boeing 747-200B
• Boeing 767-200ER
• Boeing 767-300ER
• de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
• Lockheed L-1011-500

References

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Bibliography

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