Air Austral

Air Austral is an airline based at the Roland Garros Airport in the French overseas department of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.[2] It operates scheduled services from Réunion to metropolitan France, South Africa, Thailand, India and a number of destinations in the Indian Ocean. The company has eight airplanes in the fleet and employs around 900 people.[3]

Not to be confused with Austral Líneas Aéreas.
Air Austral
IATA ICAO Callsign
UU REU REUNION
Founded1974 (1974) (by Gerard Etheve)
HubsRoland Garros Airport
Frequent-flyer programCapricorn
AllianceVanilla Alliance
SubsidiariesEwa Air
Fleet size8[1]
Destinations14
HeadquartersRoland Garros Airport
Sainte-Marie, Réunion, France
Key peopleMarie Joseph Malé (CEO)
Websiteair-austral.com

History
Air Austral's logo used until 2014.

1974–1990: Founding years as RAS and Air Réunion

Air Austral was created in December 1974 by local businessman Gérard Ethève as Réunion Air Services (RAS), Réunion's first commercial airline.[4][5] By August 1977, RAS had started regional services from Sainte-Marie to Mayotte[5] with a 32-seat Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop.[4] RAS became Air Réunion in December 1986.[5]

In October 1990, Sematra, a company 46% owned by the local councils of Réunion with the remaining shares owned by banks and other private partners, purchased Air Réunion.[5]

1990–2011: Development as Air Austral and growth in operations

In November 1990, Air Réunion became Air Austral.[4] Two months later, Air Austral bought its first Boeing 737-500.[4] Another 737-300 was acquired in 1994, and in 1997, the airline purchased a 737-300QC, which enabled both passenger and cargo only traffic.[5]

In 2000, the airline took delivery of an ATR 72-500, a short-haul turboprop.[5] By then, Air Austral operated from both Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie and Pierrefonds Airport in Saint Pierre with scheduled services to Mayotte, South Africa (Johannesburg), Comoros, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and four destinations in Madagascar (Antananarivo, Tamatave, Nosy Be, Majunga).[4] In 2003, Air Austral launched its first long-haul service between Réunion and Paris, with two Boeing 777-200ERs.[5] The two Boeing 777s were joined by a third Boeing 777-200ER in 2005. A second long-haul route from Réunion to Marseille and Lyon was established.[5]

In 2007, a third long-haul service to Toulouse via Marseille started.[4] In 2008, the airline introduced new uniforms for staff and crew members, designed by Balenciaga. The second ATR 72-500 was added to the fleet, followed by a third a few months later.[4] In April 2009, Air Austral started a new service to Sydney and New Caledonia, thus opening up a new route between Paris and Sydney via Réunion. The airline also acquired two Boeing 777-300ERs.[4] In November, it placed a firm order for two all-economy class 840-seat Airbus A380s, for delivery in 2014. These are intended for Air Austral's Réunion-Paris flights.[6] In June 2010, it was announced that Air Austral would start scheduled flights from Réunion to Bordeaux and Nantes from February 2011.[3] In August 2011, Air Austral received its first Boeing 777-200LR.[7]

2012–present: Economic struggles and subsequent rebound

In April 2012, founder and chief executive Gérard Ethève was replaced by Marie-Joseph Malé following financial difficulties caused by risky business decisions made worse by high fuel prices.[8] Non-profitable routes to Nouméa, Sydney, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Toulouse, and Lyon were closed. Additionally, Air Austral was unable to pay for a new 777-200LR awaiting delivery and looked to sell the plane instead of taking delivery of it. Following this development, Air Austral announced in May 2012 that it would defer or cancel its order for 2 Airbus A380s, with a decision to be made by the end of June 2012.[9]

In June 2013, Air Austral introduced direct flights to Chennai, India with its new Boeing 737-800s.[10] In February 2015, the company announced an order for two Boeing 787-8s, to be delivered in May and October 2016 respectively. In March 2015, it also announced the lease of 2 more B777-300ER from Air Lease Corporation (ALC). These aircraft, delivered in late 2016, replaced the oldest two models of the same type then operated by Air Austral.

In November 2015, the company sold its single Boeing 777-200LR to Florida-based broker Atlas Aviation, which became the "Crystal Skye" ultraluxury air cruise aircraft. Air Austral simultaneously announced the lease, from November 2015 to May 2016 of a Boeing 737-300QC (QC for quick change) from ASL Airlines France (formerly Europe Airpost). The plane involved was F-ODZZ, a convertible version of the 737-300 (the cabin configuration can be changed from passengers to freight) that had actually already been in Air Austral service between 1997 and 2005. It was used until the first of the two Boeing 787-8s ordered by the company was delivered in May 2016.[11]

In October 2017, Air Austral signed a strategic partnership agreement with Air Madagascar to become the airline's minority shareholder, owning a 49% stake in the company, after the two companies established their relationship in 2016.[12] The move was done in part to help Air Madagascar return to profitability and facilitate stronger connections within the regional market for the two airlines.[12] In February 2018, Air Austral revealed its restructuring strategy for Air Madagascar through 2027, which included stabilising the company's finances, launching strategic routes, and expanding the company's fleet.[13] In July 2018, Kenya Airways signed a memorandum of understanding to join the partnership in an effort to strengthen Nairobi's connections to Réunion and Madagascar and to also open up the possibilities of codesharing between the three carriers.[14] The agreement was later finalized by the three airlines in December 2018.[15] However, in November 2019, reports revealed that the partnership between Air Austral and Air Madagascar was at risk of dissolution after Air Austral did not contribute its second payment of €25 million for its equity share in the airline.[16][17]

In August 2018, Air Austral began wet leasing an Airbus A380 from charter airline Hi Fly after it grounded one of its Boeing 787s due to inspections of the plane's Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.[18] In October 2019, Air Austral announced it was developing its plans to renew its fleet.[19] That month, the airline signed a purchase agreement for three Airbus A220-300 aircraft that would replace its two Boeing 737-800 and ATR 72-500 jets.[19] The three Airbus A220s are scheduled to be delivered between November 2020 and 1Q 2021.[19] The airline projects it may begin renewing its long-haul fleet beginning in 2023.[19]

Destinations

This is a list of destinations served by Air Austral as of May 2017:

Country or
territory		 City IATA ICAO Airport Notes Refs
 ComorosMoroniHAHFMCHPrince Said Ibrahim International Airport[20]
 FranceDzaoudziDZAFMCZDzaoudzi Pamandzi International AirportFocus city[21]
 FranceMarseilleMRSLFMLMarseille Provence Airport
 FranceParisCDGLFPGCharles de Gaulle Airport[22]
 FranceSaint DenisRUNFMEERoland Garros AirportHub[23]
 FranceSaint-PierreZSEFMEPPierrefonds AirportHub
 IndiaChennaiMAAVOMMChennai International Airport[24]
 MadagascarAntananarivoTNRFMMIIvato Airport[25]
 MadagascarNosy BeNOSFMNNFascene Airport
 MadagascarToamasinaTMMFMMTToamasina Airport
 MauritiusPort LouisMRUFIMPSir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport[26]
 SeychellesMahéSEZFSIASeychelles International Airport[27]
 South AfricaJohannesburgJNBFAORO. R. Tambo International Airport[28]
 ThailandBangkokBKKVTBSSuvarnabhumi Airport[29]

Codeshare agreements

Fleet
Air Austral Boeing 777-300ER
Air Austral ATR 72-500
Air Austral Boeing 737-800
Air Austral Boeing 787-8

Current fleet

As of October 2019, Air Austral fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[30]

Air Austral fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
A C L Total
Airbus A220-300 — 3[31] — 12 120 132[32] Deliveries from November 2020 to March 2021.
To replace ATR 72-500 and Boeing 737-800.[33]
ATR 72-500 1 — — — 64 64 To be replaced by Airbus A220-300.[33]
2 additional aircraft currently leased to Ewa Air
Boeing 737-800 2 — — 18 144 162 To be replaced by Airbus A220-300.[33]
Boeing 777-300ER 3 — 14 40 384 438
Boeing 787-8[34] 2 — 18 — 244 262
Total 8 3

Former fleet
Air Austral fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 737-300 1 1994 2011
Boeing 737-300QC 2 1997 2016
Boeing 737-500 1 1990 2011
Boeing 767-300ER 1 2009 2009
Boeing 777-200ER 4 2003 2017
Boeing 777-200LR 1 2011 2015
Boeing 777-300ER 2 2013 2017

Former liveries
  • Former Air Austral liveries
  • Air Austral's 1975–1990 livery on a Boeing 737-500.
  • Air Austral's 1990–1992 livery on a Boeing 737-300.
  • Air Austral's 1992–2002 livery on a Boeing 777-200ER.
  • Air Austral's 2002–2016 livery on a Boeing 777-300ER.

References
  1. 2 additional machines leased to subsidiary Ewa Air
  2. "Legal notices." Air Austral. Retrieved on 7 9 September 2010. "Air Austral Anonymous company with executive board and supervisory board With a capital of 19 206 900€ Roland Garros Airport area 97438 Sainte Marie or BP 611 - 97472 Saint-Denis Cedex."
  3. Air-Austral renfort de la flotte TourMag.com 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-04
  4. "30 years of history in the Indian ocean sky". Air Austral. Archived from the original on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
  5. Air Austral brochure for Australian passengers, April 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-04 Archived October 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Air Austral signs firm order for two single class A380s" Archived 2011-02-16 at the Wayback Machine, Airbus press release 17 November 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-04
  7. "F-OLRA Air Austral Boeing 777-29M(LR) - cn 40955 / ln 952 - Planespotters.net Just Aviation". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  8. Ethève's management style and difficult relations with unions was also in question and played a role in the decision.
  9. "European woes force changes for the better at Indian Ocean carriers, with Air Austral the latest", CAPA article, 24 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-29
  10. Around 120,000 (1.2 lakh) persons of Tamil origin are reported to live in Reunion. Air Austral links to Chennai
  11. "Air Austral loue un B.737 pour remplacer le B.777 200 LR vendu à un broker américain". Clicanoo.re. Retrieved Mar 8, 2020.
  12. "Air Madagascar and Air Austral sign their strategic partnership agreement". African Aerospace. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  13. "Air Austral details its plans for Air Madagascar". Aviator. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  14. "Air Austral, Air Madagascar and Kenya Airways towards a Privileged Partnership". African Aerospace. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  15. Tanui, Carolyne (20 December 2018). "Kenya Airways, Air Austral and Air Madagascar Finalize Strategic Partnerships". The Kenyan Wall Street. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  16. "Air Madagascar deal worsens with Air Austral, government comes for rescue". Logistics Update Africa. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  17. "Air Austral, Air Madagascar partnership heading towards a breakdown". Logistics Update Africa. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  18. "Air Austral leases HiFly's A380". Avipeo. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  19. Kaminski-Morrow, David (14 October 2019). "Air Austral looks at long-haul renewal after A220 deal". Flightglobal. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  20. Air Austral. "Moroni". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  21. Air Austral. "Dzaoudzi". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  22. Air Austral. "Paris". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  23. Saint Denis/Saint-Pierre. "Dzaoudzi". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  24. Air Austral. "Chennai". Archived from the original on 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  25. Air Austral. "Antananarivo". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  26. Air Austral. "Port Louis". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  27. Air Austral. "Mahé". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  28. Air Austral. "Johannesburg". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  29. Air Austral. "Bangkok". Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  30. "Global Airline Guide 2017 (Part Two)". Airliner World (November 2017): 29.
  31. Jan-Hendrik Fiedler (October 12, 2019). "Air Austral signs agreement for three Airbus A220". International Flight Network. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  32. "Réunion's Air Austral, Air Madagascar select A220". ch-aviation. Retrieved Mar 8, 2020.
  33. Fiedler, Jan-Hendrik (Oct 12, 2019). "Air Austral signs agreement for three Airbus A220". Retrieved Mar 8, 2020.
  34. Toh, Mavis (25 May 2016). "Air Austral takes first 787". Singapore: Flightglobal. Retrieved 25 May 2016.

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