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Air Seychelles to close long-haul routes
Air Seychelles (HM) will slash all its remaining European routes as demand weakens and competition increases.
According to CEO Bram Steller, the European economic crisis—coupled with tough competition from the Middle East—has led HM to shut down its long-haul operations.
HM will stop flights from Mahe to Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa as well London Heathrow from Jan 8. Services to Paris Charles de Gaulle will be reduced from 5X to 3X weekly from January and will stop completely by March 25. HM stopped flights to Singapore Nov. 24.
HM’s three remaining Boeing 767-300ERs will be returned to the International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC). It returned two 767-200s to ILFC in October and November (ATW Daily News, Sept. 27, 2009).
HM said it will focus on regional services and plans to sign a cooperation with Etihad Airways on services Abu Dhabi (AUH). The carrier is considering operating a 737-800 for the remaining routes within the region, as well to AUH for connecting services to Europe. It is unclear if HM will keep its order for two 787-8s based on a 2006 contract with ILFC (ATW Daily News, April 6, 2006).
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© 2012 Penton Media, Inc.
Discuss this news 5
Is HM considering operating
By Eric AdjeiIs HM considering operating to the main land Africa on merger
What you see here, is an
By dbear767What you see here, is an example of the power of large carriers in the Middle East. Sad, but soon the choices of carriers will vanish......and then watch the ticket prices soar.
I feel sorry for the crews and their families. Perhaps a new job in Dubai??
Exactly the result of the
By RichardExactly the result of the 'mega-carriers' from the Middle East. I am not sure how successful a strategy it is to fly regional destinations only.
I suspect that most passengers from Africa are really flying long-haul to / from Europe and Middle East.
The problem is African
By TristanThe problem is African nations won't liberalize their skies. This would help national airlines merge to form strong partnerships. Instead, they sit back and let outside competition eat them up, especially from Europe & the Middle East. It's still not too late and the trend can be reversed. When Kenya's new JKIA mega terminal is opened in 2015, I'm sure traffic to the region will increase exponentially and will enable HM & other African airlines exploit fully the long-haul biz.
Air Seychelles should enter
By coldtuskerAir Seychelles should enter into an agreement with a carrier like Kenya Airways which is active on Seychelles' source markets like European cities (LHR, Rome, CDG & AMS) and South Africa (JHB).
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