Air Mauritius to Launch Flights to China

Richard Maslen February 03, 2011

Air Mauritius is to become the first African carrier to launch flights to China’s financial capital, Shanghai. It will inaugurate a once weekly Mauritius – Kuala Lumpur – Shanghai Pu Dong service from July 4 but does not hold any traffic rights onward from Malaysia. The route is thought to be in response to the strength of Chinese investment in Africa, and with South African Airways (SAA) yet to launch its proposed Beijing flights, Air Mauritius is also expected to secure a sizeable amount of connecting traffic.

There is strong trade traffic between African and China and operators can secure strong revenues, particularly through the acceptance of excess luggage. Yields are also relatively buoyant with the only real competition coming from Gulf carriers such as Emirates Airline, which has to balance local traffic needs with those of connecting passengers.

DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM AFRICA TO CHINA
Airline	From	To	Type	Weekly Frequency
EgyptAir	Cairo International	Guangzhou Baiyun	777	Four
EgyptAir	Cairo International	Beijing Capital International	A330	Three
Hainan Airlines	Cairo International	Beijing Capital International	A330	Two
Afriqiyah Airways	Tripoli International	Beijing Capital International	A330	Two
Air Algerie	Algiers Houari Boumediene	Beijing Capital International	A330	Two

Source: Flightbase (January 14-20)

Shanghai will be the 25th destination in the Air Mauritius network and the carrier’s fourth in Asia after Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. However, it is its regional network that will help make the route a success, with possible connections being offered from Reunion, Madagascar and Johannesburg.

AIR MAURITIUS NETWORK (By Weekly Seat Capacity)
Destination	Aircraft Type	Weekly Frequency
Sent Denis dela Reunion	ATR 72 / A330-200 / A340-300	Thirty Four
Paris Charles De Gaulle	A340-300	Nine
St Pierre dela Reunion	ATR 72 / A319	Seventeen
Singapore Changi	A330-200 / A340-300	Six (via KUL)
Rodrigues Island (Mauritius)	ATR 72	Twenty One
London Heathrow	A340-300	Five
Johannesburg O R Tambo International	A319 / A330-200 / A340-300	Seven
Antananarivo Ivato International	A319 / A330-200 / A340-300	Four
Geneva Cointrin	A340-300	Four (via FRA)
Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International	A330-200 / A340-300	Three
Kuala Lumpur International	A330-200 / A340-300	Three
Hong Kong International	A330-200	Three
Milan Malpensa	A340-300	Two
Frankfurt	A340-300	Two
Sydney Kingsford Smith	A340-300	Two (one via MEL)
Perth International	A330-200 / A340-300	Two
New Delhi Indira Gandhi International	A330-200	Two
Chennai International	A330-200	Two (via BLR)
Melbourne Tullamarine	A340-300	One
Munich Franz Josef Strauss	A340-300	One
Bangalore International Airport	A330-200	One
Cape Town International	A319	Two
Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International	A319	Two
Durban International	A319	Two

Source: Flightbase (January 14-20)

Air Mauritius hopes that the route will also help boost tourism to the Indian Ocean island, which has witnessed a stark downturn in visitors from Europe over the past couple of years. Mauritius is a popular leisure destination, famed for its clear blue seas, white beaches and luxury spas, but the European economic slowdown has weighed heavily on tourism and the country’s Government is keen to develop new Asian markets. Arrivals from Europe in 2009 fell 4.7 per cent to 579,509 led by a 16.6 per cent decline in German arrivals, a 14.6 per cent drop in Italian arrivals and a 5.5 per cent fall in British visitors. However, France, Mauritius' leading market, did buck the trend with a 6 per cent increase.

Mauritius has preserved its image as one of Africa's few social and economic success stories and political stability and efforts to diversify have helped the country become one of Africa's most prosperous economies. Tourism generates more than 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product every year, with European visitors accounting for over two thirds of arrivals. This growth into Asia will certainly reduce the dependence on the European market, as the airline’s acting chief executive Andre Viljoen noted. “This flight is a first step in our development in one of the world's fastest growing economies," he said.