Air Mauritius
Encyclopedia
Air Mauritius Limited, stylised as Air Mauritius, is the flag carrier
of Mauritius
. The airline is headquartered at the Air Mauritius Centre in Port Louis
, Mauritius. Its main base is Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport
. It operates under the IATA airline designator MK and the ICAO airline designator MAU; its callsign is AIRMAURITIUS.
The carrier is 51%-owned by Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd., which is in turn owned in its majority by the Mauritian Government. Air Mautitius' wholy-owned subsidiaries are Airmate Ltd., Air Mauritius Holidays (Pty) Ltd. Australia, Air Mauritius SA (Proprietary) Ltd., Mauritian Holidays Ltd. (UK) and Mauritius Helicopters Ltd.; partly-owned subsidiaries are Mauritius Estate Development Corporation Ltd. (93.7%), Pointe Coton Resort Hotel Company Ltd. (54.2%), and Mauritius Shopping Paradise Company Ltd. (41.7%).
The company has an important standing in the Europe
an, Africa
n, and the Indian Ocean
region markets; it actually has won the “2011 Indian Ocean Leading Airline Prize”, which has been awarded to the airline for the seventh consecutive year. It also performs a range of services in Mauritius for international airlines. Out of a five-star ranking, the carrier's inflight service is awarded 3 stars by Skytrax
.
, the BOAC
enterprise, and the Government of Mauritius, with a 27.5% stake each; the balance was held by Rogers and Co. Ltd., the general sales agent for Air France and BOAC within Mauritius.
At 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
. In 1973, a wet-leased VC-10 from British Airways enabled the company to launch a long-haul route to London
via Nairobi
. Likewise, long-range operations in its own right started on using a Boeing 707
wet-leased from British Airtours
.
During the 1970s
and 1980s
, long-haul routes were operated with Boeing 707
s and Boeing 747 SPs. These aircraft have been gradually replaced with Boeing 767
s and Airbus A340
s, introduced in 1988 and 1994, respectively. African medium-haul routes started being operated with the Airbus A319 following its delivery in 2001, and ATR 42
s and ATR 72
s were introduced in 1987 and 2002, respectively, to operate inter-island services.
In 1995 the company was listed on the stock exchange of Mauritius. The airline is owned by Air Mauritius Holding (51%), publicly held (19.97%), Port Louis Fund (6.32%), the State Investment Corporation (4.72%), government of Mauritius (4.53%), Rogers and Company (4.28%), Air France
(2.78%) and Air India
(2.56%). It employs a staff 2,761-strong (at March 2007).
The airline has the Paille-en-Queue, a fish-eating tropical bird, as its symbol.
, Asia
, Europe
, and Oceania
. Shanghai
became the 26th destination served by the company in early July 2011.
s, named “City of Port Louis” and “City of Curepipe”. One of these aircraft set a record-breaking distance for commercial twinjets on , when it flew non-stop from Halifax, Nova Scotia
to Mauritius, covering a distance of almost 9000 miles (14,484.1 km) in less than 17 hours.
In 1994, the airline became the first one in the Southern Hemisphere
to fly the Airbus A340-300. The Enhanced version of the type 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. Also that month, the last original Airbus A340-300 ever built was delivered to the company; it was register
ed 3B-NBJ and named “Le Chamarel”. Likewise, in 2007 the airline retrofitted all other Airbus A340-300s in its fleet. In late 2007, the fleet saw the incorporation of the Airbus A330-200
. In March 2007, Air Mauritius became the first Southern Africa
n country airline to fly an all-Airbus fleet for long- and medium-haul routes.
, the airline has not suffered any accident or incident that led to fatalities.
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. The airline is headquartered at the Air Mauritius Centre in Port Louis
Port Louis
-Economy:The economy is dominated by its port, which handles Mauritius' international trade. The port was founded by the French who preferred Port Louis as the City is shielded by the Port Louis/Moka mountain range. It is the largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean and can...
, Mauritius. Its main base is Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport , known as SSR Airport or previously as Plaisance Airport, is an international airport serving the island country of Mauritius. The airport is located at Plaine Magnien, near Plaisance and southeast of Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius...
. It operates under the IATA airline designator MK and the ICAO airline designator MAU; its callsign is AIRMAURITIUS.
The carrier is 51%-owned by Air Mauritius Holdings Ltd., which is in turn owned in its majority by the Mauritian Government. Air Mautitius' wholy-owned subsidiaries are Airmate Ltd., Air Mauritius Holidays (Pty) Ltd. Australia, Air Mauritius SA (Proprietary) Ltd., Mauritian Holidays Ltd. (UK) and Mauritius Helicopters Ltd.; partly-owned subsidiaries are Mauritius Estate Development Corporation Ltd. (93.7%), Pointe Coton Resort Hotel Company Ltd. (54.2%), and Mauritius Shopping Paradise Company Ltd. (41.7%).
The company has an important standing in the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n, and the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
region markets; it actually has won the “2011 Indian Ocean Leading Airline Prize”, which has been awarded to the airline for the seventh consecutive year. It also performs a range of services in Mauritius for international airlines. Out of a five-star ranking, the carrier's inflight service is awarded 3 stars by Skytrax
Skytrax
Skytrax is a United Kingdom-based consultancy, the public face of Inflight Research Services, which has the largest airline and airport review and ranking site. It conducts research for commercial airlines...
.
History
The company was set up on by Air FranceAir France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
, the BOAC
Boac
Boac may refer to:* Boac, Marinduque, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* Boac , an American rapper* British Overseas Airways Corporation, a former British state-owned airline...
enterprise, and the Government of Mauritius, with a 27.5% stake each; the balance was held by Rogers and Co. Ltd., the general sales agent for Air France and BOAC within Mauritius.
At the beginning, the carrier operated international services in conjunction with Air France, Air India
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
and British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, 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
Piper PA-31 Navajo
The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built in a number of Latin American countries. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and...
aircraft leased from Air Madagascar
Air Madagascar
Société Nationale Malgache de Transports Aériens, Société Anonyme, operating as Air Madagascar, is an airline based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. It is the national airline operating services to Europe, Asia and neighbouring African and Indian Ocean island destinations. It also operates an extensive...
, connecting Mauritius with Rodrigues
Rodrigues
Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" and "ric" ,...
. In 1973, a wet-leased VC-10 from British Airways enabled the company to launch a long-haul route to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
via Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
. Likewise, long-range operations in its own right started on using a Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
wet-leased from British Airtours
British Airtours
British Airtours was a UK charter airline with flight operations out of London Gatwick and Manchester Airport.Originally established as BEA Airtours in 1969, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of then state-owned British Airways following the British European Airways — British Overseas Airways...
.
During the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
and 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
, long-haul routes were operated with Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
s and Boeing 747 SPs. These aircraft have been gradually replaced with Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
s and Airbus A340
Airbus A340
The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...
s, introduced in 1988 and 1994, respectively. African medium-haul routes started being operated with the Airbus A319 following its delivery in 2001, and ATR 42
ATR 42
-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
s and ATR 72
ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. ATR and Airbus are both built in Toulouse, and share resources and technology...
s were introduced in 1987 and 2002, respectively, to operate inter-island services.
In 1995 the company was listed on the stock exchange of Mauritius. The airline is owned by Air Mauritius Holding (51%), publicly held (19.97%), Port Louis Fund (6.32%), the State Investment Corporation (4.72%), government of Mauritius (4.53%), Rogers and Company (4.28%), Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
(2.78%) and Air India
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
(2.56%). It employs a staff 2,761-strong (at March 2007).
The airline has the Paille-en-Queue, a fish-eating tropical bird, as its symbol.
Destinations
, the Air Mauritius route network comprises 26 destinations in AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
became the 26th destination served by the company in early July 2011.
Codeshare agreements
, Air Mauritius has codeshare agreements with the following companies, which are the actual operators on the routes specified:- Air FranceAir FranceAir France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
, on the Port Louis–ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
–Port Louis route and on several EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an routes radiating from Paris - Emirates, on the Port Louis–DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
–Port Louis route - Malaysia AirlinesMalaysia AirlinesMalaysian Airline System Berhad , DBA Malaysia Airlines , is the government-owned flag carrier of Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operates flights from its home base, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and its eastern hub in Kota Kinabalu. It has its headquarters on the grounds of Sultan Abdul Aziz...
, on some routes radiating from Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million... - South African AirwaysSouth African AirwaysSouth African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...
, on the Port Louis–JohannesburgJohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
–Port Louis route
Frequent flyer programme
Air Mauritius frequent flyer programme is called Kestrelflyer, which offers Silver and Gold accounts.Fleet
In April 1988 the company acquired two Boeing 767-200ERBoeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
s, named “City of Port Louis” and “City of Curepipe”. One of these aircraft set a record-breaking distance for commercial twinjets on , when it flew non-stop from Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
to Mauritius, covering a distance of almost 9000 miles (14,484.1 km) in less than 17 hours.
In 1994, the airline became the first one in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
to fly the Airbus A340-300. The Enhanced version of the type 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. Also that month, the last original Airbus A340-300 ever built was delivered to the company; it was register
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
ed 3B-NBJ and named “Le Chamarel”. Likewise, in 2007 the airline retrofitted all other Airbus A340-300s in its fleet. In late 2007, the fleet saw the incorporation of the Airbus A330-200
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....
. In March 2007, Air Mauritius became the first Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
n country airline to fly an all-Airbus fleet for long- and medium-haul routes.
Current fleet
, the Air Mauritius fleet consists of the following equipment, with an average age of 8.1 years:| Aircraft | In fleet | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A319-100 | 1 | — | 16 | 108 | 124 | Both aircraft in new livery Aircraft livery Aircraft livery is a paint scheme applied to an aircraft, generally to fuselage, wings, empennage , or jet engines. Most airlines have a standard paint scheme for their aircraft fleet, usually prominently displaying the airline logo or name. From time to time special liveries are introduced, for... |
| 1 | — | — | 132 | 132 | ||
| Airbus A330-200 | 2 | — | 24 | 251 | 275 | One aircraft in new livery |
| Airbus A340-300 | 4 | — | 34 | 264 | 298 | All aircraft in new livery |
| Airbus A340-300 Enhanced | 2 | — | 266 | 300 | ||
| ATR 72-500 | 2 | — | — | 72 | 72 | Both aircraft in new livery |
| Total | 12 | — | ||||
Historical fleet
The airline previously operated the following aircraft:- ATR-42 300
- ATR-42 500
- Boeing 707-320B
- Boeing 707-430Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
- Boeing 737-200Boeing 737The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
- Boeing 747SPBoeing 747SPThe Boeing 747SP is a modified version of the Boeing 747 jet airliner which was designed for ultra-long-range flights. The SP stands for "Special Performance". Compared with its predecessor, the 747-100, the 747SP retains its wide-body, four-engine layout, along with its double-deck design, but...
- Boeing 767-200ERBoeing 767The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
- Boeing 767-300Boeing 767The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
- Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
- Twin Otter
Incidents and Accidents
According to Aviation Safety NetworkAviation Safety Network
-External links:**...
, the airline has not suffered any accident or incident that led to fatalities.