Beachcomber - Luxury holiday specialists to the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, the Seychelles, Reunion and Africa

Air Mauritius took delivery of its new Airbus A330-200 aircraft yesterday in Toulouse. Named after the legendary aquatic plant Nénuphar, which grows in abundance at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden at Pamplemousses, the aircraft will together with the first A330-200 Trochetia delivered in 2007, improve our regional offer and will be mainly deployed on medium haul routes in India, Asia and Australia. The aircraft is equipped with GE CF6 engines and will be operated in a two class configuration – 24 lie-flat business class and 251 economy class seats. It features fly-by-wire controls and shares the unique cockpit commonality across the entire Airbus Family. This allows flight crews to fly each aircraft of the family with minimal additional training. Mr. Manoj R.K. Ujoodha, G.O.S.K, the airline’s CEO, who was in Toulouse to take delivery of the aircraft stated: “This new aircraft is a milestone in the history of the airline as it emerges from very challenging times for the aviation industry worldwide. Air Mauritius is, in fact, looking at the future with renewed confidence as it plans to grow capacity worldwide next year. The improvement in our regional offering represents a new opportunity to enhance our overall offering to our customers and partners.”

The CEO further added: “I would like to thank the aircraft manufacturer, the engine manufacturer, seat manufacturer, suppliers of in-flight equipment and suppliers of galleys and numerous other products, the Government and Civil Aviation Authorities. A special thank you goes to the financial institutions (namely Calyon, Dekabank and State Bank of Mauritius) who worked together to structure the financing of the aircraft. I also wish to pay tribute to my colleagues at Air Mauritius for the team effort and for a job well done.” The Nénuphar will operate its first commercial flight to Mumbai this afternoon.

Air Mauritius is the national carrier of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Created in 1967, it currently operates a fleet of four A340-300, two A340-300E, two A319-100, two A330-200 and two ATR72-500. Air Mauritius presently flies to twenty-three destinations in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Indian Ocean.