Selling Travel September 19

68
spotlight on
Talking...
Air
Mauritius
In conversation with... Ian Nash,
Regional Manager UK & Ireland, Air Mauritius
QWhat’s new with Air Mauritius?
A: We are delighted and proud to have
started operating brand-new A330-900neo
aircraft this year on our London route,
making Air Mauritius the first A330neo
operator in the Indian Ocean and the
world’s first operator of both the A350-XWB,
which flies on our Paris to Mauritius
route, and the A330neo,
Airbuses’ new generation
of wide-bodied aircraft.
This really is a sea
change for us
and shows our
commitment
to providing
the very best
quality product to
Mauritius.
Why should
Q agents book
with you?
A: As the national carrier, their
customers will experience Mauritius
the moment they step on the aircraft. Our
Mauritian cabin crew are renowned for
their friendly, professional service whilst
our unique ‘cooking without borders’ menu
brings together a wonderful blend of Indian,
African, Chinese and European flavours.
This, plus totally new product – including
fully flat business class seats, state-of-theart
inflight entertainment and large full HD
screens – means Air Mauritius offers agents
the very best value for money on non-stop
direct flights to Mauritius - plus, we are the
only carrier to fly direct from Heathrow
to Mauritius and will carry golf bags and
wedding dresses at no extra charge.
We are the National Airline of Mauritius
and celebrated our 50th anniversary in
2017. A Skytrax four-star rated airline,
Air Mauritius has been voted the Indian
Ocean’s leading airline by The
World Travel Awards 14 times
in 17 years.
How do you
Q work with
agents?
A: Our busy
sales team call
on agents all
over the country,
delivering product
updates and training
sessions. With new
products to show off,
we try to send as many
sellers to the island as we
can; this year we’ll send over 100
on educationals. Our Air Mauritius Training
(airmauritiusacademy.com) is a great way
for agents to find out more about us. We
also post information and promotional
opportunities on our trade Facebook and
Instagram pages.
QWhat benefits do agents get for
working with Air Mauritius?
A: We regularly partner with top resorts
on the island to offer incentive promotions
where top sellers can win a holiday for
two. Top revenue-producing partners
receive incentive payments, free staff and
management tickets plus educational seats.
QWhat are the twin-centre options with
Air Mauritius?
A: We fly to over 20 destinations from our
hub in Mauritius. Probably the most popular
is the combination of a safari in South
Africa followed by relaxing on the beach
in Mauritius. We offer a wide selection of
flights from Johannesburg, Cape Town and
Durban. But as customers strive for new
experiences, our flights to Madagascar have
seen increased demand whilst Mauritius
provides the best stopover location enroute
to Perth in Australia. Other destinations
connected to Mauritius include India, South
East Asia and China.
QWhat does the future hold?
A: We have a fleet investment
programme and will continue to focus on
providing the very best flying experience in
the Indian Ocean. In the UK, our short term
focus will be to ensure all our partners are
fully aware and hopefully experience the
new improved level of onboard service.
In the future we’re keen to offer more
flight options to Mauritius, with a possible
increase in the number of direct flights.
sellingtravel.co.uk