Air Seychelles gears up for launch of China flights

Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, is set for the commencement of a once-per-week, non-stop service between Seychelles and Beijing, the capital and cultural centre of China.

The inaugural passenger flight HM887 will take off from Seychelles International Airport at 10:40 am on Tuesday 2 February to arrive in the Chinese capital at 1:30 am the following morning.

On the return leg, flight HM888, will depart Beijing Capital International Airport at 2:50 am on Wednesday 3 February to touch down in Mahé, the main island of the Seychelles archipelago, early the same day at 10:20 am.

Joël Morgan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Chairman of Air Seychelles, said: “The introduction of scheduled non-stop flights between Seychelles and Beijing will be a tremendously proud moment in the history of Air Seychelles, demonstrating the impressive growth of our national airline over the past four years.

“The Beijing service will enhance the deeply-rooted cultural and trade ties between our countries and bring significant numbers of Chinese leisure travellers to our shores, boosting the national economy.”

A metropolis of more than 21 million people, Beijing is one of the fastest-growing outbound tourism markets in the world, with an increasing number of holidaymakers who are choosing Seychelles as their leisure destination.

The weekly flight will be operated using a wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft which offers a total capacity of 254 seats.

Roy Kinnear, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles, said: “We are pleased to reveal the launch date of our Beijing service and look forward to welcoming our first guests onboard the flights.

“Our famous inflight service has been especially tailored for the Chinese market with meals inspired by Chinese cuisine that are served with chop sticks, Mandarin-speaking cabin crew and Chinese films and music on the inflight entertainment systems.

“Guests will also be able to use our newly-introduced inflight connectivity service, HM Connect, to call family and friends, browse the internet and post on their favorite weibo or wechat service while flying over the Indian Ocean.

“As we prepare for the first flight to Beijing, we would like to thank the Seychelles and Chinese civil aviation and airport authorities for their support in the realization of this important new air bridge between Seychelles and China.”

The Air Seychelles Airbus A330 was transferred to the Seychelles civil aircraft register in 2015, enabling the carrier to expand its network to Beijing, where this is a regulatory requirement.

The new flight tickets are available for purchase through Air Seychelles web site: www.airseychelles.com, by contacting the Air Seychelles contact centre on +248 439 1000 or travel agents.

Air Seychelles flight schedule for Seychelles-Beijing flights, commencing 2 February 2016:

Air Seychelles was established in 1978 and began long-haul service in 1983. The airline currently offers international flights to Abu Dhabi, Antananarivo, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Mauritius, Mumbai and Paris. Air Seychelles also offers more than 200 domestic scheduled flights a week throughout the archipelago, including domestic charter services. As the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, Air Seychelles is a pillar of tourism, the island nation’s strongest and growing economic sector. The airline maintains a strategic partnership with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and 40 per cent stakeholder.