Air Mauritius drops morning flight, adds capacity .” –

AIR Mauritius will drop its Saturday
morning departures out of
Johannesburg, effective August
21. The airline will compensate for
the reduction in capacity with the
introduction of its A340 wide-body
aircraft on its Sunday flights, which
are currently operated by the A319.
Air Mauritius morning flights
were introduced in July last year to
offer travellers a more favourable
schedule. “We have been reviewing
the flights on an on-going basis and,
despite all our efforts to make a
success of these departures, the
cost impact versus the revenue
generation is not commercially viable
for Air Mauritius any longer,” the
airline said in a statement. “Parking
the aircraft overnight, coupled with
crew and handling costs, came at
a huge cost for the airline, and the
revenue did not justify the costs on
these operations.”
The A340 features 254 economy
seats and 34 business-class seats.
Passengers can upgrade to
business class on the day of
departure for R1 850. Air Mauritius
currently operates wide-body
aircraft on Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays.