July 6 2012 -- Air Seychelles, which recently faced difficulties, yesterday flew its first ever Airbus aircraft to the islands’ international airport.

It is a new beginning for the airline, Seychelles’ President James A Michel said after welcoming the state-of-the-art plane.

He hailed Air Seychelles’ strategic partnership with Etihad Airways. President Michel noted that being able to weather the crisis and “spread its wings” at this time, as a result of the partnership, was historic for Air Seychelles. He added that Air Seychelles would be able to maintain a global presence, showing its colours while building the capacity of its Seychellois staff through Etihad’s contacts and continuing to contribute to the country’s economy.     

President Michel was accompanied at the welcoming ceremony by Vice-President Danny Faure, Home Affairs and Transport Minister Joel Morgan, and other VIPs.

An all-Seychellois crew, with first officer Captain Paul Belle in the cockpit,  flew the A300 into Seychelles.

After cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the new aircraft, named Aldabra after the famous giant-land-tortoise atoll in the south of the archipelago, President Michel and the guests toured the plane and greeted members of the crew and returning employees who were on training in Abu Dhabi. One could feel the pride of the airline’s staff on board, he later said.

Minister Morgan recalled that three months ago Air Seychelles announced that it would modernize its international fleet by retiring the remaining Boeing 767s and bring in the newer Airbus A300s. He added that Air Seychelles now offered a product equal, if not better, than that of its competitors.

The Minister said “it is a huge undertaking to accomplish in such a short time. It has not been an easy transition and there have been many challenges along the way”.

He thanked President Michel for steadfastly believing that Air Seychelles must continue as “our national carrier, at a time when it faced seemingly impossible odds for its future survival”.