The first order for the Paris Air Show in 2023 has been placed with Airbus. Three additional Airbus A350s have been ordered by Air Mauritius to expand its fleet. Four of the models are already in use by the airline.
The Paris Air Show has gotten off to a sluggish start, with neither Boeing nor Airbus receiving any significant orders on the first day.
But Airbus has started the process by announcing that it will give Air Mauritius three more A350 aircraft. The news comes ahead of a large order that IndiGo is anticipated to place later today.
Airbus is now operational.
Following a quiet opening morning, Airbus has begun operations at the 2017 Paris Air Show. Airbus expects that the three long-range A350-900 widebodies ordered by Air Mauritius will be the first of many announcements it makes during the week-long event.
As the flag carrier of the island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, Air Mauritius is expanding its fleet by three more A350-900s in order to reach more international locations in South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
increasing its long-distance fleet
With the addition of the three newest models, Air Mauritius will have seven A350s in its fleet. In its wide-bodied fleet, the airline already runs four A350-900s together with four A330s (one A330-200 and two A330-900neo) aircraft.
The CEO of Air Mauritius, Kresimir Kucko, said in a statement announcing the purchase at the Paris Air Show today, “Air Mauritius is happy to renew its faith in Airbus and its products, continuing a three-decade-long cooperation. We will be able to improve our European network and ensure continued market expansion with the additional A350-900 planes. Together with Airbus, we look forward to realizing our ambitious goals.
Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International at Airbus, responded to the airline’s remarks by saying,
“We applaud Air Mauritius for making the A350 the centerpiece of its long-haul fleet upgrade program. The A350 is the ideal platform to connect Mauritius to the rest of the globe because it has improved economics, passenger capacity, and comfort.
Air Mauritius’s A350 aircraft
Air Mauritius’s relationship with the A350 model and Airbus as the manufacturer is further strengthened by the addition of more A350s to its fleet. The airline and the type have been working together since the airline got the first of its four current aircraft (registered 3B-NBP) directly from Toulouse in October 2017.
Three further aircraft have since been delivered to the airline: 3B-NBQ in November 2017, 3B-NCE in November 2019, and 3B-NCF in December 2019.Each of the three Air Mauritius aircraft currently in service is propelled by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Each is operated with a two-class layout and 326 seats. There are 298 seats in economy class and 28 in business class.
The airline serves 12 destinations in Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, the Far East, and Australia from its main base at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) using its current four aircraft in addition to its A330s.Additionally, the airline has a fleet of three ATR72-500 turboprops for point-to-point inter-island travel as well as to supplement its long-haul services run by the Airbus widebody aircraft.
