Air Seychelles Reports Net Profit of US$3.2m for 2014

Air Seychelles has reported a net profit of US$3.2m for 2014.

The result exceeds last year’s profit of US$3 million and reflects continued improvement in the airline’s key performance indicators, following Etihad Airways’ acquisition of a 40% share in 2012 and the implementation of a turnaround plan to create a sustainable business.

As a result of significant network growth in 2014, total revenue increased by 20% to US$106.9 million, compared with US$88.7 million in 2013. Passenger revenue accounts for US$81 million – up from US$66 million in 2013.

Cargo tonnage for the same period rose strongly by 34% to 7,311 tonnes, up from 5,441 tonnes in 2013.

“Air Seychelles is delivering for the economy and people of Seychelles through employment, tourism, trade and a substantial increase in the awareness of Seychelles’ brand in Africa, Europe and Asia,” said Joël Morgan, Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport and Air Seychelles Board Chairman. “With further significant financial support from its shareholders, we hope Air Seychelles can announce a further expansion of its network in its key markets as well as new markets in 2015, thereby increasing its economic contribution to Seychelles.”

Air Seychelles’ network is also growing through codeshares and the airline now has codeshare agreements with five international partners giving travellers access to 45 destinations across 28 countries on five continents, with more planned.

The airline’s codeshare partners include Etihad Airways, South African Airways, airberlin, Alitalia and Hong Kong Airlines, which feed traffic onto Air Seychelles’ network while providing greater convenience and choice for travellers. During the year, Air Seychelles signed two new codeshare agreements - with Alitalia to Rome and Venice, and Hong Kong Airlines to Bangkok.

Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles, Manoj Papa, said, “Our increased profit figure is the result of higher revenue, greater productivity and an ongoing focus on costs ... Our strategy is to use Seychelles’ unique position in the Indian Ocean to capture the strong travel flows between East Africa, the Western Indian Ocean, the UAE and the Indian Subcontinent. For example, the strong growth in passenger numbers from Mumbai to other destinations on our network shows this approach is working.”

During 2014, Available Seat Kilometres increased by 27% following the delivery of an Airbus A320, ‘Amirantes’ and two DHC-6 Twin Otters, to complement the Airbus A330-200 which flies the long-haul routes to Paris and Hong Kong via Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg.

“These leased aircraft were made possible because of the relationship with Etihad Airways. They are modern, quiet and comfortable and are the minimum standard necessary if we are to compete effectively in the African, Asian and European markets and maximise the value of the network we are building,” Mr Papa said.

The airline currently employs more than 650 Seychellois, and introduced a Graduate Management Development Program two years ago and now has 14 Seychellois graduate managers. The program is run in Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways and supervised by Air Seychelles. It includes formal training and enables graduate managers to work in many different areas of Etihad Airways.

Cabin Crew also benefit from world-class safety and service training at the Etihad Airways Training Academy in Abu Dhabi, alongside crew from Etihad Airways partner airlines around the world.

“The graduate program is a tangible benefit of our partnership with Etihad Airways and demonstrates our commitment to bringing opportunities to Seychellois,” Mr Papa said. “I am very confident in the future of Air Seychelles; we have a committed team, we are building the long term capability of the Seychellois workforce and we have the strong support of our shareholders, the Government of the Republic of Seychelles and Etihad Airways.”