Air Mauritius has taken delivery of its first A330-900, on lease from ALC during a ceremony held in Toulouse. The national carrier of the Republic of Mauritius is the first A330neo operator based in the southern hemisphere, and the first airline in the world to operate a combination of both the A330neo and A350 XWB.

Benefiting from the A330neo’s unbeatable operating economics and award-winning Airspace cabin, the aircraft (named Aapravasi Ghat in reference to Mauritius’ history) will feature a two-class cabin with 28 business class seats and 260 economy class seats.

The carrier will deploy the aircraft on routes connecting Mauritius to Europe (mainly London and Geneva), India and South East Asian routes and on regional destinations including Johannesburg, Antananarivo and Reunion Island.

Air Mauritius CEO Somas Appavou stated: “I am delighted to welcome our first Airbus A330neo, another milestone in our fleet modernisation programme. The addition of two A330neos to our fleet will bring more flexibility and efficiency to our operations while supporting our network strategy.

The A330neo offers similar levels of comfort as the A350 XWB, which has received very favourable feedback from our customers. I strongly believe that with the addition of the A330neo to our fleet, Air Mauritius will further reinforce its focus and emphasis on the customer who are at the very core of our business model.”

Air Mauritius currently operates nine Airbus aircraft, of which two A350-900s, three A340-300s, two A330-200s and two A319s on its regional and long haul services.