Air Seychelles, the small national airline of the Seychelles, is resuming long haul flights… even though it doesn’t have a plane capable of operating such service.
In this post:
Air Seychelles will fly from Mahe to Paris with leased plane
It goes without saying that it has been a rough few weeks for global aviation, not just because of the spike in oil prices, but also due to all the flight disruptions in the Middle East.
Beyond Gulf countries directly, this has also had a big impact on places like the Seychelles, which are heavily reliant on tourism, and where flights largely route through Gulf hubs. So the airline is getting creative with restoring some more service to the country.
Between March 22 and April 29, 2026, Air Seychelles will temporarily operate 3x weekly flights between Mahe (SEZ) and Paris (CDG). The flight will operate with the following schedule:
HM1008 Mahe to Paris departing 9:00AM arriving 5:30PM
HM1007 Paris to Mahe departing 7:30PM arriving 7:30AM (+1 day)
The 4,871-mile flight is scheduled to operate in both directions on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and it’s blocked at 10hr30min to France and 10hr to the Seychelles.
Here’s what perhaps makes this most interesting, though. Air Seychelles’ fleet consists of just seven planes, including two Airbus A320neos and five DHC-6-400 Twin Otters, so how is the airline going to operate this route?
Air Seychelles will temporarily be leasing an Etihad Boeing 787-9, which presumably has limited flying opportunities at the moment, due to the conflict. The plane is equipped with 290 seats, including 28 business class seats and 262 economy class seats.
So this seems like a win-win, in terms of allowing Air Seychelles to transport passengers, while Etihad can generate some revenue as well. I imagine this will be a full-on wet lease agreement, so Etihad crews will operate these flights.
Here’s how Air Seychelles CEO Sandy Benoiton describes this:
“The introduction of non-stop flights to Paris marks an important milestone for Air Seychelles and for the country’s international connectivity, especially at this time. France has always been a vital market for Seychelles, and this service will provide a convenient and comfortable travel option for both visitors and Seychellois travelers while supporting the continued growth of our tourism industry.”
This is a full-circle moment for Air Seychelles, sort of
Air Seychelles’ (temporary) Paris service is technically a route resumption, as the airline flew this route until 2018. At the time, Etihad owned a stake in Air Seychelles, and Etihad was all about getting its equity partners to expand long haul. This was during James Hogan’s “how much money can Etihad light on fire” era, which was kind of awesome for passengers, as long as it lasted.
So at the time, Air Seychelles had two Airbus A330s, and one of the routes was to Paris. Unfortunately in 2018 the airline underwent a radical transformation, which included canceling long haul flights, and returning A330s to leasing companies. I flew this exact route just weeks after Air Seychelles returned its aircraft, so my flight ended up being operated fully by Etihad.
While the Abu Dhabi-based carrier stuck around a little longer, in 2021, Etihad sold its 40% stake in Air Seychelles for $1. So since the companies no longer have an equity partnership, it’s interesting to see this agreement between the two airlines.
Bottom line
Air Seychelles will be resuming its Mahe to Paris flight, after a roughly eight year hiatus. However, this route is only expected to operate for a limited time, in light of the lack of service from Gulf countries at the moment. I’m intrigued by the flight being operated by an Etihad 787, given that Etihad used to own a stake in the airline.
What do you make of Air Seychelles returning to Paris?
Ben, really interesting article. I'm intrigued enough to take a look at the J pricing. It'd be great if other ME airlines would adopt this approach with flights to MLE.
HI Ben, can you dig into QR aircraft utilization? It seems like they are flying wihtout stopping in Doha, such as London to Colombo (QR7419, A7-BAY) or London to KUL, etc. Are these just cardo flights?
…. and now for a little fun to liven up the proceedings ….
As it is getting closer to the announcement date for the 2026, World Airlines Rankings; I thought that it might be fun to offer my own top ten predictions.
1. Singapore Airlines.
2. Qatar Airlines.
3. Cathay Pacific.
4. ANA.
5. Air France.
6. Turkish Airlines.
7. Emirates.
8. Korean Airlines.
9. Japan...
…. and now for a little fun to liven up the proceedings ….
As it is getting closer to the announcement date for the 2026, World Airlines Rankings; I thought that it might be fun to offer my own top ten predictions.
1. Singapore Airlines.
2. Qatar Airlines.
3. Cathay Pacific.
4. ANA.
5. Air France.
6. Turkish Airlines.
7. Emirates.
8. Korean Airlines.
9. Japan Airlines.
10. EVA Air.
Perhaps Tim Dunn, has the inside track on some airline information which will contradict my predictions?
Did you forget to log-in again, or is this the faker? If it were Tim's list, there'd just be one airline on there... *cough* Otherwise, you forgot Etihad; remove Turkish; tie between JAL and ANA. No love for Qantas?
An interesting submission 1990Bot. Actually Etihad slipped from 19th place in 2024, down to 26th place in 2025. It would take one massive improvement to jump into the top ten this year …. Yes?
That said, I do rate their A380 Suites experience and would place it in third position, after Singapore equal first with Air France. Air France outbound to Singapore was an exquisite experience, but returning via Paris is not an option for...
An interesting submission 1990Bot. Actually Etihad slipped from 19th place in 2024, down to 26th place in 2025. It would take one massive improvement to jump into the top ten this year …. Yes?
That said, I do rate their A380 Suites experience and would place it in third position, after Singapore equal first with Air France. Air France outbound to Singapore was an exquisite experience, but returning via Paris is not an option for us. Because Singapore Airlines flies the A380 into LHR, that option becomes a no brainer for us.
Turkish Airlines are rated very highly in and around Europe. The London to Istanbul route is a very enjoyable experience. London to Cairo via an Istanbul stopover for a few days, is one of the only indirect flights I rate.
I have no experience of the Japanese duo, therefore, can hardly comment. As for Qantas, used them regionally but never long haul. I really do not care for their F seats, several others are preferred to Qantas.
*beep boop*
This is actually brilliant, and what ME carriers should be doing during the conflict: Lease/relocate aircraft onto routes from Europe to Asia/Africa/elsewhere. These long-haul aircraft can get the job done; CDG/LHR/FRA/MXP/MAD/AMS-SEZ/MRU/MLE/HKT/BKK/DPS, etc. Sure, in the past, they'd connect in AUH/DXB/DOH, but... not wise right now. Revert back once things 'calm down.'
I flew Air Seychelles from/to Paris in 2016 on their A330, the same plane both ways. And, incidentally, I flew on the same machine again in 2018, but this time it was Fiji Airlines. It was S7-ADB, which now seems to be flying for Air Mauritius.