New: Air Canada Aeroplan & Air Mauritius Partnership

One of my favorite things about Air Canada Aeroplan is the emphasis that the program has on adding partners. Aeroplan has more airline partners than any other airline frequent flyer program. We’ve seen several partners added in recent months, including Etihad, Azul, Vistara, Air Serbia, Virgin Australia, Air Dolomiti, Eurowings Discover, Gulf Air, and Oman Air.

In December 2021, Air Canada Aeroplan launched a new partnership with Air Mauritius. Initially when the partnership went live, only award redemptions were possible on Air Mauritius. However, as of today, you can also earn points for travel on Air Mauritius.

Keep in mind that with the new Aeroplan program having been launched in late 2020, members have access to award tickets with no carrier imposed surcharges, as well as stopovers for just 5,000 extra points one-way.

Air Canada & Air Mauritius partnership details

A loyalty program partnership has been launched between Air Canada and Air Mauritius, allowing Aeroplan members to earn and redeem points for travel on Air Mauritius. I wanted to take a look at the opportunities this affords, and also talk about Air Mauritius, for those who aren’t familiar.

What is Air Mauritius?

Air Mauritius is the national airline of Mauritius, as you may have guessed based on the name. The carrier operates long haul flights to London and Paris, and also operates flights to Johannesburg, Madagascar, Mumbai, and Réunion, among other destinations.

Air Mauritius currently operates a fleet of nine aircraft, including two Airbus A350-900s, four Airbus A330-900neos, and three ATR 72-500s.

Redeem Aeroplan points on Air Mauritius

It’s possible to redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points on all Air Mauritius flights. A few things to note:

• Air Mauritius awards follow Aeroplan’s standard partner award pricing chart
• Aeroplan members have access to business class and economy class awards on Air Mauritius
• Aeroplan members are able to book Air Mauritius flights online at aircanada.com, or via the call center
• Air Mauritius flights are combinable with flights operated by Air Canada and other international airline partners (so you could fly from Newark to London on United, and London to Mauritius on Air Mauritius, for example)
• While there are no carrier imposed surcharges, the standard 39 CAD partner booking fee applies

For context, here’s the Aeroplan award chart for travel within the Atlantic region (which includes both Europe and Africa):

Here’s Aeroplan’s award chart for travel between North America and the Atlantic region (if you were flying from the United States to Africa):

For example, you could fly one-way in business class:

• From Paris to Mauritius for 60,000 Aeroplan points
• From Newark to London to Mauritius to Madagascar for 100,000 Aeroplan points

If you wanted a stopover on an itinerary for more than 24 hours, you could book that for an additional 5,000 points, which is a great deal.

Air Canada Aeroplan is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Capital One, so if you have transferrable points this is a great program to book through. On top of that, there’s the new Aeroplan® Credit Card (review), which is lucrative and recently launched in the United States.

Earn Aeroplan points on Air Mauritius

It’s also now possible to earn Aeroplan points for all scheduled flights on Air Mauritius. However, you don’t earn any Status Qualifying Miles (SQMs) for Air Mauritius flights. Here is the Aeroplan points earning chart for Air Mauritius:

Bottom line

Air Canada Aeroplan has added Air Mauritius as an airline partner, and it’s now possible to earn and redeem Aeroplan points for travel on Air Mauritius. This is a great new partnership for those looking to travel to Africa. Air Mauritius offers a good business class product, and award availability is generally also easy to come by.

If you have transferable points, the best way to book Air Mauritius is now through Air Canada Aeroplan. I’m delighted by how Aeroplan keeps adding new airline partners, which is something that other programs simply don’t seem to be pursuing in the same way.

What do you make of the new Air Canada Aeroplan & Air Mauritius partnership?