This month Flight-Report presents Air Seychelles through two separate reports showcasing different products. Paris to Mahé in long-haul Economy class and the return flight to Paris in Business class.
The International terminal is an open air concept, which gives it a pleasant tropical vibe.
This return flight to Paris-CDG will be in Air Seychelles’ Business class.
Dedicated Business class and Elite status ticket counters.
Going through Security and passport control at SEZ is relatively easy, and we then head to the Air Seychelles Business class lounge—it is the only lounge at SEZ.
Le passage de l'émigration est rapide puis direction le salon d'Air Seychelles, qui est par ailleurs le seul salon disponible.
The lounge agents give a warm welcome—this Air Seychelles A330 is also there to greet passengers.
The Air Seychelles lounge is rather large with a seating capacity of 80+.
There are 6 employees to look after premium passengers in the lounge.
Access to the Air Seychelles lounge is free for Business class passengers and Etihad Guest Gold members. Economy class passengers without elite status may purchase access to the lounge for 30€.
Newspapers and magazines on offer.
Showers are available in the lounge—it is definitely good to have access to showers after a day in the hot tropics and before a long flight.
The restaurant area
Food offering
Sandwiches and canapés
Cheese plates
Pastries
Fresh fruit
Alcohol
Red wine and white wine
Soft drinks
Overall good selection of food and drink !
There is a really nice view of the tarmac from the lounge.
With night falling, one can admire the good looking A330 that will be taking us to Paris.
Departures
Airbus A320
Airbus A330-200
Cargo is an important part of the Air Seychelles business considering that the nation is made up of many islands with much having to be imported.
Heading to the gate through the rather small terminal. Despite the small size, there is a large duty free store.
Boarding for Paris begins on time but is a bit chaotic due to the lack of space in the boarding area.
Business class passengers board at door 1L, while Economy class passengers board from 2L.
The Air Seychelles Business class cabin.
There are 18 seats in Business class, located between door 1 and 2, in a typical 2-2-2 configuration.
The seat pitch is clearly very good, allowing the seats to go full flat. Though these seats recline 180 degrees, there are certainly more modern Business class seats out there.
The 2-2-2 configuration does not allow for the full-aisle-access that frequent business travellers have come to expect these days; however, this setup is fine for a leisure route such as this, with mostly families or couples travelling together.
Here is seat 3A
Pre-departure drink and oshibori
Champagne is offered
A decent choice of reading materials in both French and English, which includes The Economist.
Dinner orders are taken on the ground. Flight attendants kneel down to speak to customers.
Afterwards, headsets and amenity kits are handed out by the cabin crew.
The amenity kit appears to be an Etihad Airways Economy kit, except that the Etihad sticker has been removed. There doesn’t seem to be any difference from the Economy class kit aside from the Templespa cream.
The headset is only marginally better than the ones used in Economy.
Remote control
Air Seychelles’ (and Etihad’s) Airbus A330s are powered by Rolls Royce engines.
The IFE system is the same as in Economy and was presented in detail in the CDG-SEZ report.
The cabin lights are turned back on for the meal service.
Some details of the seat control include buttons for adjusting the seat position and a massage feature.
Reading lights
Air Seychelles is proud to offer some Seychellois products, including SeyBree, a local beer.
Seychellois Banana crisps to go with the Seychellois beer.
Let’s take a detailed look at today’s menu.
Etihad’s influence is obvious insofar as dining is on demand. However, with the late hour, most passengers choose to take dinner immediately after takeoff to maximize sleeping time.
The wine selection is above average for Business class with a choice of champagne, three reds, and 3 whites.
Although the appetizer itself is well presented, the tray and paper cover cheapen the overall look.
Assorted breads
Fried calamari and prawns
The appetizer is tasty and fresh
For the main course, there is a choice of three options.
Red snapper filet in a cococut and coriander sauce served with rice and vegetables
This fish dish was excellent and well balanced.
Sliced chicken breast with broccoli, carrots and roasted herb potatoes in a tajine sauce
A little less creative than the fish option, but very well presented. It is obvious that the meals are plated in the galley as opposed to being pre-prepared and just re-heated.
Black chocolate encrusted Crème brulée with a strawberry coulis.
Let's test out the seat.
In lounging position…
…and full flat mode
The bed is all set with blanket and pillow.
The blanket is not very thick and there is no mattress laid on the seat as with some other Etihad Partners alliance carriers.
The cabin crew hand out water bottles and hot towels to passengers as they settle in for the night.
The seat is comfortable and allows one to get a good night’s sleep.
Another hot towel service in the morning.
Economy class passengers enjoying the IFE content.
Back in Business class, the lights are back on for the breakfast service.
Breakfast breads, toast, and pastries
Seasonal fresh fruit
Bread and butter pudding with peach and pear served with banana sauce
Espresso and fresh orange juice
Air Seychelles branded silverware
Passing by CDG…
…before making a U-turn to align for landing on Runway 08R
Taxiing to Terminal 2A
Our A330 at the gate in Paris.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
The Air Seychelles fleet is composed of 6 Twin Otters, 1 Short 360, 2 Airbus A320s and 2 Airbus A330s.
International destinations include Abu Dhabi, Antananarivo, Dar es Salaam, Hong-Kong, Johannesburg, Mauritius, Mumbai, and Paris.
Roudtrips from Paris to the Seychelles in Business class starting at 3786€
See more
Conclusion
Air Seychelles offers the best product between the Seychelles and Paris with an ideal overnight schedule as with the CDG-SEZ flight.
The lounge in Mahé is quite good with a nice selection of food and beverage, including champagne. The décor is starting to look a bit outdated, however.
Onboard, the Business class cabin is very spacious and pleasant.
The seat is not in the same league as the latest full-flat full-aisle-access seats, but is nevertheless comfortable and turns into a full-flat bed. Being that most airlines from these types of vacation destination still offer angled-flat in Business, Air Seychelles does have a comfort advantage.
The Economy-like amenity kits and use of paper tray covers are disappointing to see in long-haul Business class, but these are small things.
Charming crew that exude the sunshine and warmth of their island nation, a great asset to their company.
POSITIVE:
- Nice lounge in Mahé - Non-stop night flight - Small cabin with only 18 seats - Full-flat bed - Good catering with nice choice of entrées
NOT-SO-POSITIVE:
- The overall look of the cabin is a bit generic and could stand to have a more tropical feel - Headset not so great and IFE below average with small screen and no moving map. - Poor quality amenity kit - Paper meal tray covers
Air Seychelles offers a consistent product on Long haul and domestic flights.
Etihad’s influence can be seen everywhere and this is mostly positive as Etihad is known for quality products. However, it seems that Air Seychelles still needs to distinguish itself as a distinct entity and find its unique branding identity.
Aside from the beautiful destination of the Seychelles, the airline also offers connecting service to other Indian Ocean destinations, namely Mauritius and Madagascar.
Great, detailed and informative trip report, thank you! I dont read Air Seychelles trips often, so it is good to see such a comprehensive review. While the seats do not have direct aisle, it is fully flat which is better than other so called 5 star airlines which still fly around with angled beds. and don't forget other leisure airlines like Hawaiian use recliners!!! Air Seychelles seems to be middle of the road. its not amazing but not bad either and does the job. having said that, i would like to see more creole food on offer. When i fly foreign airlines i love to see them showcase their heritage, even if they are owned by another airline like Etihad.
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I dont read Air Seychelles trips often, so it is good to see such a comprehensive review.
While the seats do not have direct aisle, it is fully flat which is better than other so called 5 star airlines which still fly around with angled beds.
and don't forget other leisure airlines like Hawaiian use recliners!!!
Air Seychelles seems to be middle of the road. its not amazing but not bad either and does the job.
having said that, i would like to see more creole food on offer.
When i fly foreign airlines i love to see them showcase their heritage, even if they are owned by another airline like Etihad.
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