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Archive -Seychelles

Minister Morgan holds consultative meetings with airline executives |13 March 2014

 

Executives of airlines providing services to Seychelles have for the last few weeks been meeting Home Affairs and Transport Minister Joël Morgan to discuss business issues and concerns they are faced with.

A communiqué from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Transport writes that the airline industry globally continues to be fluid as companies look to regain financial strength either through mergers, strategic financial investments in other airlines, membership to global airline alliances as seen in the United States of America, Europe, and Asia and within the region further expansion to open up the Asian markets.  

As a global business, the airline industry has seen its fortunes rise on aggressive promotions and better managing route and seat capacity. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade group for the world's biggest airlines, has said that it expects industry profits to hit a record US $19.7 billion in 2014, an increase of more than 50% on the US $12.9 billion estimate made for 2013, adds the communiqué.

According to the world respected Economist magazine, despite the headline number, the airline business remains vulnerable “to oil-price shocks, accidents and terrorism.  And profit per passenger according to the IATA expects to be less than US $6 in 2014.”

Seychelles despite being appreciated as a ‘must visit destination’ still remains a small player as far as airlines are concerned.  It is for this reason even as Seychelles as a destination seeks modest gains on improving visitor arrivals for 2013 that the services on offer must be at a minimum above the rest within the region when benchmarked.  



“It is my intention to understand fully the concerns of the airline companies flying into Seychelles for we value their presence and the exposure and possibilities they create. I am receptive to ideas that they may have on improving the product on offer at our airports, primarily the international arrivals and departures, as well as our domestic operations both on Mahé and on Praslin, or what they perceive as hindrances to  their operations here if and where they exist,” said Minister Morgan.

To date, Minister Morgan has held meetings with the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the Seychelles Hospitality and Tourism Association (SHTA) where both organisations were able to put their points across in regards to airline operations into Seychelles.

“At the end of all these meetings, we seek to improve and as well better place ourselves so that we may not only attract other airlines to our skies but as well to work to get those airlines who have left us, or announced that they are, to come back at some point in time,” added Minister Morgan.

 

 

 

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