Air Seychelles, Alitalia and Etihad Airways |11 September 2015

Strong air connections between Italy and Seychelles

(From left) Bernadette Willemin, director Europe at the Seychelles Tourism Board; Lorna Dalziel, general manager Italy at Etihad Airways; Roy Kinnear, chief executive of Air Seychelles and Nicola Bonacchi, vice-president sales Italy at Alitalia, at the Air Seychelles media conference held at the Alitalia and Etihad Airways joint pavilion at Expo Milano 2015

Air Seychelles now offers travellers convenient one-stop connections between three of Italy’s biggest cities and Seychelles as a result of strong collaboration with its codeshare partners Alitalia and Etihad Airways.

Speaking at a media conference yesterday as part of the ‘Seychelles Week’ events at Expo Milano 2015, Roy Kinnear, chief executive of Air Seychelles, said the island carrier’s focus on partnerships has provided leisure and holidaymakers in Italy with enhanced flight options from Milan, Rome and Venice to Seychelles.

Mr Kinnear said: “Italy is a very important tourism market for Seychelles and we have already carried over 7,000 visitors from Italy to our shores in the first seven months of 2015. We are delighted that, by working with our partners Alitalia and Etihad Airways, we can offer travellers convenient, daily connections to our famous archipelago via Abu Dhabi.

“This demonstrates the strength of Etihad Airways partners and our codeshare strategy, which together have expanded our network to more destinations across Italy, and a wider international network than we could fly to alone.

“Seychelles and Italy are both highly-recognised destination brands. Italy is known for its rich history, culture and sense of style, and Seychelles for the unmatched beauty of its natural environment. With these air connections, we can further strengthen our brand presence and promote trade and tourism growth at both ends.”

Travellers can fly from Milan, Rome and Venice to Seychelles via Abu Dhabi on daily codeshare flights operated by Air Seychelles, Alitalia and Etihad Airways. 

Once in Abu Dhabi, travellers are able to connect onto a daily Seychelles-bound service operated by Air Seychelles on an Airbus A320 aircraft, with 16 business class and 120 economy class seats.

On arrival in Mahé, guests can take advantage of over 20 daily domestic flights operated by Air Seychelles to Praslin, the second-biggest island in the archipelago and the home of the famous Vallée de Mai nature reserve, a listed Unesco World Heritage Site.

The media conference was opened by popular Italian actress, model and influential fashion blogger, Elena Barolo, and took place as part of a week-long programme hosted by Air Seychelles, Alitalia and Etihad Airways to promote the Indian Ocean archipelago in Italy.

Other events included presentations on Seychelles to the travel trade, and live cooking classes to show guests how to make popular traditional Seychellois recipes such as pumpkin chutney, grilled Red Snapper and coconut curry.

Expo Milano 2015 opened on May 1, 2015 and will run until October 31, 2015, during which time it is expected to attract an estimated 20 million visitors.