Revamped Shorts resumes flights |13 October 2004

Air Seychelles' Shorts 360, which began its regular services between Mahe and Praslin on Saturday October 9, had been in the city of Guernsey in the Channel Islands undergoing a 'D-check' inspection for the past five weeks.

Air Seychelles officials said the D-check, with a price tag of R3 million, is an intense inspection that involves stripping the plane of its components for testing. The D-check is carried out about every five years.

"Just about everything you can take out of the aircraft is taken out during a D-check," said domestic services general manager Eddie d'Offay while speaking to reporters inside the plane Tuesday October 12.

Mr d'Offay said that both local engineers and those from Anglo Normandy – the firm contracted to carry out the inspections – found the plane to be in good condition, and that there were no serious problems.

He said this was welcome news to confirm the quality of the aircraft, especially since the airline had recently purchased the plane. Air Seychelles first began leasing the Shorts in September 2002.

The D-check also allowed for the installation of a new interior, Mr d'Offay said. The seats have been redesigned to be more comfortable, new windows have been installed and the cabin has an "airier and lighter feel to it," he said.

The airline has also installed a high-frequency radio in the Shorts – used in the 29-hour journey from Seychelles to Guernsey – which airline officials said would be useful if the Shorts takes up flights to Alphonse or Desroches.

Mr d'Offay said the Island Development Company (IDC) approached the airline about the possibility of conducting flights to the two islands in the event that IDC's aircraft encountered difficulties. Air Seychelles is working to get approval from the Directorate of Civil Aviation for the Shorts to fly to those islands, he said.

With the return of the Shorts, Air Seychelles has completed a major overhaul of the four aircraft in its domestic fleet. Its three twin otters were revamped during the course of this year and last year.

According to Mr d'Offay, the Shorts' five-week absence sometimes caused problems with getting baggage to Praslin for international passengers connecting with the domestic service, as the twin otters did not have adequate payload capacity.

But aside from one week in which two of the twin otters experienced technical problems, operations "went quite smoothly" as the Shorts D-check had been marked down in the airline's reservation system in advance.

"Needless to say, we're very happy that the Shorts is back," he allowed, adding that the plane's workload could be set to increase in light of the pending arrival of Emirates and Qatar Airways. The airline is not, however, looking to acquire additional planes at the moment.

Air Seychelles also announced Tuesday that its 9-seater Islander aircraft would be withdrawn from service.

Mr d'Offay said as the small aircraft had been essentially reduced to a cargo plane, and an upcoming required inspection would cost more than the market value of the Islander itself, Air Seychelles would attempt to sell.