New Twin Otter enters service this weekend |26 March 2011

This comes after it recently gained its final certification of airworthiness from the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority.

The DHC6-400 Twin Otter was manufactured by Viking Air of Canada and arrived in Seychelles earlier this year.
Air Seychelles’ executive chairman Maurice Loustau-Lalanne said: “The brand-new Twin Otter joins our inter-island service at an opportune time, when our domestic service is handling increasing passenger traffic.”

The airline now has a fleet of three Twin Otters and is operating two of them on its inter-island routes. The third plane is having a routine maintenance check and will be released from Air Seychelles’ engineering hangars next week.

The airline’s Shorts 360-300 aircraft is now having a maintenance check in Guernsey and is expected to return to the inter-island service by May.

The Isle of Curieuse sports the national airline’s new livery, one of a series earmarked for the domestic fleet. Each plane will have a unique paint scheme.

This particular livery portrays our Creole Spirit, and the paint scheme is an abstract depiction of a moutia gathering at sunset.

In a press release yesterday, Air Seychelles said the Creole Spirit embodies a distinct approach to, and celebration of, life that is unique to the Seychelles Islands.

“This explosion of vibrant colours faithfully echoes an authentic, exotic, island style way of living rooted in a multi-ethnic harmony close to the rhythms of nature,” it said.

Air Seychelles said the acquisition of the new Twin Otter is testimony to its commitment to its partners in the tourism, travel and hospitality trade.

It represents an investment of around R56 million, which is especially significant at a time when the airline industry is cash-strapped.