Emirates celebrates 15 years of successful operations to Mauritius

Emirates, the world’s best airline according to TripAdvisor, celebrates 15 years of operations to Mauritius, during which time it carried just over 4.5 million customers on the route.

The airline began services between Mauritius and Dubai in 2002 with three weekly flights using an Airbus A330. To meet growing demand over the subsequent years, Emirates gradually ramped up its number of flights per week, with the route becoming a double daily service with larger Boeing 777 aircraft. In December 2013, one of the two Boeing 777s was replaced by Emirates’ popular double decker A380, and ten months later, a second A380 was deployed on the route, making the island a double daily A380 service, a first in the Africa region.

“When we launched operations, we said our partnership with Mauritius would be a long-term one and that we would support the development of the tourism industry. Since then, we’ve had consistent capacity growth to meet customer demand on the route. From having about 120 000 seats in the first year of service to and from the island, Emirates now offers nearly 800 000 seats a year. This growth is indicative of the importance of Mauritius as one of the world’s most popular leisure destinations,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice-President, Commercial Operations, Africa.

“The celebration of 15 years is an important milestone and we’d like to use this opportunity to reiterate our commitment to continue supporting the growth of tourism to the island, as well as thank the Government of Mauritius, all our local stakeholders, business partners and staff led by Oomar Ramtoola, for contributing to our success to date,” he added.

Kevin Ramkaloan, Director of the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, said: "During the 15 years of operations to Mauritius, Emirates has, through its hub, enhanced the connectivity of the island towards cities which are not accessible through direct services, thereby increasing the potential market of tourists who want to visit Mauritius. The reputation of the airline in terms of quality of service is recognised by travellers and matches the image of quality and elegance the destination has."

"We wish Emirates further success in its operations to Mauritius.” He added.

Emirates and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority have an agreement to jointly promote the island across key markets in the airline’s global network. The main source markets for Emirates’ customers travelling to Mauritius are the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, India, China and the United Arab Emirates, while top destinations for Mauritian travellers are Dubai, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, India, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong.

All customers travelling on the Emirates’ A380 between Mauritius and Dubai enjoy the famous hospitality of the airline’s multinational cabin crew, including Mauritian nationals, gourmet cuisine and award winning inflight entertainment, with over 2,500 channels of on demand audio and visual entertainment, from the latest movies, music, games and audiobooks. First Class and Business Class Customers also enjoy the onboard lounge, while First Class customers also have access to two shower spas.