Air Austral: Flights from Réunion and Mayotte to France and Asia

History and positioning

Created to connect Réunion and Mayotte to mainland France, Air Austral has a mission dictated above all by the public service obligation (PSO) link between these French overseas territories and the mother country, with tourism an added component rather than the main driver of the network.

The fleet

The fleet is compact: three Airbus A220-300, three Boeing 777-300ER and two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, with an average age of about 8-9 years. The 787s are reserved for the longest routes, including flights to mainland France and the seasonal link to Bangkok.

Routes and network

Up to 11 weekly frequencies link Réunion (Saint-Denis) to Paris, up to 9 weekly on the Mayotte-Paris route, with frequent Réunion-Mayotte shuttle flights up to 16 times a week. The Réunion-Bangkok link is also growing, designed to open the island to Asia via Thailand.

What passengers say

Reviews of the Paris-Réunion route, among the longest regularly operated by a carrier of this size, tend to praise the comfort of the 787 compared with the earlier long-haul aircraft, while noting the same seasonal fare volatility typical of routes with limited competition.

Air Austral makes the most sense for those flying between Réunion/Mayotte and mainland France or wanting to explore the new link to Bangkok, as it is often the most direct option on these specific city pairs. It is not the airline to compare on price with European low-cost carriers, since competition on the Réunion-Paris route remains limited. Book the Réunion-Paris or Mayotte-Paris route well ahead of the French school holidays, when fares on this particular route tend to rise sharply because competitors' capacity is limited.