Air Mauritius: A Guide to the Indian Ocean's Flag Carrier

An ocean-scale hub-and-spoke

The airline's entire strategy revolves around Mauritius's role as a crossing point between different continents: a model that requires a fleet able to operate over very long distances, unlike many island carriers that limit themselves to regional traffic.

Fleet: widebodies on long-haul, ATR for nearby islands

Most of the long-haul capacity relies on the Airbus A350-900 and A330-900, while a small ATR 72 covers the shorter links to the island of Rodrigues, geographically close but with no fast transport alternatives.

Routes: four continents from a single hub

The network connects Mauritius to Paris and London in Europe, India and China in Asia, Johannesburg and Nairobi in Africa and Perth in Australia, as well as several regional links in the Indian Ocean to Réunion and Madagascar.

A well-regarded service, with the limit of frequency

Among the carriers in the region, Air Mauritius is generally considered one of the strongest for onboard hospitality and the quality of its business class product, thanks in part to its Kestrelflyer loyalty program. The most frequently cited drawback is the frequency of flights on many routes, often only a few departures a week.

Air Mauritius is the most natural choice if you are flying to or from Mauritius to any continent, given the variety of its long-haul network for an island of this size. It is less suitable if you need maximum flexibility on dates, because many routes have only a few weekly frequencies and a change of booking can mean waiting days for the next flight. The practical tip: check the exact frequency of your route before fixing the rest of your itinerary, especially on African and Asian destinations served fewer than four times a week.