Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, is eager to expand its operations in India. In an interview to BusinessLine , CEO Roy Kinnear says he is confident of doing this with an enhanced network and a dedicated team in Mumbai. Edited excerpts:

You launched your India operations recently. Are you seeing traction?

Air Seychelles commenced operations in India last December, with three flights a week from Mumbai. We have recorded 125 per cent growth in Indian tourists between January-July 2015, as compared to the same period last year.

A strong foundation has been laid in the country. It is time for us now to build on that, and ensure that we can partake of the significant potential for inbound tourism into Seychelles.

Tourism is obviously a key area. How do you propose to propel tourism between the nations?

To begin with, Air Seychelles has slashed air fares. I have been in this seat for six weeks now as CEO of Air Seychelles, and among the first things we have done is adjust the airfare. There has been a belief and perception that the airfare is unduly high as compared to other airlines. So, we have taken it down to ₹33,000, return fare, all in. The earlier fare was around ₹50,000 plus.

The reduced airfare is set to create a massive platform by which we can boost our presence in the country. The next step is market awareness. We have started work with local travel organisations, tour operators and travel bodies across India, and have already got a commitment of 9,000 seats till next July.

You have increased the flights on the Seychelles-Mumbai route…

We started only last December, but by the second quarter of this year (April), we increased it to four flights a week. We are happy to go up to seven as soon as we can, and have now got the green signal with the bilateral agreement signed between India and Seychelles. Under this, the number of flights between the two countries can increase from the current four per week to seven.

So, are you betting big on the Indian market?

For sure. Between January-July 2015, 19,000 passengers have travelled on Air Seychelles from India. That is a significant number, since there is a lot of traffic that connects through Seychelles to Africa.

We operate the (Airbus) A-320 aircraft, a 136-seater plane. The 544 seats per week (from India) is a drop in the ocean, compared to the opportunity that is there, especially in Mumbai, which is a strategically important point in our network. The airline has strategised to diversify from the traditional European market to a wider range of markets to safeguard its economy. Some of the countries in the European Union have gone into a financial crisis. In this scenario, we see India as our key strategic partner.

Can you give some details about your network?

Air Seychelles has already drawn out an extensive network in the Indian Ocean, flying to Mauritius, Mumbai, Madagascar, Tanzania, and Johannesburg in South Africa. Several changes have also been made to the airlines network to improve connectivity from Mumbai-Africa, Mumbai-Dar Es Salaam, and Mumbai-Madagascar. With Seychelles developing into a hub in the Indian Ocean, more Indian tourists would be able to travel on the A-320, before taking onward flights to Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritius and South Africa. Going forward, we want to build port to port traffic, and ensure that people stay for a couple of days in Seychelles.

Are there plans to increase the frequency of flights to India?

As passenger load increases, Air Seychelles will increase its frequency to India. This April, Air Seychelles boosted connectivity by signing a code share relationship with Jet Airways. This allows us to place our code on nine domestic points, and will help increase the revenue contribution from partners.

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