AIR SEYCHELLES SPECIAL
Weekly Not Accorded The Right of Reply!!
David Savy under-worked and over-paid and over-worked but under-paid Air Hostess
On Monday 4th February 2008, SBC, in the news at 8pm, provided the CEO of Air Seychelles, Lieutenant Colonel Savy, with sufficient air time to put his side of the story across. This was in response to newspaper articles both in Regar and Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly. Savy was able to deny allegations make by the two newspapers and to put his point of view across unchallenged. This kind of reporting we are afraid is not in the people’s best interest. SBC is serving the cause of the likes of Savy only.They do not care about the thousands and thousands of people who pay millions to travel making sure Air Seychelles is able to keep flying high.
The Seychelles Broadcasting Co-operation (SBC) has once again failed to fulfill its obligation of providing the public with fair and balance reporting so that the viewing public can draw out their own conclusion, instead of the SBC imposing its views or allowing David Savy in that particular case to wrap up this argument in his favour. SBC should have at least given the two newspapers involved an opportunity to state their side of the story on TV just like Savy did. We believe that the Seychellois people are intelligent enough to make their own assessment of this situation. The SBC has only to present all sides of the argument from all parties i.e. Regar, Weekly and Air Seychelles.
In the past this newspaper has refrained from publishing stories we believe at the time were not in the best interest of the Airline, the tourism industry and/or the country. We are not here to bring down Air Seychelles. In fact our intention is totally the opposite. We try as much as possible to highlight the dangers with the hope that the people at the head of Air Seychelles and Government will act upon our concerns. In the recent past a dead mouse or rat was allegedly discovered in a trolley on a food tray about to be served to a passenger on a flight bound for Italy. We chose to remain silent on this matter. We also knew of an incident about smoke in the cabin and the aircraft having to make an emergency landing in the Maldives to deal with the problem. We stayed quiet in order not to affect passengers’ confidence in flying Air Seychelles. We also knew of all the following but we stayed absolutely quiet on these matters because we felt that there is a balance of opinion and that generally the cabin crew offer an excellent service, under difficult circumstances, which makes up for other deficiencies…..
Air Seychelles - by Michelle Tomkinson
Last night we discovered the booking profile for Air Seychelles which is of great concern, and I feel absolutely compelled to inform travelers of this problem. Air Seychelles has a policy of overbooking all of their flights in the hope that some passengers will not turn up. I am not talking slightly overbooked - I am talking at least 15 passengers overbooked. As a result of this policy, my father and my son who booked their flight with Air Seychelles quite some months ago and were at the airport to check in 2 hours before the flight were unable to obtain a seat on the flight. Air Seychelles would only accept responsibility for their flight and refused to accept liability or responsibility for all of the missed connecting flights, the additional accommodation expenses etc. My advice if you chose to fly Air Seychelles, is to arrive at the check in counter four hours before your flight and make sure you confirm your seat at least a week before. Don’t think that just because you booked and paid for your flight and you have your tickets in your hand that you are guaranteed a seat. I personally will never fly Air Seychelles again and I live in the Seychelles.
Air Seychelles - by Sheila Withe
I found the flight comfortable and enjoyable, the aircraft although old is adequate for a long flight, the staff on out flight were second to none - every member of the crew in Air Seychelles were on the ball. Our holiday was special, made even more special by first class service from the moment we got on the plane.
Air Seychelles - by Sebastian Baxter
LHR-SEZ-LHR; also flights to Praslin and Bird Island. Outbound flight in economy. Seats reasonably comfortable, friendly cabin crew. Very interesting film about the Seychelles shown shortly after take-off - really gets you in the mood. Food excellent. Return - managed to get upgraded to Pearl Class. Seats are very old in business, and not that comfortable. Food and drink excellent, but overall I would not say it is worth paying extra for business. Air Seychelles have 3-4 years before their new 787’s are delivered - they really need to upgrade their Pearl Cabin on their current 767s in the meantime. Domestic flights - it is worth taking at least one domestic flight because the views are absolutely incredible, particularly if flying to Bird Island. Landings in the small Twin Otter aircraft are not for the faint hearted, though!
Air Seychelles - by R Ferley
Flew Air Seychelles more than once on the LHR route. Generally comfortable seats, cabin crew welcoming. Food can be quite tasty but when you’re asked to choose the best ones are frequently gone - drinks/alcohol are always on offer. I suggest you make frequent visits to the galley, because crew just disappears, especially on the late flights.
Air Seychelles - by Peter Castro
Two recent flights on Air Seychelles (CDG to Mahe and back) were unexpectedly very pleasant. Food service excellent, apparently Air France service since this was a code-share flight. In-flight service and crew were excellent. Free French wine and abundant food, even if the flight was on economy. The Mahe airport was rather simple but more than adequate.
Air Seychelles - by Jenny Hooper
Pearl Class : Dec 2004. Heathrow to Victoria with Air Seychelles overnight. Plane was comfortable, service and food good. Staff friendly. Good value all round. Returning Victoria to Heathrow the plane was old. Seats were narrow and not comfortable. Lunch was good but there was no service or offer of any refreshments between 2pm and 6pm. No facility to ring for cabin staff. We had to get up and go behind curtain to ask for drinks. Glasses were then not cleared away. No facility for individual lighting above seats. All lights were on or off. No tea or coffee was offered after 6pm “hot snack”. Staff were polite but not very interested. Not very good value for money.
Air Seychelles - by Joshua Brien
LON-CDG-SEZ Return, business class. I was pleasantly surprised by the seating and service of Air Seychelles. The seats are old, but are leather and quite sumptuous. Although they provide only limited recline, I found the seats to be more comfortable than the older business class seats provided by Air France and Lufthansa. The food was catered by Air France and was very good. The in-flight entertainment is adequate. The service on the return leg was particularly good owing presumably to the fact that the business class cabin was only half-full. I would also recommend flying during the day, which offers some spectacular views of the islands and parts of the Middle East. The airport in Mahe is basic and is warned, the ‘VIP’ lounge is absurdly small and poorly maintained.
Air Seychelles - by Jim Steel
November 05. Business class, Seychelles-Singapore. Unbelievable lounge at Mahe - five couches, table with cloth, locked refrigerator, and out-of-use kettle. On entry, passengers would burst out laughing and take memento photographs of the scene. Pressure on the gentle Creole attendant produced orange juice! Once at 37,000 feet, the aircraft had to turn back due to a fuel valve problem (reportedly previously-encountered at Mauritius and Joburg en route!). Seat could not be returned to landing position, despite a kicking by the steward, so had to change places. Aged plane. Poor airline.
Air Seychelles - by Melvin Leeming
I have flown Air Seychelles from London to Mahe - twice in economy and have found the service excellent. Food very good and the crew first rate - nothing was too much trouble and everything was presented to you with a warm smile. My previous experiences have been with BA and I would say there is nothing to choose between the two services - maybe I would lean toward Air Seychelles as they are a smaller airline trying to prove they can compete with the big operators.
Air Seychelles - by Mike Jones
Flew LHW and back Jul/Aug 2005 Economy. Decent legroom. Reasonable films. Flight was fine, though main meal was rather delayed, in which case they could have given us a drink serving to keep us happier. Staff helpful, friendly.
Air Seychelles - by Anthony Spencer
Traveled London to Mahe on 17th June. Problems started at check in where we turned up 3 hrs before the flight to find we could not have a dual window/ aisle seat as the flight was being shared with Air Mauritius and all seats were reserved The service during the flight was poor -staff were lazy and inattentive. I had pre ordered a vegetarian meal only to be offered a child’s meal. After asking five times I got my vegetarian meal which was awful. On arrival at the Seychelles after a ten hour flight my case was missing. Ground staff at Mahe Airport were unhelpful and it was only due to the help of the local ground agent for the Hotel we stayed at that we discovered the case was never loaded at Heathrow and turned up in the Seychelles some 48 hours later. I got £30 compensation! For what was a great inconvenience. The return flight was uneventful and the food and service were improved. However I would make the point that four people on the outbound flight had luggage that was not loaded. Therefore this points to a major security issue for Air Seychelles to resolve. Overall I rated the Airline as poor and I would not fly Air Seychelles again.
Air Seychelles - by Vladimir Kuzmin
CDG-SEZ return in Economy class. Both flights on time. Was little surprized that in-flight service, meals and IFE are Air France product - despite aircraft and crew from Air Seychelles. On departure from Paris was asked by cabin crew to change seat to row 18 (emerge exit row) due to two families with babies seated there - which is not allowed. Seats were comfortable and meals delicious. They serve Dinner after take-off in CDG and Breakfast 2 hours before arrival to Mahe. Drinks were ok. You can get even Champagne in Economy class! IFE was okay. On the way back I asked for an upgrade at check-in but was told that flight is not full - thus no upgrade. During boarding I heard from gate staff that they need people to put up front to Business class as no seats in economy left. I asked once again and being Platinum Elite member from AF expected proper actions - but was told that they made all upgrades and I should have asked about it during check-in: but I did! In any case it was too late. I recommend to fly HM to anyone.
AIR Seychelles - by S Kane
SIN-SEZ-SIN in November ‘03, and was on the whole quite impressed with Air Seychelles. It is a small airline, whose international fleet consists only of two 767-300s and a newer 737. Both flights were punctual, and were staffed by very pleasant and accommodating cabin crew. Food was exceptional - generous serves with local flavour (especially the fish on the flight from SEZ). Interestingly, their two 767s are quite different - one has elderly seats in Y class that, despite their footrests, were uncomfortable; the other (called the Vallee de Mai from memory) was much more spacious and pleasant. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them, although doing so is rather academic, as routes to the Seychelles aren’t known for their competition!
Air Seychelles - by Peter Canonier
I recently flew Air Seychelles return JNB/SEZ The flight from Johannesburg to Mahe Island was overbooked and my wife and I had to settle for economy class. The aircraft was a 737-700 and the flight was 5 hours nonstop. The aircraft is unsuitable (from a comfort viewpoint) and cramped for such a long flight and Air Seychelles have crammed in as many seats as possible-so much so- that the difference between business class and economy class is scarcely noticeable. The in-flight service is adequate but not anything out of the ordinary and the in-flight catering is satisfactory not exceptional. There is no in-flight movie - or any PTVs The cabin TV’s screen bits and snips of global TV. The most glaring flaw is the lengthy wait for meal service - nearly 2 hours into the flight. The flight crew is excellent and the cabin crew - Seychellois - are good. The seats are hampered by a distinct lack of legroom and comfort but it is the extraordinary beauty of the Seychelles which quickly makes up for any in-flight unpleasantness.
David Savy, in his SBC interview last week on 4th February 2008, accused this newspaper of scaremongering. He accused us of having an agenda to scare passengers off his aircraft. If that was true we would have done that long ago. Trust us it is not very difficult with your record Mr. Savy. We are one thousand percent behind the National Carrier, but we are not one hundred percent behind the way Savy and his few friends have been running our company as his own. In the first place there is no fairness in the salary structure of the company. The staff, especially the cabin crew and ground staff who are responsible for bringing in most money for the company, are not being compensated adequately. Savy wake up, open your eyes, smell the coffee and be fair to your staff by giving a fare wage to those at the lower end of the company. In the Air Seychelles annual report 2006-2007, duly delivered to our office on the day (05/02/08) after the interview with SBC, the CEO’s remuneration (salary) is (€63,000.00,) sixty three thousand euros for twelve months. Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly is all for Air Seychelles, but not for the way Savy and his cronies are running the business of the people…….
