Virgin Atlantic Considering Daily Flights to Mauritius

“Mauritius is stable and democratic, perfect for doing business.”

Charles Branson's airline, “Virgin Atlantic", which started flying to Mauritius 6 months ago, is considering operating daily services there.

Virgin, which turned down a request by Vice-President Belmont two years ago to fly to Seychelles, carried 25,000 passengers on the London-Mauritius route during that time, when there were only two weekly flights.

Billionaire Branson who was at Sir Sewoosagur Ramgoolam after flying in from Kenya last week, noted that British visitors to the island had increased by 12% and he praised his airline for contributing to the influx.

UK visitors to Seychelles have gone down over the years, after the British Airways pullout at the turn of the century.  Even Air Seychelles which has two weekly flights usually has a poor passenger load. A request by Air Seychelles for a code-sharing arrangement with BA was also turned down.

“Mauritius is stable and democratic, perfect for doing business, “said a delighted Branson. He is also studying other business opportunities. “Hopefully, something positive can come out," he added.

Branson who met with Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, was at the airport with Tourism minister Xavier Duval, who said; “The arrival of Virgin is one of the undoubted successes of our open air access policy.

May 30, 2008
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles