Air Austral (UU, St. Denis de la Réunion) would consider acquiring a pair of B787-8s should talks with LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM, Maputo) over a possible St. Denis de la Réunion to Lisbon via Maputo route succeed.
Outlining his carrier's future fleet plans at a press conference in St. Denis on December 9, airline CEO Marie-Joseph Malé said that the deal would likely go through should the carriers reach a consensus on risk-sharing for the route. The Mozambicans have long sought to return to Europe's skies since their blacklisting in 2011.
Concerning the Réunionaise carrier's longterm fleeting plans, due to be resolved by 2022, Malé said his airline was now also considering the A350 from Airbus despite Air Austral having historically been a Boeing operator for the most part.
The CEO said that while the carrier's fleet of three B777-300(ER)s were well suited to its Paris CDG route, its large capacity proved unsuitable for other routes such as its now abandoned Sydney Kingsford Smith, Australia, and Nouméa La Tontouta, New Caledonia, routes. As a consequence, the push would now be for medium-capacity aircraft with between 200 and 250 seats which would allow Air Austral to reenergize its St. Denis de la Réunion Indian Ocean hub. Though the A330neo would fit into the category, its Entry-Into-Service date would prove unfeasible, Malé added.
Malé did not make any mention of the carrier's troublesome order of two A380-800s which, had they been delivered as per ex-CEO Gerard Ethève's plans, would have featured 840 seats in a high density configuration.
Talks between carrier management and the European manufacturer are said to be "ongoing" with the possibility of converting the order into A350s having been mentioned, but not confirmed.
