Air Austral (UU, St. Denis de la Réunion) has announced plans to set up a new regional Indian Ocean carrier aimed at transforming the French island of Mayotte into a regional hub. Named EWA Air (ZD, Dzaoudzi), the airline will be 51% owned by Air Austral, 20% by the Mayotte Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the rest in the hands of other undisclosed private players. Using start-up capital amounting to EUR4.5million, Ewa's planned network includes Dzaoudzi to: Nosy-Be and Majunga in Madagascar, Moroni International and Anjouan in the Comoros, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Pemba, MZ in Mozambique (subject to a codeshare deal with LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM, Maputo)). A planned launch date is set for November, initially with one ATR72-500.