Air Seychelles sees strong growth in India market

The airline operates four weekly flights to Mumbai

Air Seychelles expects strong growth in the Indian market and is working with the tourism board of the island country to increase tourist footfalls, the airline's chief executive Roy Kinnear said.

Air Seychelles is co-owned by Etihad Airways and operates four weekly flights to Mumbai.

"We have the government  approval to launch daily flights to Mumbai. We began with three flights and have expanded to four services a week in summer. We are seeing strong load factors and working to increase tourist traffic to Seychelles," Kinnear stated.

About 50% of the airline passengers from Mumbai travel onward from Seychelles to Madagascar, South Africa and Tanzania.

The airline operates an Airbus A330 and two A320 planes and is also exploring regular services to China, which is a big source market for tourism.

Kinnear was visiting Mumbai as a part of government delegation led by country president James Michel. 

President James Michel, who interacted with travel agents in Mumbai, said India represents a dominant player in Seychelles' tourism industry, with growth recorded at 125% between Jan-July 2015 compared to the same period last year.