During Hanukkah, Air Seychelles will operate 10 flights a week. This was announced by Air Seychelles' vice president, Mr. Charles Johnson. The company currently operates 4 weekly flights to Israel, and as of December they are increasing to 5 weekly flights
Air Seychelles inaugurated the route to Israel exactly a year ago (less 2 days), and operated one weekly flight on Wednesdays. At summer they add another weekly flight on Sundays. At the beginning of the Covid19 crisis, Air Seychelles also stopped flying to Israel. Recently they renewed the line with 2 weekly flights
Air Seychelles first landing in Israel
Commercial success is above expectations, so Air Seychelles is now increasing to 5 weekly flights. And as mentioned, during the Hanukkah holiday, they increase to 10 flights
The amazing Seychelles island was absent from the Israeli tourism map, probably due to the long distance. In the past, Israelis arrived there by Turkish or Air Ethiopian flights. The connection flights lasted more than 10 hours with a stopover in Istanbul or Addis Ababa. Too much trouble. "We shortened the route," says Johnson, "the direct flights from Tel Aviv to Seychelles last only 6 hours and 20 minutes." i
Seychelles has recently become a hit in the Israeli tourism market, thanks to being clean of Covid19. The Covid19 seems to have passed over Seychelles. Last Saturday I read in a local newspaper that during last week only 4 cases of Covid19 were discovered there. In Israel, 10,128 new cases were discovered at the same week. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 166 Seychelles people have been infected, no one has died from the virus. In Israel 331,000 people infected since the beginning of the epidemic
In recent months, Charles Johnson came to Israel several times to take care of the resumption of flights. He asked our Ministry of Health to waive the obligation of isolation for Israelis returning from Seychelles, due to the excellent Covid19 data in his country. He was required to present evidence, and after several hearings, his request was granted. He also approached the Department of Transportation and obtained good slots. When Israel returned to be green, he demanded that the authorities in Seychelles facilitate the conditions of entry for Israelis
This opened the way for the resumption of Air Seychelles' flights to Tel Aviv. "I tried to estimate the expected demand" says Charles, "and I was debating between one or two weekly flights. To my surprise, all tickets for the first flights were sold out in just two hours. Sales records are broken every week." Perhaps he did not take into considerations that there are no other countries that are open to Israelis, as he managed to organize in his country
According to him, in 2019, 5,000 tourists came from Israel to Seychelles. In December alone, more than 5,000 Israelis are expected to arrive (including on Arkia flights). i
All tourists to Seychelles are required to present Covid19 test results prior to take-off. The Covid19 regulations in Seychelles divide tourists into three categories according to the countries of origin. Category 1 includes permitted countries from low and medium risk, while Category 2 will only consist of countries from the list of seven countries given special status, in the instance that any of these countries progresses to high risk. Visitors from category 1 countries will not be subject to special conditions imposed for category 2 countries. The first category list currently includes only one country: Israel
What else is expected to happen on the line to Israel? i
Charles: "We are interested in flying over Saudi Arabia. It will shorten the flight time a bit, not significantly. But the advantage of flying in Saudi skies will be in the more economical flight routes for us". The route in use today passes above the Red Sea at an altitude of 20,000 feet, and after that climbs to cruise level at 35,000 feet. At that altitude, the fuel consumption is smaller. If and when Air Seychelles will be allowed to fly over Saudi Arabia, they will be able to climb to an altitude of 35 right after takeoff from Ben Gurion Airport. This will save fuel consumption (TSFC), increase the number of passengers (PAX), reduce flight ticket prices a bit, and increase the profitability of Air Seychelles
Another renewal is expected in about a month when Israelis will also be able to fly to Mauritius and the Maldives on Air Seychelles connection flights
The meeting with Charles Johnson was held exactly on his birthday, and that led us to a conversation about aging. He points out with humor that Air Seychelles is one of the oldest airlines in Africa (founded in 1952), and has the youngest fleet of aircraft in Africa. Charles himself is today "in a good place in between". i
Air Seychelles has two Airbus A320neo aircraft, one a year and a half old, and one is half year old only. These planes are operating on the route to Israel, which is their longest route. Other international flights are to Johannesburg, Dubai, Mumbai, Mauritius, and the Maldives. Air Seychelles also operates charter flights to Madagascar
The fleet also includes 5 small DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft with 17 seats, designed for domestic flights between the islands
Air Seychelles flies about half a million passengers a year. Most of them on domestic flights between the islands. At the height of the tourist season there are 15 daily flights to Praslin Island, as well as charter flights to other islands
