12 December 2008

Air Austral has reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian market, with senior executives in Sydney finalising details in the lead up to its inaugural Sydney Runion Paris flight in April 2009.

Executive VP Commercial Jean-Marc Grazzini said while global aviation trends were generally not expansionist at the current time, Air Austral remained very optimistic about its Sydney flight.

We are one of the only carriers inaugurating a new international long haul route in the coming months, said Grazzini.

We do not see this as daunting, but as a tremendous opportunity.

The strong potential for the route, particularly in light of our exceptionally competitive fares and the fact we are a full service, three class airline, is undeniable.

In 2007, almost half a million Australians travelled to France, while 70,000 French people visited Australia.

With two flights a week, via the intriguing and so far little known French island of Runion, Air Austral is well placed to serve the needs of those wishing to fly directly to Paris.