Air Seychelles last month marked 20 years of B767 operations with the acquisition of a fifth aircraft.

This new B767-300ER, baptized Isle of Frégate, has been leased from the International Leased Finance Corporation (ILFC).

The national airline’s latest addition arrived on Mahé on July 25 from Budapest and is the third used B767 Boeing leased from ILFC, while the other two aircrafts were delivered new in July 1989.

Speaking on Air Seychelles’ international fleet expansion, Executive Chairman, Captain David Savy said that the latest aircraft accords with the airline’s role in sustaining the island’s tourism industry, which our economy highly depends on. 

“As the national carrier of the Seychelles, we are focused on Seychelles as a holiday destination and it is our primary objective to support the local tourism industry,” he said.

Captain Savy explained that it is important for Air Seychelles to keep on growing and increasing its international fleet.“The acquisition of a fifth Boeing will primarily be a back up aircraft for our current fleet and also assist during heavy maintenance checks of other aircraft so as to avoid costly leases.  In the eventuality of opening up new routes, the fifth Boeing will be able to assist and also adding capacity when needed in peak times,” he said.“Growth is critical to our survival and risk-mitigation strategy which is a key element in our corporate strategy and we believe that growth must continue so as to maintain and grow our market share thus the necessity to increase our international fleet with the acquisition of a fifth aircraft,” he added.

Air Seychelles now has a fleet of five Boeing aircraft; three B767-300ER’s and two B767-200ER’s – all leased from ILFC, the worlds biggest and largest aircraft leasing company.