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Air Mauritius is the flag carrier airline of Mauritius. The airline is headquartered in Port Louis, Mauritius, with its Airline hub at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport.
In the beginning, the carrier operated international services in conjunction with Air France, Air India and British Airways, which jointly had a 25% holding in Air Mauritius at that time. Until 1972, the company restricted its activities to ground services only; it started flight operations in its own right in August 1972 with a six-seater Piper PA-31 Navajo from Air Madagascar, connecting Mauritius with Rodrigues. The aircraft wore an Air Mauritius Aircraft livery, but kept a Madagascar registration.
In 1973, a Vickers VC10 from British Airways enabled the company to launch a long-haul route to Heathrow Airport via Nairobi, whereas services to Bombay were operated by Air India. The Navajo was replaced with a 16-seater Twin Otter that was acquired in 1975. When an agreement with Air France and British Airways came to an end, a Boeing 707-400 from British Airtours helped the airline to start long-haul services in its own right. Long-range operations started on 1 November 1977. A second Twin Otter arrived in 1979.
In November 1981, a joint service between Air Mauritius and Air Madagascar began in the Tananarive–Mauritius–Comoros–Nairobi and Réunion–Mauritius runs, following the lease of an Air Madagascar Boeing 737. During the early 1980s, routes to Durban and Johannesburg were inaugurated using Boeing 707-320B aircraft flown with Air India and British Airways Aircrew. The incorporation of a second aircraft of the type, bought from Luxavia, allowed the carrier to expand the European route network to Rome and Zürich in 1983, whereas Paris was added in the mid-1980s. Leased from SAA, a Boeing 747SP named "Chateau de Réduit" entered the fleet in November 1984 and was deployed on services to London.
By March 1985, the fleet comprised two Boeing 707-320Bs, a Boeing 737-200, a Boeing 747SP and a Twin Otter. That month, the first of two Bell 206 JetRangers was incorporated. In April, a 46-seater ATR 42 was ordered, and Changi Airport was added to the route network with a weekly service using Boeing 707 equipment. In June that year, Air Mauritius joined the African Airlines Association. The carrier made a profit of British Pound3.5 million for the fiscal year 1985–86.
In 1986, a second Boeing 747SP that was also leased from SAA entered the fleet; it was named "Chateau Mon Plaisir". The incorporation of this aircraft allowed the carrier to phase out a Boeing 707. In 1987, South African Airways' landing rights on Australian soil were suspended by the Australian government and Qantas ceased its operations in South Africa. There had been an increase in demand from businessmen since that time, as most passengers travelling from South Africa to Australia had to stop at Hong Kong, Taipei or Singapore. Given that landing rights in Australia for Air Mauritius had not been approved yet, a Boeing 747SP non-stop service to Hong Kong commenced on 29 October 1989, in cooperation with Cathay Pacific. Flights to Kuala Lumpur had started in May 1988.
By March 1990, the route network included Antananarivo, Bombay, Durban, Geneva Airport, Harare, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Moroni, Munich Airport, Nairobi, Paris, Reunion, Rodrigues, Rome, Singapore and Zürich. A new route to Perth Airport was inaugurated in December 1991.Air Maurituius to Australia Australian Aviation issue 72 November 1991 page 6 Named "Paille en Queue" and leased from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), the first Airbus A340-300 entered the fleet in May 1994; following delivery, a Boeing 747SP that was on lease from SAA was returned. The airline became the first in the Southern Hemisphere to fly the A340-300. A second A340-300, named "Pink Pigeon" and purchased directly from Airbus, was handed over by the aircraft manufacturer in October. Services to Brussels and Cape Town were launched in July and November of that year. Also leased from ILFC and named "Kestrel", Air Mauritius' third A340-300 joined the fleet in April 1995. The airline started trading on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius during the year. In 1996, the last Boeing 747SP was sold to Qatar Airways and direct flights to Manchester were launched.
African medium-haul routes started utilising the Airbus A319 following its delivery in 2001. The A340-300 was ordered by the carrier in mid-2005. The A340-300 Enhanced was put on service on the Heathrow Airport route in December 2006, soon after delivery. In late 2007, the fleet saw the incorporation of the Airbus A330-200; a second aircraft of the same type was delivered in October 2009.
In March 2016, Air Mauritius launched the 'Air Corridor' with its first direct flights to Singapore, which was previously served via Kuala Lumpur. The new route aimed at improving air connectivity between Mauritius and Singapore to stimulate the growth of passenger and cargo traffic between Asia and Africa through these two hubs.
On 22 April 2020, the board of directors decided to place the company under voluntary administration after COVID-19 related disruptions made it impossible for the airline to meet its financial obligations for the foreseeable future. The pandemic had a major impact on the revenue of the company while it was seeking to change its business model to address existing financial problems. The company will continue its operation, this decision was taken to safeguard the interest of the company and its stakeholders. It exited administration mid-2021.
, the chair position was held by Kishore Beegoo.
| Turnover (Euro) | 414.2 | 448.1 | 445.6 | 371.7 | 436.0 | 453.2 | 452.1 | 461.5 | 465.7 | 488.3 | 494.8 | 514.3 ! 499.8 | |
| Net Profit (EURm) | 17.0 | 10.3 | 8.5 | 16.5 | 26.9 | 4.9 ! | |||||||
| Number of passengers (000s) | 1,177 | 1,311 | 1,192 | 1,133 | 1,295 | 1,325 | 1,297 | 1,330 | 1,370 | 1,499 | 1,603 | 1,695 ! 1,724 | |
| Passenger load factor (%) | 74.6 | 76.8 | 74.9 | 80.6 | 79.8 | 77.1 | 78.9 | 75.5 | 73.7 | 78.7 | 79.6 | 78.9 ! 78.4 | |
| Number of aircraft (at year end) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 ! 12 | |
| Notes/sources | >accessdate= 28 August 2019 | >accessdate= 28 August 2019 | >accessdate= 28 August 2019 | >accessdate= 28 August 2019 | >accessdate= 28 August 2019 | >accessdate= 28 August 2019 | >accessdate= 26 August 2019 |
In their letter, these employees recalled that Cartier's predecessor Krešimir Kučko and his Chief Financial Officer, Laval Ah Chip, were stood down in 2023 after being investigated for benefitting from an all-expenses-paid stay in a hotel in France from a leasing company which also happened to be a key supplier of Air Mauritius. Krešimir Kučko was replaced by Charles Cartier after holding the position of CEO for only a few months.
, Air Mauritius served 22 destinations from its hub in Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, two of them domestic.
In February 2017, Air Mauritius announced that it would be leasing two Airbus A330-900 aircraft from Air Lease Corporation to replace two Airbus A340-300E aircraft from September and October 2018. Due to delays from Airbus, these aircraft were delivered in April and June 2019. The two Airbus A350-900 that were due to be delivered in 2020, were pushed back to 2023. It was also announced that the airline's existing aircraft would be refurbished with new seats, new inflight entertainment systems and onboard Wi-Fi. The revamp of the cabin interiors was planned to be completed by June 2018. The two Airbus A350-900s that were due to join the fleet in 2019 were sublet to South African Airlines for three years. In August 2020, these aircraft were returned early by SAA, due to financial difficulties.
In July 2021, the airline completed the sale of its two Airbus A319 and remaining Airbus A340 aircraft. The retirement of the Airbus A340 marked the end of 27 years of service of the fleet type with the airline. The retirement of the two Airbus A330-200 from the fleet was completed by end of November 2021.
On 19 June 2023, Air Mauritius announced that it confirmed an order for three Airbus A350-900, an increase of one plane from the original 2014 order. The aircraft are expected to be delivered between in 2025/26.
| + Air Mauritius fleet | ||||||
| 2 | — | 18 | 236 | 254 | Leased for 3 year period from Carlyle Aviation Partners | |
| 2 | — | 28 | 260 | 288 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 28 | 298 | 326 | ||
| 3 | — | — | 72 | 72 | ||
| 1 | — | — | 72 | 72 | ||
Air Mauritius also operates two Bell 206 JetRanger helicopters that are used for tour services.
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