He said he is convinced the direct flight will win as it is a reality and it has the right recipe for success.

Transcription

1 Air Seychelles made its second trip to Düsseldorf yesterday evening following its return from its non- stop inaugural flight to this western German city on Saturday morning. On Friday after touchdown at the Düsseldorf airport at 6.40am after a nearly 10-hour night flight, the A330 aircraft Aldabra was welcomed by a water cannon salute to the applause of the 246 passengers onboard. It consisted of local tourism trade partners, a group of German media representatives going home from a touristic familiarisation visit to Seychelles and a large group of Seychellois travellers catching on the one-day shopping opportunity The twice per week non-stop flights allows the German visitors to arrive early morning in Seychelles and it also allows them to enjoy their last holiday until late before boarding to arrive early in Germany the following day. The inaugural flight ceremony to Düsseldorf was held late on Friday afternoon before the passengers embarked for the returned inaugural flight back to Seychelles. The ceremony was held in gate C36 departure and was assisted by the chief executive of Air Seychelles Roy Kinnear, chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Sherin Francis, chief executive of Düsseldorf Airport Thomas Schnalke, other Düsseldorf Airport employees, Seychelles tourism trade partners, another group of German media coming to Seychelles and the tourists and Seychellois passengers themselves. In a short speech, CEO Kinnear thanked CEO Schnalke, the trade partners and all those playing a big role behind the scene in seeing Air Seychelles coming to Düsseldorf. He said he is convinced the direct flight will win as it is a reality and it has the right recipe for success. CEO Schnalke welcomed Air Seychelles and everybody coming on the plane for the first time in Düsseldorf and thanked all who had visited Düsseldorf and were leaving the airport for the first time.

2 He said that Air Seychelles code sharing with Air Berlin will surely see an influx in tourists visiting Seychelles coming from as far as The Netherlands and Belgium and other countries in the region. CEO Francis said that the inaugural flight to Düsseldort was very symbolic for STB as Seychelles is once again connected to one of its top destination markets. She said that with Air Seychelles coming to Düsseldorf, STB will be engaging in more marketing into other destinations such as Austria, Switzerland and other German and French speaking countries. To celebrate the occasion CEO Kinnear, CEO Francis and CEO Schnalke cut the ribbon to officially launch the flight and later cut a commemorative cake which was shared to everybody. After being saluted for a second time with a water cannon before leaving Düsseldorf, Air Seychelles, received a welcome back third water cannon salute upon touch down at 7.45am on Saturday morning at the Seychelles International Airport. It was followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony by Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, principal secretary for Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Gary Albert, CEO Kinnear and CEO Francis. The passengers were given small tokens by STB and entertained by the Seychelles National Troupe and the School of Dance. Also on both flights the passengers were given an inaugural certificate, 30 minutes free WIFI and other tokens. Twenty-four-year-old Takamaka Bay barman Jean Paul Sopha celebrated his birthday on Friday and he was presented with a small birthday cake by the crew onboard. As the inaugural flight was taking off on Thursday night at the Seychelles International Airport, Air Seychelles hosted a reception to celebrate the event for the German travel and trade partners and the media. The cocktail reception was held at the Gunneiwig Bar and Lounge M168, in the 186-metre building, the tallest in Düsseldorf. Present among the over one hundred guests were the CEO Kinnear, CEO Francis, the managing director of Düsseldort Airport Michael Hanne and the tourism travel and trade partners from Seychelles. During Friday morning, Air Seychelles also organised a familiarisation visit on board the aircraft for two groups of German DMCs, travel agents and tour operators. The organised visit was for them to visit and see for themselves the plane s condition and what is there to offer under the theme Flying the Creole spirit. They had the opportunity to see, feel and also experience first hand of the Creole taste of the Seychelles. Hosted onboard Aldabra by CEO Kinnear and Air Seychelles general manager for Sales, Distribution and Corporate Affairs Maja Gedosev, the guests were treated to a taste of coconut water and banana chips followed by the finest Creole cuisine offered onboard. They were served by cabin crew members Yanick Commettant and Nataly Elizabeth. Taking pictures, asking questions and happy with what they were experiencing onboard Aldabra and ready to sell Seychelles, the German partners who almost all of them had never visited Seychelles were invited to do so in future by CEO Kinnear. CEO Schnalke, who also visited the aircraft in the company of CEO Kinnear and CEO Francis, praised the aircraft s condition and service offered onboard. I think you will be successful. Seychelles is a well known destination, with good temperatures, good weather, good climate and this is what people like for good holidays and it really makes sense for Air Seychelles to be here as the catchment is very strong with 18 million people leaving on a 100km radius and that is the main bases for being successful in the future, he said. The accompanying photographs, taken by our photographer Patrick Joubert who also made the trip, show highlights of the inaugural flights to and back from Düsseldorf. The flights schedules: Flight no origin Departs HM14 Seychelles (SEZ) Destination Arrives Day Aircraft Düsseldorf (DUS) 06.10(+1) Thursday, Sunday A330

3 HM15 Düsseldorf (DUS) Seychelles (SEZ) 08.00(+1) Monday, Friday A330

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7 Text and photos by Patrick Joubert