Seychelles Resumes Long-Haul Flights — A Widebody Lifeline That Exposes an Airline Without a Long-Range Plane
seychelles is briefly re-entering direct long-haul service to Europe using a leased widebody, a move that restores non-stop links while underscoring how the nation’s flag carrier lacks a long-range aircraft of its own.
What is not being told about Air Seychelles’ Paris revival?
Verified facts: Air Seychelles will operate a temporary non-stop service between Mahe (SEZ) and Paris (CDG) from March 22 to April 29, 2026, with three weekly round trips. The planned schedule lists HM1008 Mahe to Paris departing 9: 00AM and arriving 5: 30PM, and HM1007 Paris to Mahe departing 7: 30PM and arriving 7: 30AM (+1 day). The 4, 871-mile sector is blocked at 10hr30min to France and 10hr to the Seychelles. Because Air Seychelles’ fleet comprises seven aircraft — two Airbus A320neos and five DHC-6-400 Twin Otters — the carrier will temporarily lease an Etihad Boeing 787-9 configured with 290 seats (28 business, 262 economy). The arrangement is expected to be a wet lease with Etihad crews operating the flights. Sandy Benoiton, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles, framed the service as restoring international connectivity and supporting the tourism industry.
Analysis: The operational facts reveal a deliberate short-term response to disrupted Gulf connectivity and a demand to reconnect France and the islands. Running a widebody on this sector restores capacity quickly but leaves the airline dependent on a partner’s aircraft and crews. The schedule and blocked times confirm this is engineered as an endurance operation rather than a permanent fleet strategy.
Is Seychelles becoming a strategic stopover for rerouted Europe traffic?
Verified facts: Broader tourism adjustments in Europe have produced route flexibility and new stopover patterns; these shifts are positioning the islands as a more significant transit point for travellers heading to Paris and other European hubs. The temporary Air Seychelles Paris service increases direct throughput to the islands and creates an option for multi-destination itineraries.
Analysis: The Paris service should be read alongside the wider reshaping of long-haul journeys. With some traditional Gulf connections constrained, using the islands as either a direct destination or a midpoint provides both redundancy and additional tourism exposure for the local economy. However, the reliance on a leased 787-9 shows the country’s connectivity gains are contingent on external capacity, not on a sustained upgrade of the national carrier’s long-haul capability.
Who benefits and who must answer for this temporary long-haul fix?
Verified facts: The commercial arrangement gives Etihad the opportunity to generate revenue by placing a 787-9 that might otherwise have limited flying opportunities, while Air Seychelles restores a Paris link that it last operated consistently until 2018. Historically, Etihad once owned a stake in Air Seychelles; that equity relationship ended when Etihad sold its 40% stake in Air Seychelles for $1, in 2021. Prior to 2018, Air Seychelles operated A330s on long-haul routes but returned those aircraft as part of a strategic shift.
Analysis: Immediate winners include travellers seeking direct travel to France and the Seychelles’ tourism sector, which gains short-term visitor flow. Etihad benefits commercially from the wet lease. The exposure lies with Air Seychelles and the government stakeholders who must contend with a structural mismatch: national ambition for connectivity versus the current fleet profile concentrated on short-haul turboprops and narrowbodies. The historical divestment of Etihad’s stake and the return of A330s in 2018 explain why the airline lacks an in-house long-range asset today; the temporary return of long-haul service thus raises governance and strategic questions about whether future connectivity will rely on ad hoc leases or a longer-term fleet plan.
Accountability and next steps: Verified facts and the airline’s public statement by Sandy Benoiton, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles, confirm the service is temporary and aimed at supporting tourism. Responsible actors — Air Seychelles’ management and civil aviation overseers — should publish a clear, evidence-based plan for restoring sustained long-haul connectivity that clarifies fleet strategy, the role of wet leases, and contingency plans when regional hubs are disrupted. Transparency on commercial terms and passenger protections during leased operations would provide public reassurance while the islands capture the immediate tourism benefits of Europe tourism reroutes.
Final note: This short-term Paris link illuminates a wider reality — the islands can attract additional transit traffic and tourism, but converting that potential into durable connectivity will require decisions that go beyond occasional widebody leases and address the long-term fleet capacity of the seychelles’ national carrier.
