Exciting news for agents and Indian Ocean operators is that Comair plans to add Mauritius inventory to agency sales displays before the end of this week.
Comair executive manager, Brian Kitchin, confirmed that the loading of Mauritius flights was imminent and added that seats should appear in the system in a few days.
Pent-up demand
Agents and operators have reported significant pent-up demand for Mauritius packaged holidays, and they will be celebrating every flight that is added to the pool.
Beachcomber Tours md, Terry Munro, welcomed the extra airline capacity ahead of the island’s reopening in October.
“We are over the moon with bookings pouring in and our staff are working hectically to deal with the huge interest that is now coming in for travel to Mauritius. In October, the flights are far too few and October 1 and 8 are booked out,” said an ebullient Terry.
He called December demand “incredible”. “We will be so excited when BA/Comair puts on its flights to Mauritius. We need many more flights to be put on for December to meet the demand.”
On Wednesday, August 18, while the Department of Education was still discussing plans to scrap the week-long October school holiday to make up for lost learning days due to the coronavirus pandemic, Terry was pragmatic about the implications for travel. “It will be a big pity if school holidays are cancelled, as the tourism industry and travellers need some stability and not this chopping and changing all the time.
“We look forward to substantial business to Beachcomber Hotels in the coming months, and are blown away with the huge demand we are currently seeing.”
Just the start
Meanwhile, Flight Centre South Africa gm, Bianca Mazur, said demand could spike again once Mauritius’s border was officially reopened and confidence about travel rules had set in.
Bianca described huge interest in Mauritius. “The 40-45%-off Beachcomber special offer has certainly gained lots of interest, and there are still many customers with holiday credit on file.”
She said many travellers were reluctant to pay in full, choosing instead to pay deposits to secure their dates. Most bookings had been for travel in December, Bianca said. “Once the border is officially open and there is more commitment on the airlift side of things, I think the floodgates will open, as all South Africans love Mauritius.”
Comair called a temporary shut-down of its operations on July 5, after South Africa entered adjusted Level 4 lockdown when the COVID third wave hit the country. Brian confirmed that the airline was now going ahead with plans to resume services in September.
Asked when the business rescue process would end for the airline, Brian said: “There are still a few legal processes under way here and overseas. Once these are complete, the business rescue practitioners will file a notice of substantial implementation.”
