Partners get a feel of Air Seychelles’ new A320neo |06 August 2019

Journalists were among the partners who had the chance to tour the new aircraft

The latest addition to Air Seychelles international fleet, the A320neo named Veuve, is equipped with a number of new and innovative features which ultimately makes it more efficient than its predecessor A320ceo.

Three days after the A320neo touched down at the Seychelles International Airport, the airline invited its partners and stakeholders, including journalists, to tour the airplane and note the comparisons.

Air Seychelles is the first airline in Africa to take delivery of an A320neo, Airbus’ most advanced and best-selling single-aisle aircraft.

The new A320 features a total of 168 seats – 12 in business class and 156 in economy class – and the cabin has been designed using the latest standards.

The A320neo is one of many upgrades introduced by Airbus to help maintain its A320 product line’s position as the world’s most advanced and fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft family and features large, fuel-saving wingtip devices known as sharklets.

Air Seychelles expects that the aircraft will cost the company 20% less in fuel compared to the A320ceo.

“One of the features of the A320neo compared to the A320ceo is the much lower fuel burn. In fact, we are seeing around 20% less fuel spent on the neo than on the ceo,” Joep Ellers, Airbus’ head of airline marketing for Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, explained.

He noted that this allows the plane to fly further than the A320ceo ever could, which in turn allows Air Seychelles to open up to new destinations such as Tel Aviv, Israel – a route Air Seychelles will commence flying in October this year.

“This is not a route that could have been reached with the ceo,” Mr Eller stressed.

The A320neo also makes 50% less noise than the A320ceo.

Another particularity on Veuve is that is does not have any screen for in-flight entertainment since Air Seychelles has opted to provide SeyStream, an onboard entertainment streaming service available through Wi-Fi.

Passengers will be able to access this service either on their smartphones, tablets or laptops.

All seats are subsequently equipped with charging ports for smartphones and tablets.

Another concept designed with efficiency and convenience in mind is the aircraft’s special overhead stowage for its life raft which frees up the other stowage areas to take more luggage.

The airplane has also made optimal use of the rear cabin with the use of Airbus’ Space-Flex lavatories, which allows the two lavatories, that are usually located on either side of the central aisle, to be removed and placed further back.

This has provided Air Seychelles with space for six additional revenue-generating seats.

This new generation of aircraft also provides passengers with more leg room for enhanced passenger comfort due to the special seat designs.

“Because of the design of the new seats, passengers will find that that there is more leg room. The other thing that passengers will notice is the width of the seat; on the A320neo we have the widest cabin of the single-aisle aircraft and that gives us the possibility to offer the widest possible seats,” Mr Ellers stated.

The seats have also been designed using lightweight materials, making the aircraft lighter.

“Now we have more weight available for passenger baggage than we would have had on previous aircraft. The passengers have to come onboard to really experience the A320neo and the Creole experience,” Mr Ellers stated.

Veuve’s inaugural flight is scheduled for Thursday with Mauritius as its arriving destination.