Réunion's Air Austral says No to an all-economy configured A380

Air Austral

 is still mulling the delivery of two A380-800s but CEO Marie-Joseph Malé says, should they be delivered, they will not be configured in an "all-economy" set up as such large capacity without any premium traffic would cannibalise its network and ultimately “really endanger the existence of the airline”. Speaking to APEX Editor's Blog, Mr Malé said the order is still on with all options still on the table. However, when asked whether discussions with Airbus Industrie had taken place regarding a change in the contract to allow for smaller, more suitable aircraft for the Indian Ocean carrier, Mr Malé preferred not to comment. He said that Air Austral has found particular success with premium economy as it has “a segment of clients that really cannot pay for business but want some level of comfort for flights around 11 hours,” adding that the carrier's business class traffic, currently satisfactory at 55-60% loads, could be improved. Since joining the airline in 2012, Mr Malé has overseen numerous cost-saving initiatives which have included the suspension of ultra-long-haul flights to Sydney Kingford Smith and onwards to Nouméa La Tontouta as well as the sale of a B777-200(LR) and a B777-300(ER).

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