A senior management team from Reunion-based Air Austral (UU) has been in Australia working with its general sales agent World Aviation Cargo ahead of its planned start-up in April next year. The carrier will operate two B777-300 ER flights a week between Paris and Sydney.

Air Austral began regional services in August 1997, operating as ‘Reunion Air Services’ to Mayotte. With additions to their fleet, services were extended to Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Johannesburg, South Africa. Long-haul flights began in June, 2003 with services to Paris and Toulouse, France and most recently to Bangkok, Thailand.

Airfreight director Didier Bonello and senior manager Fabrice Deltel confi rmed the routing for the twice-weekly flights will be Paris (CDG)-Reunion (RUN)-Sydney (SYD)-Noumea (NOU) Sydney- Paris with a technical (refuelling stop) in Reunion on the return leg. An announcement on ground handler is expected soon.