June 17, 2019: Effective June 15, Air Austral has increased flights between the French island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean and Paris to daily services.

The southbound flight includes a technical stop in Mombasa, Kenya, for refueling while the northbound flight, for the same reason, stops over in Nairobi, Kenya as the aircraft does not have the range for a nonstop flight.

This increased schedule is possible after the airline leased an A330 aircraft to temporarily replace a B787, which at the busiest time of the year is grounded due to ongoing engine issues and mandatory inspections of the Rolls Royce Trent 1000.

A second leased A330 aircraft will arrive in early July to cater for increased high season flights and to operate on the route from Reunion to Bangkok.

Both Reunion and Mayotte - French Indian Ocean regions are members of the Vanilla Island alliance which brings together these islands with Mauritius, Madagascar, the Comoros and Seychelles for tourism.