The A380 visits two Indian Ocean islands on its way to the Dubai Airshow
The A380’s presence at the 2009 Dubai Airshow marks its third stopover on a multi-nation demonstration tour that began with visits to the islands of La Reunion and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.
La Reunion provided a particularly warm welcome for the A380’s arrival on 11 November, as this French overseas department is home to Air Austral – an airline that earlier this year announced its intention to acquire two of the 21st century Airbus flagship jetliners.
Air Austral President Gérard Ethève underscored the A380’s importance in providing cost-effective air service for La Reunion, which he said is vital to the island’s relations with France. The Air Austral A380s will be configured in a single-class configuration that accommodates approximately 840 passengers.
The A380’s La Reunion stopover coincided with the 80th anniversary of the first air link from France to this island, which was performed by a single-engine Farman 192 carrying three aviators.
After the A380’s overnight stay in La Reunion, the aircraft made a short flight to Mauritius on 12 November, where it visited the base of Air Mauritius – an international carrier that currently operates A319s, A330s and A340s.
On 13 November, the A380 departed Mauritius for Dubai, where its first duty was to unload several metric tons of humanitarian cargo for Action contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger), an organisation that is recognised as a world leader in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.
