For years, Air Mauritius was one of the most admired companies in the whole country. In 2009, Air Mauritius is suffocating. Analysts predict that, for the 2008-2009 financial year, Air Mauritius will declare losses of around Rs 1,000,000,000 after having made a profit of Rs 675 million during the previous financial year.
Where did it go wrong?
- Reason #1 is the hedging contract for kerosene negotiated by Air Mauritius until August 2010. This means that the company will suffer massive losses in 2009-2010 too. No wonder the Chairman of the Board as well as the financial manager have resigned… and others might follow.
- Reason #2 is the worldwide recession. People are travelling less now because they do not want to spend their hard-earned cash on something which is not essential. I was talking to a friend yesterday who was telling me that Air Mauritius airplanes are routinely half-full (or half-empty depending on your mindset.)
- Reason #3 is that the Air Mauritius service is, ahem, crap. When travelling from Malaysia in  2007, we had to endure an airplane which smelled of piss. No wonder people prefer Emirates. [I don’t want to be mean but I also have to say that, given the large number of beautiful girls in Mauritius, I don’t understand why so many Air Mauritius air hostesses are so ugly. Maybe this is a consequence of Reason #5.]
- Reason #4 is the fact that Air Mauritius wastes too much money on trivialities: huge catering bills, reduced price and even free air tickets to all personnel, etc. In fact, I’m sure a lot of people perceive Air Mauritius as THE place to work if you love to brag. It is THE bragging company par excellence.
- Reason #5 is the fact that a large number of the employees recruited every year are (i) political agents or (ii) family members of prominent political agents or politicians. This has been the rule for years now as far as I know. This implies that a substantial proportion of the workforce might not have the required aptitudes to do their job properly. [This is not specific to Air Mauritius. We all know that.]
One way forward is for Air Mauritius to stop being THE bragging company. Air Mauritius should become humble and realise that it is a tiny airline with substandard service and should do its best to enhance its products. Of course, this means that the top brass there should stop believing they are demi-gods and start working instead (and they should also take a pay cut.) Last but not least, the Air Mauritius trade unions leaders should be intellectually honest enough to say that some employees are not contributing anything to the company and should be fired… without golden parachutes.
Will that happen? I have some doubts.
#1 They gambled and they lost… Now as in the US, it’s taxpayer’s money that will be required to rescue Air Mauritius.
#2 If they had done really aggressive promotion of Mauritius on emerging markets, maybe other destinations would have covered up the fall in the usual ones (Europe) hit by the recession.
#3 That’s one recurring problem that we hear on the news now & then? What happened to our flagship carrier that was once the best airline in Africa?
#4 Yep, where all airlines are doing everything to cut costs, Air Mauritius still insists on giving away freebies.
#5 Another reason is that many of the qualified personnel use Air Mauritius as a starting point before moving away to other better-paid jobs elsewhere.
Most of it was just bad management decisions, the wrong decisions at the wrong time, aided by the notion of their “demi-god” status.
Did they really need to buy these newer planes? Why not wait for more fuel-efficient planes? Everyone knew that oil was rising… & the key to combating this is leaner, cleaner & more efficient planes.
The problem is that it’s the same thing in all public institutions – corruption, fraud, political interference & wastage of money and resources. The whole system is CRAP. :(
I always thought that MCB was the place to work for bragging rights… Anyway, I have never flown on the national airline for long-haul flights because 1) tickets are over-priced and 2) I expect to be dis-satisfied.
My second reason may seem prejudiced, but I believe that in Mauritius there is a stigma attached to serving a fellow mauritian. One feels inferior when serving another mauritian and therefore does the worse to make his life miserable.
Eddy.
I personally believe that the current predicament Air Mauritius is in right now will not affect reason # 5 from continuing to prevail. I agree there are lots of lame ducks at AM….concluding dodgy hedging contracts and allowing, obviously, people to piss anywhere in their plane :)…no seriously AM should start being professional period!
i agree with you.. Air Mauritius should fire some of its employees for the welfare of the country..
C’mon Air Mauritius…
agreed with CM, that was a long shot gamble!
hmm, a plane that smell piss :s, that’s kind of disturbing, this is probably coz of this “mentalitE ferfoutisme” that a lot of mauritian who have some sort of political “backing” do. Because they know they can’t be kicked out.
As for the beautiful girls … well those are relative to one’s perception of what beauty is …. but what i believe if the biggest problem of those hostest is that they don’t know how to be humble and they don’t have enough manners, they should have followed a course or atleast been tested for obedience… pfft they don’t know their place i guess, it is their work to be nice, coz that’s what the work is, even if you don’t like the person you gotta be nice!
The inevitable consequence of a lazy population who doesn’t seem to want to rise against a flawed system… to suffer they ought to =)
Well, plaisance isn’t far from my place, and i can say one thing is for sure, air mauritius isn’t the place to work if you love to brag, but its the place to work if you love to f*ck… the situation is almost the same as in infinity… snoopy and curious as i am, i’ve started getting into the personal life of a few people to learn if certains things are really true… and i was amazed…
tout est dans la mentalitE ki zot get dimoune… some people just think that heh, i don’t like that guy, so i’ll piss him off in the whole flight, when shit happens and the guy sue her, .. she’ll say “bein piss ar li, ki li pou kapav fer, mo sanz travay la moi” <— that kind of thought made the company lose reputation points plus such people don’t deserve to have a work, parseki their mission or job is to be nice, even if it is hypocrite, if s/he can’t do that, then, pas gagne droit prend sa kalitE dimoune la! itsn ot as if you are sitting behind a desk coding, there you can be as rude and arrogant and whatever you want, you are not presented infront of the customer! but in such a case you are.
as far as the ideal place for braggers.. that would be without doubt… the cyber towers… specially if you “are supposed” to keep your tie and your coat on you in hot summer days in an overcrowded bus… because it is company policy [weird policy]!
*hostess
There are rumours that AM management allowed themselves to be influenced by the PM and his hedging speculations. Not so surprising since many of them were “placed” in their positions.
Eddy.
Reason number 5 is not a myth.
I’ve flown quite a few times on Air Mauritius, Air France, KLM, Air Canada and West Jet. What I can say is that each airline has both the bad and good. Price (Air Mauritius) varies depending on the point of departure and where you are purchasing your ticket. If you were to buy a return Paris-Mauritius ticket in Paris, it will cost you about 1,350 Euros. But, if you were to buy the same ticket in Canada, it would cost you about CDN $1,200.
That being said, I like Air Mauritius. I don’t know why. Maybe because a few of my relatives worked there for a long period of time, or because I did my “BTS stage” there, or simply because it’s a patriotic thing.
The only airline I’ve yet to hear someone complaining about is Singapore Airlines.
What do you mean Eddy?
In defence of Air Mauritius.
I have flown on Air Mauritius many times and I have noticed a steady improvement of the service, the crew on board and at the terminal are polite and professional. As for their attractiveness, let’s just say everyone on earth is beautiful in their own way.
Because hiring people only on the basis of their physical appearance will be discrimination.
I personally prefer to have exceptional service from a less model-like hostess than shitty service from a pretty lady who spends way too much time pampering herself than reading the customer service manual.
By some miracle I’ve had the opportunity to fly in Air Mauritius First class, British Airways First class and Air France Business class. The stewards in the Air Mauritius first class were polite but overall the first class is not worth the foot of Air France business class, I don’t think they should be alout to call it first class. The best was of course BA. For the smell of piss I believe some people don’t follow the rule that you shouldn’t throw paper towels in the loo.
I would use the term “ugly” for the hostesses but a more polite “not so good looking :-)”. I think they were very elegant, (note I didn’t say beautiful), when they were recruited but with time they have become complascent and didn’t watch their figure. And of course I wouldn’t rule out family issues due to the work schedules and lifestyle.
I am not 100% with you Ajay. Air hostesses are supposed to be beautiful. And care should be taken not to recruit ugly ones. Of course, they should also read the customer (and security) manual.
Concerning the hostesses, who said that only beauty pagents contestants were eligible?
maybe the hostesses are more ‘beautiful on the inside that ouside’?
maybe the recruiters know better?
maybe beautiful girls do not bother as they have better opportunities elsewhere than being glorified ‘waitresses’ on planes?
maybe beautiful girls come from ‘good’ families or already have boyfriends/husbands that would not allow them to sleep around (in different countries every night I mean :P ) ?
Notwithstanding the above, I had a really nice. polite and pretty hostess in my cabin, while returning form Mauritius 2 weeks ago, on Air Mauritius. While a swallow does not make a summer, at the end of the day if I am receiving a good service, the hostess can look like Amy Winehouse.
As for the hedging, I think that it was the right thing to do at that time BUT who the hell advised them to enter this futures contract for 2 years?? 6 month would have made more sense! I wonder what role is played by Ali Mansoor on the board of AM.. he is supposed to be a financial whizz, having worked at the FMI or World Bank (I think).
Finally, Mauritius seems doomed because 75% of the most intelligent/capable mauritians are living and working abroad and the other 25% do not get positions of responsibility because these have to go to political nominees, remember?
While in Mauritius I saw a ‘caricature’ in the papers which summed up the Air Mauritius situation perfectly:
There was our dear PM asking an adviser how the shit hit the fan at Air Mauritius. The guy replied to him that: “This is a direct result of your ‘Lev Paké Allé’ policy and your ‘Putting OUR people first’ strategy”
Cry, my beloved country!
Ajay said “75% of the most intelligent/capable Mauritians are living and working abroad and the other 25% do not get responsibility”… a big lol for this!! I will say 90% of those 75% are fools to go abroad.. they are working as cleaner in hospitals, brooming, prostitutes [these are realities – it’s bitter], working at 2 places to be able to survive.. and lots more.. lol “..75% of the most intelligent/capable..”, frankly it’s amazing to hear this!!!
Stop pointing at the air hostesses, it’s the MANAGEMENT who is at fault..
The management is to be blamed, they have to choose good air hostesses, control, and plan well so that Air Mauritius keeps on progressing, but it’s not the case..
C’mon Air Mauritius we are with you.. METALS BECOME SWORDS WHEN THEY ARE BURNT AT A HIGH TEMPERATURE.. Everything’s gonna be alright..
You are right. Everything which is happening now is a consequence of bad management decisions. And, to be frank, I feel resignation is a too easy way out…
Lovvy,
It seems that you don’t have a good grasp of the English language and I would advise you to go read my post again, word by word and refer to a dictionary if necessary.
“75% of the most intelligent/capable Mauritians are living and working abroad”
While stating the above, I already specified that I was talking about a restricted group of people which was the ‘most intelligent and capable’ subset of our population.
For example, you will not be part of this subset but somebody with a PhD in Quantitative Finance who makes millions of $$ per year will be in it. This is just examples anyway; no need to feel offended.
Finally, people who fall in the group that I described and are living abroad will not be cleaning toilets. Instead, headhunters call them everytime with lucrative job offers and they can choose where they want to work.
Want me to expand more?
You can disagree with me and say that the figure of 75% that I mentioned is far-fetched but please, spare us of the nonsense, on such a respected blog.
completely out of subject, are there free servers lie you use, that thing Apache/2.2.8 (Ubuntu) ? We call that a server or mirror? I want one like this, are there free stuff giving storage like this?
What gamble? Everyone knew oil was at its highest late last year and that it was inevitable that it will drop.. If Air mauritius had some brains, they would have known that there was a big recession coming around the world. Most financial analyst had predicted it.. Oh come on the hedging contract looks like some percentage of the money has gone into someone’s pocket.. I won’t say who but it’s too obvious :)
To Koli:
It seems to me that you are a beginner. I would advise you to read a little bit about web hosting and Apache web server and then afterwards you can ask us more precise questions.
I agree that the management are to be blamed to some extent but somehow we have to realise that the price of petrol at that time(when air mauritius got the right to purchase petrol at reduced price) was around $150 and no one would have imagined that the price would drop to less than $60. Hedging, by nature, is a risky move. Now dont you think that if all the management people resign, this will further create a turbulence at the top level of Air Mauritius. I sincerely believe that Air Mauritius should stay together and try to find out a solution because, once they would be out of this crisis, they will need the experience of those people(I reiterate on those people who worked in Air Mauritius for long time and understand the aviation industry).
If many girls who participate in the Miss Mauritius show are “not beautiful”{I prefer not to use the word ugly and offense them} then I did not expect beautiful girls working for Air Mauritius.
Both STC and Air Mauritius have basically too clever advisers. Perhaps they opt or they are stupidly blind to make such contracts. Many overseas companies{mostly air lines} did make hedging contract but they did it up to a max of 40% of their overall fuel consumption. But whereas here, one could deduce that they made a 100% contract.
And Rafaben, this is not uncommon. Many times when contract are made, some % goes straight in some people’s pocket. And the ICAC is just a barking dog which can’t and will never bite.
“Air Mauritius should stay together and try to find out a solution because, once they would be out of this crisis, they will need the experience of those people(I reiterate on those people who worked in Air Mauritius for long time and understand the aviation industry).”
The what? Experience people? They are political placed person. They will be kicked out if the current gov loses the upcoming election.
travel by boat.
i think that air mauritius have hired too many employers , wasting money on new logos uniforms, incompetent staffs, free air tickets etc, and also new destinations where there is no tourist, too many check in staffs and back office staffs through a subsidiary airmate of no use again wastage of funds
Too many staffs at MK of no use, i think lots of crew have been hired for no use. wastage of funds and ground staffs at airport as if passengers, cut down cost on uniforms , free air tickets , etc then MK will be stable
well some people are too authoritative on this blog.. If i’m talking nonsense then that person too..
well , i ve not read all the comments, but following this :”to some extent but somehow we have to realise that the price of petrol at that time(when air mauritius got the right to purchase petrol at reduced price) was around $150 and no one would have imagined that the price would drop to less than $60”, i would like to say that a hedging contrat for me, its really really HIGH RISK… I dnt really follow economical issues but is there any experts who could ve predicted that there will be a drop in the price of petrol??
ANyhow, concerning hostess, i totally agree with Mr A.Meetoo that they must be gorgeous and well mannered, cause it is some sort of marketing for the company…
dear all
i agree with all of u about the air mauritius crew look. I travel many times to different destinations and at times you just want to put on your eye masks and sleep. but but but there are many good looking air hostesses and stewards as well.Just flew back from london in business class last sunday to attend maha shivratree. The crew had all the qualities of a five star airline like qatar that i travel often as well. service was excellent and pro. Though two of the air hostesses were in their 40s i guess, the politeness was there. As for the air steward he was one of the best i ve encountered so far worldwide sincerely. Its just a question of luck at times. For instance emirates that boasts its image so much is at times very deceiving with its eastern european crew who are ill manered even in business class. And as for the hedging is concerned am sure things will be fine and soon. Lets keep our flag high………
I want really a job in the administration department day by day they are saying business is getting bigger and bigger. So hw provide the vacancy is really a happiness and a forgetful day. Waiting for an administration vacancy i am eager for the job .
Is this a joke?
Hello Avinash,
I really apreciate your work, i have to thank you for that. i’m a mauritian working for another airline abroad. You are right, Air Mauritius is getting worst just because it has an extremely bad management team. The success of an Airline company highly dependon the employees but unfortunately the recruitment strategy of AM is political nomination. So how to except such company to improve, it’s really sad. Consequently, lots of mauritians also prefer to travel with other airline.
Hello Avinash..
I think you should think many times before posting such n such comments. By far you know very well that MK is contributing much to the economy of the country. So be a patriot n help OUR NATIONAL airline instead.
Indeed the fact that you come from MEETOO family, close to the MMM party long ago, where your father also was an activist and later mayor of municipality of qb may b the reason of such disgraceful comments,
I dont agree with you when you say the cabin crew are ugly….else being and ugly person urself, u would have been chosen for the job easily..
Main duty of the cabin crew is to ensure the safety of passengers….whether ugly or not,,, in an emergency whether planned or unplanned…rest assure that the ugly crew might be the only one to help you to save your life..
Today indeed the Mismanagement contributed to the downlfall of the company…with dirty politicians involved..
Nevertheless true patriots are n will always speak good n help in any other way our National Flag Carrier.
Dear Mr Robin10, you have a funny conception of being patriotic.
Being patriotic does not mean accepting everything that is being done however bad those things may be. Being patriotic (at least for me) is to use one’s own brain to criticise constructively. You see, Air Mauritius is funded with my money (as a tax-payer) and it seems that a lot of that money was (is?) not being spent wisely. As I have a brain, I have used it and try to come up with a blog entry which offers some insight as well as some suggestions of what needs to be done.
Now it seems to me that you don’t really have a brain which acts independently and you believe whatever people tell you. Fine. That’s your problem.
There is something I fail to understand concerning your argument about my dad. Whatever he believes in (MMM, PTr or MSM which he is a member of currently — document yourself better next time) does not directly influence my own line of thinking. You see, I think independently. And what I write on my blog is what I think. I know it’s tough for you to understand that as you do not “have a brain which acts independently” but, believe me, this is what I do. As for my comments being disgraceful, can you tell me to whom? I don’t write to be graceful or disgraceful. I write because I have an opinion which I want to share. This is something that you really don’t understand. And, by the way, if you don’t like what I write, why don’t you go elsewhere and read something more graceful according to your bizarre conceptions of gracefulness?
Now, concerning some of the crew members being ugly, this is also a personal opinion. And I am entitled to have it. I know that being beautiful is secondary to how good they are at saving lives but something secondary is still important… Myself being ugly (or not) is not your problem as I am not being paid to look nice (and whether you like it or not, air hostesses are paid to look nice — hence their nice uniforms and their nice make-ups etc.)
Finally, your statement about “true patriots are n will always speak good n help in any other way our National Flag Carrier”, this is idiotic. True patriots criticise and ruthlessly condemn those who fail to use public money correctly. As far as I know, the PM also criticised Air Mauritius. Does that make him anti-patriotic?
Sincerely, I think you need to read a good book on what education really means. And you’ll understand that what our country needs more are critical people who want things to become better. Maybe one day, you’ll become one yourself. Time will tell…
@AvinashI totally agree with you Avinash, but something which i like to add is please don’t give criticize people..
Everything you wrote to robin is “independent and rational thinking” but don’t tell him to read a book or whatever to increase his wisdom. It’s too rude man..
Bzw in your reply-post to robin, I can see you have very good independent thoughts, fantastic and interesting reply.. Keep it up dude
@Robin, i would advise u to create a blog of urs and post watver u want dude.. Blogging is a better way to express urself..
Yeah. You’re right. But I was (a bit) pissed off with his comment and that’s why I was (a bit) rude :-)
Ban Hotesses Air mauritius, si bisin ranconte ena beaucoup, a ecoute zotte coze quand zotte pe travail. Zots ranconte meme ki zot ine faire ou pu alle faire.
Ena ene Steward li. li contant ranconte so ban fantase avek so ban collegues fams.
Pu dire Air Mauritius ene compagnie ki bisin refaire.
Vive Air Mauritius
Hi Ajay if your reading this message. i need you to email me at i have some important assignment on air mauritius i need you to help me with. it seems like you have a lot of knowledge about airlines in general. please help!
Yeah lelep!! totally agree!!..
Appelle sa ban bordel qui appartenir a nou pays: Air Mauritius, MBC, Cybercite…
Ena dimoune dans maurice ki gagne tous zaffer cadeau mem… zot coquin mem ek pas cav touche zot sa… nou p cozer mem lor sa blog la mais sa pou rest zis cozer mem sa.. pou fini coumsa mem sa.. malheureusement…
One of these days, things will have to change. Let’s hope so.
avinash u 2 one day should change, from a “la tete pied nue with big googles” to a normal looking . lets hope so!!
Come on, Robin (whoever you may be), this blog entry was written nine months ago. Can’t you say something more, ahem, concrete apart from your obtuse rhetoric?
air mauritius is the best
I wrk at MK… and I like it!!!! We are not braggers… we don’t get free tickets… we pay taxes!!!! I think tht Every single MK staff is pround to be part of the organisation!!!! Air Mauritius rocks!!!!
That’s nice to hear :-)
vraimeme la plipart banne proteze qui gagne travail a bord.
Difficile dire.
Mais bon, bizin ena pas mal incompétents (+ pas mal dimoun compétent aussi) pou ki finance dans difé coum sa…
AIr MAuritius as an organisation is a very good one. It just needs the right person at the right place. Unfortunately, political nomination causes graet harm to the Company, but still, MK staff are striving to rise the company high in the sky. Management should realise that by outsourcing Air Mauritius services, it is only creating harm to the Company’s image. Air Mauritius remain a great company.
I hope you’re right. Focussing on core competencies is not a bad idea though…
Its all about the right person in the right place. But for Air Mauritius, there is too much political interferences. Mismanagement everywhere. The staff itself speaks bad about the company.
Concerning recruitment, QUALIFIED candidates dont get the chance, if they dont have relation to the actual government. Trust me, worst place to be, but yet desirable.
Completely agree with this blog because I have flown on Air Mauritius two times and I have noticed that they need steady improvement. Well tickets of Air Mauritius are over-priced and I get dis-satisfied by travelling. you mentioned well in Reason #4 that Air Mauritius wastes too much money on trivialities: huge catering bills, reduced price and even free air tickets to all personnel, etc.
AIr MAuritius as an organisation is a very good one. It just needs the right person at the right place. Unfortunately, political nomination causes graet harm to the Company, but still, MK staff are striving to rise the company high in the sky. Management should realise that by outsourcing Air Mauritius services, it is only creating harm to the Company’s image. Air Mauritius remain a great company.