Airbus A350 Orders To Be Cancelled?

The Airbus A350 backlog could be seeing yet another shift with Air Mauritius exploring the future of its orderbook.

The company, which already has four A350-900s to its name, is expecting to take delivery of several more units in the future, with one scheduled to be delivered soon as it’s in the critical production stages.

However, Air Mauritius now believes that the requirement for these Airbus A350s is no longer present, citing that decisions such as the move to order additional A350s are part of a string of poor ones.

These decisions, led by what the carrier describes as poor management, have come back to bite the airline with poor financial performance and other issues.

With three Airbus A350s expected to be handed over, Air Mauritius confirms that it’s too late for at least one of the units, as it is in production. Still, opportunities may exist for the remaining two units, which are part of the order book.

Speaking with Defimedia, the airline’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Koshore Beegoo, said that room may be available to adjust the order configuration with discussions ongoing with planemaker Airbus, which is producing the widebody jets.

Instead, Air Mauritius would ideally move ahead with planes better suited to the operational reality currently hitting the company, that is, more single-aisle aircraft or long-haul aircraft which have a lower capacity point than the A350 and are therefore more versatile.

The company already flies the A330neo, which, if a single-aisle jet were not the move forward, would likely be the best choice for enhanced fleet commonality.

Why The Switch From The A350?

Air Mauritius feels switching from the Airbus A350 will help its long-term vision for network development, and there are major risks associated with taking delivery of more of these flagship widebodies.

For example, adding these jets comes with heavy expenses, and those expenses should come with a fundamental plan that allows for the welcoming of such an aircraft.

But, the purchase of the A350, which could be considered still a mistake driven by previous management, did not come with a thought-out plan to have the jet benefit the network; instead, it would now be viewed as a deterrent.

Current leadership at the business believes the focus should lie more on responding to market changes and the launch of new routes, while strengthening existing regional services. The A350 does not do that.

Additionally, it’s felt that the four already existing Airbus widebody types act as a sufficient cover on its long-haul international network, which requires capacity, and that is seen in Paris and London, and also very much limited to just these specific cities.

Thus far, Air Mauritius does not see sufficient demand across any other city to warrant serving with Airbus A350s; therefore, taking delivery of these expensive jets and flying them would pose more challenges than neccesary.

Additionally, when factoring in the journey the business has been through in the last few years, including restructuring and financial rebuilding of the day-to-day operation after years of poor decisions, the delivery of three more aircraft of this type has the potential to be only a deterrent.