The Vanilla Alliance officially launched

Directors and representatives of the airlines of the Indian Ocean have signed the agreement establishing the Vanilla Alliance on September 21 in Antananarivo.

The solemn ceremony was held at the presidential palace Iavoloha under the high-patronage of Hery Rajaonarimampianina, President of the Republic of Madagascar, and under the aegis of Jean Claude de l'Estrac, Secretary General the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).

The President of the Republic of Madagascar said that "history will record this qualitative leap". This "intelligent formula” will be a source of revenue and job creation.

"We are all convinced that the strengthening of our air links is a motor or a prerequisite to endogenous economic development of our region," confirmed Marie-Joseph Malé, CEO of Air Austral and president of the Alliance Vanilla. He added that this is just the beginning and that connectivity between neighboring islands will be enhanced in a spirit of cooperation. He also recalled the catalytic role played by the Secretary General of the IOC.

Jean Claude de l'Estrac has already prompted airlines to look beyond their enhanced cooperation. He sees the opportunity to create "a low-cost airline - regional in its DNA that would be likely to drain at least 200 000 additional tourists a year [...] and generate, according to estimates, an additional income of $ 1.1 billion to the GDP of the region and 10 new jobs for every 100 additional tourists. "

Through this agreement, Air Austral, Air Madagascar, Air Mauritius, Air Seychelles and Air Inter-Iles l’Union des Comores affirm their willingness to cooperate to significantly improve the regional air connectivity, collaborate in the areas of sales, promotion, training, customer care, ensure the attractiveness of tickets and develop partnerships and synergies around a common vision to share risks and undertake to jointly defend their common interests, strengthening the tourist industry, traffic development, business facilitation, optimizing their networks and increasing trade.

The Vanilla Alliance offers more than 50 destinations operated by more than 30 aircrafts, counts nearly 6,000 employees and enables over 2.3 million passengers to travel per year.

Its partners are convinced that the measures proposed in the agreement will boost regional and local economic development.