AIR AUSTRAL  Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

AIR AUSTRAL customer review :  30 January 2010 by Jeannee Ahkye   (Australia)

Flew Air Austral, Syd-Run-Mauritius-Run-Syd – it is 100% better then Air Mauritius. The food was great and flight attendants were excellent and friendly. I’ve got a 19 month old, so they kept the middle seat for us - free and they kept offering to help and asked if everything was ok. The only drawback is theres no PTV and not much info from cockpit.

AIR AUSTRAL customer review :  11 December 2009 by C Nahnsen   (Australia)

Flew Air Austral return Sydney to Mauritius. Male flight attendants on the flight to RUN - nice however food provided is limited and alcohol only during meal times. Water is in short supply and passengers at the back of the plane were forgotten about almost all the time and rationing of water became an issue towards the end of the journey. Passengers were made to stay overnight in RUN - hotel stay provided to some passengers were terrible, no assistance from the airline or hotel and dinner not provided (incur at passenger's expense). Return flight home was canceled with no word to most passengers (only upon check-in). Flight was canceled due to poor maintenance of the plane which suffered system difficulties on it's previous long haul journey and was forced to attempt emergency landing 3 times - and we were going to take this plane home! Was put up again at the same terrible hotel for the night. Female flight attendants extremely rude, impatient and unwilling to communicate to passengers who cannot speak fluently in French. Very disappointed in the service provided by Air Austral, will not fly again.

AIR AUSTRAL customer review :  7 October 2009 by C Martinez   (Australia)

Noumea to Sydney, found Air Austral staff friendly and good customer service. My only issue was the size of the seats in economy - a tight fit.

AIR AUSTRAL customer review : 18 May 2009 : by G Luyten

Customer Rating : 4/5

Only flew Air Austral for medium haul (RUN-SEY), but was excellent! Good service, much space, good food and very friendly staff! Next time we might choose them also for long haul.

Air Austral - by Didier Lefèvre

5 October 2007   Customer Trip Rating : n/a

CDG-RUN-CDG: Checkin at CDG was fast and even faster at RUN. Very friendly staff at both airports and during flight. 777 are in good shape and the cabin clean and comfortable. Food was excellent - also a lot of choice for drinks, including wine during dinner. Cabin crew present and often come along with water during the night. An amenity kit is distributed after takeoff with socks, earphones, earplugs and eyemask. Only drawback is that there are no PTV's and there's not much info from the cockpit. All in all a very good experience.

Air Austral - by Stephane Gallon

12 November 2006

CDG-RUN-CDG in Club Austral (Business) class. October - November 2006. Quick check-in, nice lounges (although poor drink and snack selections) at both CDG and RUN. All flights perfectly on time, quick delivery of luggage on arrival. Business class seat comfort, (old) business class IFE (not on demand), first class service and meals. Overall a very nice product, much cheaper than Air France and much better (at least compared to AF current B747 on this route ; new AF product using B777 is expected in 2007). Minor drawbacks : frequent flyer program does not seem on par with AF one ; CDG airport is further from Paris than ORY (which AF uses).

Air Austral - by Ian Andrew

12 January 2006

JNB-RUN-JNB. I have travelled with Air Austral, 4 times between Johannesburg and Reunion. My first trip was in 1992 - my latest was in November 2005. Before my latest trip I was of the opinion that they were one of the best airline I had flown economy class. Their B737's were configured 100% economy. Now they have a 'Business Class' and economy seems to have deteriorated to 'Cattle Class' - and they are 'just another airline'. All of their service levels have dropped to mediocre. I still plan to use them again this year as I love the island and Air Austral are the only airline that flies from Johannesburg to Reunion.

Air Austral - by Julie Dyer

3 September 2005

I haven't had such a good quality of service or food on a tourist-class ticket in over 15 years (or more!). Our choice of Air Austral the first time was based mainly on the basis of our connection possibilities from Denmark. Next time it will be as a choice made by satisfied and loyal customers that believe that good treatment should be rewarded.

Air Austral - by Mike Bamber

29 December 2004

I recently flew to Reunion on Air Austral and was very impressed. I found the service was excellent and far superior to that of Air France.

Air Austral - by Frederic Choong

11 August 2004

I currently live in London and I fly once a year to Reunion for holidays. I use to fly on Air France in classe Alize (Economy Plus) but recently I tried Air Austral for the first time in Classe Loisirs (Economy) and was far more satisfied with the level of customer care in terms of punctuality, high food quality and friendly staff. As being part of the Air France Frequence Plus scheme, the good news is I can get some qualifying miles and this code-share flight makes my life easy as I don't need to change airport  - ie remaining in CDG and not going to Orly. So, I would recommend Air Austral in terms of: Comfort: their B777 is modern, the seats are more comfortable and you have more space to put your hand luggage in the compartments above your head. Food: even in Classe Loisirs, you have a huge plateau and you are really spoilt. Customer care: excellent staff. They provide you with warm towels as you get on board and in the morning. They also pass through at night asking you if you want some water while everyone is asleep. Everything with a smile! Punctuality: both outbound and return flights left on time. Unfortunately I read that Air France will stop this code-share flight with Air Austral and I find this decision very sad. I wish everyone who is part of Frequence Plus loyalty scheme to convince Air France to come back to its decision as the CDG-RUN-CDG must not disappear. Air Austral is the getaway to Reunion via CDG for all European and worldwide customers and you won't be disappointed. Thanks to Air Austral, we are getting better airline service to Reunion, excellent staff quality and well-deserved comfort. I'm very happy about their level of professionalism and the image the airline portrays of Reunion Island.

Air Austral - by Stephan Archer

26 February 2004

I flew this with this airline around the Indian Ocean with this airline for business purposes. There punctuality is great they are more often before time rather than on time. Recently i got the opportunity to try there new RUN-CDG-RUN flight in club class. Here also am very satisfied. There REPS in Mauritius are very competent. I recommend you this airline.

Air Austral - by Bernard Ative

24 January 2004

I'm used to fly with the french national airline because I'm a top-tier Frequence Plus cardholder, but I have decided to try Air Austral on a trip from Reunion Island to Paris return in Business Class (they call it Club Austral). I have not been disappointed. The onboard crew was extremely helpful and smiley from boarding to disembarking. The seat which can recline 140 degrees -almost flat bed - is very comfortable, good width and pitch. The food is tasty and includes a creole dish accompanied with spicy condiments and an interesting variety of wines. Even the bread is warm unlike other airlines I'm used to travel with. I have been especially impressed by the quality of the service on board and this from the FA to the captain. Good work.