I did a bit of a search and I think Skymonster's Trip Record
http://www.airliners.net/discussions/trip_reports/read.main/27712/6/
is the only Air Mauritius one here. As that was Europe - Mauritius, and Business class, I'll post mine which is to/from the other side, Australia - Mauritius, and in economy,

Last November a travel chain were offering cheap Perth to Mauritius packages so we snapped one up, unfortunately the deal was we had to return home by 30 June 2003, which coupled with only a weekly PER-MRU service (out early hours Wed morning, in late Monday night) and my work arrangements meant that I could only go for six days. Anyway, it was a bargain too good not to take up so we did it.

Outbound MK941 PER-MRU Wednesday 25 June 2003
Our son drives us the 12 minutes from home to the Perth International terminal (the tower is visible from my front door) at 2330 on Tuesday 24 June. Check-in takes no more than 3 minutes and its off to check out the duty free bargains - but the terminal shop is shut! We have to wait until we get to the departure lounge. So we go to grab a bite to eat and a drink - what a piss poor arrangement that is now!

The once big open cafe/bar area is now a cluttered, untidy, crammed mishmash of a Dome Coffee shop and two other small places with plastic furniture which are closed or in the process of being built - I'm not sure which. So after a coffee and stale muffin we go into departures at 0030-ish (Wednesday 25 June).

Do a bit of duty free ordering for collection when we return then are entertained by the irate Malaysian pax milling around waiting for their 80 minute delayed flight which is late from KUL (scheduled turnaround is 95 min for a 0145 departure). Our flight is also 40 minutes late in from Melbourne but with a scheduled 160 minute (who knows why so long?) stopover that will not affect us.

So come 0130 and the first call is made for MK941 at Gate 4. We board the red and white A340-300 and take our seats, 33A & 33B. Interestingly it seems most of the ex-MEL pax have stayed on board and I realise that they'd be on the plane some 5 to 6 hours more than us - not something I'd really want to experience.

We settle in and I gratefully note that the "slimline" seats provide plenty of leg room for my lanky six foot plus frame. Generally the interior of the A340 is a little tired looking but not too bad. The flight is totally full, including some 20+ fifteen year olds off to Reunion for a 30 day homestay French language exchange. As expected they are very raucous and I'm getting worried that the forthcoming 8+ hour redeye flight might be not be the most enjoyable. As it turned out it was not that enjoyable, but for another reason.

Pushback is exactly as scheduled at 0225, just as the rain starts to teem down - Mauritius here we come! A bit over 10 minutes later in the smooth but unspectacular manner of A340s we lift off from Runway 03, bank left to the west and climb to our first cruise altitude of 25000 ft to avoid the strong westerly headwinds at higher flight levels. Captain Speaking advises that we'd be climbing to 35000 ft later in the flight. The cabin attendants hand out menus that include dinner and breakfast - dinner? At 0300 I don't think so. That was obviously what the exMEL pax had before arriving at PER. We make do with drinks and a soggy club sandwich snack before lights out.

Watch most of "The Recruit" (a CIA spy training thing) on the seatback PTV (both video and sound is a bit scratchy at times) then settle down about 0500 PER time (0100 MRU time) for some shuteye. The horde of exchange students have finally quietened down, and then it slowly becomes apparent to me how bloody hard the seats were! Plenty of legroom maybe - but man, absolutely no padding for the posterior at all. Two strategically placed pillows joined by a rug sort of provided some relief but ... groan ... well I must have dozed because then there's an announcement "Could any passengers who are doctors or otherwise medically trained please make themselves known to the cabin crew!"

Oh shit - I hope this isn't serious - which could mean a return to Perth! Apparently it isn't - nothing more is said. Later I find out that one of the aforementioned students wasn't well and I guess the accompanying teachers weren't about to be harrassed by a litigious parent. Time to settle again. I find the cabin crew very friendly but hardly attentive - no continous patrols offering snacks or drinks to those still awake like on SQ.

A couple of hours later I open the window shade to witness a pale pink dawn bathing our plane from the north. One of those purely magical moments to simaltaneously ponder man's technological marvel of flight and nature's beauty at 35000 ft above the Indian Ocean - it is certainly a privilege to experience such moments, even if my bum is totally numb.

Breakfast is served - I go for the chicken omelette over the onions and chicken sausages - not too bad, but I am starving!

It's now 0600 Mauritius time and the captain announces top off descent - we pass through the top of the cloud cover at 8000 ft, break out at around 5000 and there is the coast of Mauritius just ahead of us - just how do they do that?

We cross the eastern coast of this jewel of an island - lakes, patterns of canefields, sharp volcanic ridges, natural forests pass beneath us and then just before we cross the west coast (it is a very small island!) we bank steeply to the left (affording me a magificant view - I think it was about now that the pain in my posterior was forgotten), do a 180 and start our easterly approach to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) International Airport, Plaisance, Mauritius (MRU). I guess the wind at sea level is not from the west like it is at 35000 feet. Then follows the best landing I've ever experienced - talk about kissing the runway, a very slight thump then reverse thrust and braking and that was it!

Turn around, backtrack along the runway then taxi to the terminal, park ontime at 0635 local between an Air France B747 and an MK A319 and it's holiday time! Well almost - we were given two Mauritiuan forms to complete on the plane - a customs form and a health form. But of course first stop is immigration - sorry, first go off and fill out this immigration form - grrr!!! Well eventually we officially arrive and now it's holiday time.

In Mauritius
I might post something in Non-Av about this great little country soon.

Inbound MK940 MRU-PER Monday 30 June 2003
Our transfer bus arrives at SSR International Airport at 1020 Monday 30 June. I guess the security arrangements are the reason for only one (narrow) landside entrance door to the terminal building. Put all our luggage (both carry on and to be checked) through the scanners then join the all ready long lines for check in. Check in is straight forward then it's through immigration and into departures. Huh? Copy of what immigration form? - the incoming officer kept both. Well please fill out another one - grrrr again!
Much muttering and shaking of heads and then we have to have our carry on luggage security scanned again before entering departures.

Pick up the spouse's duty free jewellery (don't ask) from the Chamber of Commerce and have a look at the other duty free offerings. According the specialist retail consultant accompanying me the prices aren't that flash - but what would I know, so I bow to her superior expertise in these matters.


First call for MK940 to MEL via PER is at 1125 through Gate 2. This time we have seats 27E and 27D.
Pushback at 1205 is again right on schedule. Take off straight out into the Indian Ocean to the east and we're on our way home. Quick look around brings to our notice half dozen or so empty aisle seats, two of which, including an emergency exit row one, are of course soon occupied by us. Menus describing lunch and dinner are distributed - realise again that the dinner is only for the MEL pax, poor bastards I guess they deserve it more than us PER bound pax.

About now I am arranging various pillows and rugs in expectation of 7 hrs 10 min of uncomfortableness again when I see the flight ETA on the PTV is 1 hr 10 min early! Wow - gotta love those westerly jetstreams!

I go for the Red Snapper Fillet over the Kasmiri Lamb Curry. Curry on planes capable of carrying over 300 pax and with only 6 or 8 toilets? You gotta wonder sometimes.

Was going to watch "Catch Me If You Can" but read a Harlen Coben novel instead - good easy to read style, like his mind boggling mysteries. Time passes - cabin crew seem more on the ball on this flight; attentive and responsive. This time dry cheese and chicken sandwiches are our snack before landing.

One hour out from PER a/c turns northeast - captain announces our ETA will be an hour early but will depend on traffic. At TOD 30 minutes out we turn SE and start descending from 35000 ft. Swing east and cross the coast at 5000 ft, then its a sweeping turn southwards for a long approach to Runway 21.

Landing at PER is pretty average compared to one at MRU, taxi to International terminal and stop at the gate at precisely 2205 local (1805 Mauritiuan) - so that's a block time of 6 hours exactly, 1 hr 10 min early - ground speed at stages was 1200kph, not bad.

We deplane; collect our booze ( including the extra "declarable" litre now allowed per person), smokes and smelly stuff from duty free; and trudge off to immigration; on the way to which we are intecepted by an official waving forms in our faces. Oh sir it's ok, we've completed our AUS combined immigration/custome/quarratine card. Oh no this is a SARS form, it should have been given to you on the plane. WTF - another bloody form - grrr (once again). What seat did we have? What seat did you change to? Oh shit - yeah, yeah, ok, fill in the bloody thing and lets go home.

Overview:
Mauritius - fantastic place.
Air Mauritius - hmm, better than US domestic for service; I guess generally satisfactory, but not outstanding.

PGF



[Edited 2003-07-03 18:25:18]