As I reported here, Air Seychelles announced they will terminate their 767 flight from Paris to Mahe in March of 2012. This is unfortunate news to many people who have booked the Air Seychelles code share flight with Air France through Delta SkyMiles. My good friend has an award ticket on the Air Seychelles Paris flight in May, about 2 months after the flight is being terminated. In this post I’ll share how Delta is handling his situation.
Initial Communication From Delta
My friend booked a dream award vacation with Delta SkyMiles to visit Paris, the Seychelles, and South Africa. He was shocked to hear the news of Air Seychelles cancelling the flight from Paris and even more shocked by Delta’s initial email. He is a current Delta Diamond Elite member.
The initial communication from Delta came in the form of an email. They notified him of the flight termination and mentioned they have no options to get him to the Seychelles on an award ticket. I referred him to my post here about other Seychelles flight options, but he said Delta couldn’t find him any award options to the Seychelles.
Revised Offer
After the shock from Delta’s initial offer wore off he called the Diamond desk and spoke with a supervisor. He explained the situation and mentioned he is flexible enough to route through Mauritius and on to Seychelles with the Air Seychelles flight from Mauritius. Delta has now reconfirmed him through Paris to Mauritius and on to Seychelles in Business Class. Even though they didn’t get the most direct route, they are now happy campers because they at least get to still visit the Seychelles.
Bottom Line
The Air Seychelles code share with Air France was a stealth way to achieve value with Delta SkyPesosMiles program. In 2009 I realized tremendous value in redeeming 240,000 SkyMiles for two tickets in Business Elite to the Seychelles, Mauritius and Paris. It is unfortunate that the flight is going away in early 2012. If you have a chance to visit the Seychelles I highly recommend it based on my experience I shared in this trip report.
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The Weekly Flyer writes about travel from a business traveler perspective. He travels the world every week accumulating points and miles along the way.
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Don’t forget about Skyteam partner Kenya Airways that also could work (they go there). More legs but could work if space!
http://www.skyteam.com/
@Deltagoldflyer – Agree, Kenya Airways is the first option I mentioned to him. Apparently the connection times and dates weren’t showing up when Delta was doing a search for him.
Even though its a small amount (it was only $200 when I flew that route a few years ago) I do think its pretty cool they are picking up the tab from Mauritius to Seychelles.