Air Seychelles Economy Class: JNB-SEZ A320neo

Flying a new airline and a brand new plane to a new country to scratch off my map made this a fun flight. Air Seychelles has a limited route network, but from Johannesburg they offer a flight 5x weekly. They received their first A320neo aircraft in August 2019 so the plane was only a few weeks old when we flew it. With the latest engines, seats and inflight entertainment it promised to make the 5 hour flight painless.

Boarding commenced on time and we boarded the new plane. Upon sitting in our seats in Row 9 (not an exit row contradictory to seat maps), I soon realized this was a tight fit. The legroom was terrible. We lucked out as the middle seat was open so 2 of us could share the row. I would highly recommend booking the extra legroom seats for USD 35 as it’s well worth it. I wish I knew this prior to my flight. You can find the details on the extra legroom seats here: https://www.airseychelles.com/en/creole-experience/book-extra-legroom-seat

A320neo Seating Row 9

The service onboard was satisfactory and the new seats were decent. A 5 hour flight was a bit long for this tight fit, but survivable. I didn’t try the new inflight entertainment via their WiFi streaming service, SeyStream. The power outlets at the seats worked well.

We landed in Mahe (SEZ) from Johannesburg (JNB) in the evening and connected to Praslin on a small Twin Otter turboprop. More on that flight in the next post.

Conclusion: Air Seychelles was a decent ride to the islands. Nothing special, but a clean new plane. Who can complain when you land in the Seychelles? 🙂

SEZ Arrivals