Air Austral: Best Airline Financial Management Team Indian Ocean 2023

Since its launch in 1990, Air Austral has proven itself a socio-economic catalyser of the Indian Ocean. Air Austral offers numerous direct and codeshare flights between Reunion and destinations across Europe, Asia and the Indian Ocean. The airline has positioned itself as a permanent link between Reunion Island and metropolitan France — a market which represents 80 percent of Air Austral turnover. Air Austral has relied on ingenuity and perseverance to weather the economic fallout of the Covid pandemic, while continuing to safeguard the health of employees and passengers. The airline approached the crisis as an opportunity for introspection and restructuring. Joseph Bréma continues to serve as Air Austral CEO, following a three-decade career as deputy general manager of economic and financial affairs. Alongside executive leadership, the Air Austral financial management team formulated a restructuring plan that has proven particularly effective in loosening cash flow constraints. They worked with the European Commission to develop a restructuring plan that was approved by Reunionese courts earlier this year, alongside a new entity as the airline’s main shareholder. A consortium of 27 private investors now holds a 55.18 percent stake in Air Austral. The CFI.co judging panel has been tracking the airline’s stalwart fiscal stewardship and partnership-driven business model since its first programme placement in 2019. The judges, having noted transformational strategies beginning to bear fruit, have selected Air Austral as the 2023 award winner for Best Airline Financial Management Team (Indian Ocean).