Air Austral was created in December 1974 by local businessman Gérard Ethève. It was Réunion's first commercial airline, known as Réunion Air Services (RAS). By August 1977 RAS had started regional services from Sainte-Marie to Mayotte with a 32-seat Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop. In October 1990 Sematra, a company 46% owned by the local councils of Réunion with the remaining shares owned by ban
ks and other private partners, purchased Air Réunion. A month later, Air Réunion became Air Austral. Two months later, Air Austral bought its first Boeing 737-500. Another 737-500 was acquired in 1994, and in 1997 the airline purchased a 737-300QC, which enabled both passenger and cargo only traffic. In 2000 the airline took delivery of an ATR 72-500, a short-haul turboprop. By then, Air Austral operated from both Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie and Pierrefonds Airport in Saint Pierre with scheduled services to Mayotte, Johannesburg, South Africa, Comoros, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and three destinations in Madagascar (Antananarivo, Tamatave, Nosy Be, Majunga). In 2003, Air Austral launched its first long-haul service between Réunion and Paris, with two Boeing 777-200ERs. The two Boeing 777s were joined by a third Boeing 777-200ER in 2005. A second long-haul route from Réunion to Marseille and Lyon was established. In 2007, a third long-haul service to Toulouse via Marseille started. In 2008, the airline introduced new uniforms for staff and crew members, designed by Balenciaga. The second ATR 72-500 was added to the fleet, followed by a third a few months later. In April 2009, Air Austral started a new service to Sydney and New Caledonia, thus opening up a new route between Paris and Sydney via Réunion. The airline also acquired two Boeing 777-300ERs. In November, it placed a firm order for two all-economy class 840-seat Airbus A380s, for delivery in 2014. These are intended for Air Austral's Réunion-Paris flights. In June 2010, it was announced that Air Austral will start scheduled flights from Réunion to Bordeaux and Nantes from February 2011. In August 2011, Air Austral received its first Boeing 777-200LR. In April 2012, Air Austral was unable to pay for a new 777-200LR awaiting delivery. The company is looking to sell on the plane instead of taking delivery. Following this development, Air Austral announced in May 2012 that it would defer or cancel its order for 2 Airbus A380s, with a decision to be made by the end of June 2012.
