Air Mauritius is set to take delivery of its second A350 XWB at the Airbus HQ in Toulouse on Saturday 25 November. Journalists across the different media outlets in the island have been invited to the landmark moment as the national airline company officially acquires the plane it has named the Pieter Both, as a tribute to one of the most recognisable mountains in Mauritius. The first Air Mauritius A350 XWB, which was only acquired a few weeks ago, was named Le Morne Brabant, in the same spirit.

Ahead of the delivery, there was also an opportunity to visit the Airbus HQ and see the assembly line of the A350 XWB. As the crown jewel of the Mauritian fleet, the model has been a genuine belle of the ball for Airbus, with 124 airplanes delivered to 16 different airline operators. That’s nowhere near being the end of the journey for the production of the A350 XWB. According to Heidi Carpenter, Airbus media relations manager, the company has to deliver an additional 858 planes of the same model to 45 different airline companies, with Qatar Airways the most prominent customer.

With a turnover of €67 billion, Airbus has over 6,700 airplanes of various models to deliver over the next few years and a production time approximating nine years. “We are expecting to deliver a record 700 airplanes in 2017, which will be a new record for Airbus as we only delivered 688 last year,” said Carpenter.

For Air Mauritius, the delivery comes at a crucial moment as it seeks to renew its fleet in an increasingly competitive market. The two A350 XWB will be focused on the Mauritius-Paris route with the occasional trip to London. “For a national airline in a country as small as Mauritius, it is remarkable that we are in such good health that we are buying eight new planes for our fleet,” said Prem Sewpaul, vice president communications and corporate affairs.