In this installment of Wednesday Route Highlight we will be taking a look at Air Madagascar’s unique service between Antananarivo, Madagascar and the southern French city of Marseille.
As always, if you have any suggestions for a specific route that I should highlight, feel free to leave it below in the comments.
Air Madagascar operates this flight a mere 1x weekly (Mondays from TNR) aboard its aging A340-300 aircraft, which is outfitted in a 3 class layout featuring 30 (angle flat) business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 224 standard economy class seats. The airline configures its business class in a 2-2-2 configuration, while premium economy is in a 2-3-2, and standard economy in a 2-4-2.
Air Madagascar has leased a total of 2 A340-300’s from Air France, so these aircraft are outfitted with the same business class seats as AF’s A340-300’s. These seats are decent, but are not up to 2017 industry standards (direct isle access, fully flat seats).
However premium economy looks quite nice.
This is a very interesting route, as it is one of only a handful of flights from Marseille to destinations other than Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
- Reunion Island, Indian Ocean (XL Airways, Air Austral)
- Antananarivo, Madagascar (Air Madagascar)
Air Madagascar has a very modest fleet with a total of 10 aircraft. Seven of these are turboprop powered, while three (2 A340-300’s and 1 737-800) are jet engine aircraft. This aspect is mirrored in the airline’s route map as well, as it only serves three long haul destinations from its hub in Antananarivo (Guangzhou, Marseille, and Paris).
To the Point!
Obviously this is a very niche service. It relies heavily on the colonial ties of France and Madagascar to transport business and leisure passengers between the two countries. If you find yourself in Europe looking to visit Madagascar, your best three airline options include Air Madagascar (Marseille, Paris), Air France (Paris), and Turkish Airlines (Istanbul), which all fly non-stop into the capital of Antananarivo.
But c’mon, Marseille to… Antananarivo?! How cool is that?
*Featured Image Courtesy of Air Madagascar
Route Guide 