Aeroplan Adds Partnership with Air Mauritius (Earning Now Live)

Aeroplan launched a brand-new airline partnership with Air Mauritius, including the ability to redeem Aeroplan points on Air Mauritius flights, in late 2021.

As of today, the possibility of earning Aeroplan points on Air Mauritius flights is now live.

Air Mauritius now fully joins Aeroplan’s ever-burgeoning ranks of partner airlines, allowing Aeroplan members to make full use of this little-known airline flying from a little slice of paradise just off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean.

Redeem Aeroplan Points on Air Mauritius

In line with all other partner redemptions, Aeroplan redemptions on Air Mauritius will follow the following set of principles:

• Air Mauritius flights will be priced based on Aeroplan’s Flight Reward Chart.
• Members will be able to book Air Mauritius flights online and over the phone.
• Air Mauritius flights can be combined with flights operated by Air Canada and other international airline partners.
• A $39 partner booking fee will apply.

Air Mauritius flights are already fully online and bookable on the Aeroplan search engine, with ample availability in economy and business class.

Air Mauritius Destinations

Let’s take a glance through the Air Mauritius route map.

Just from the route map, we can tell that Air Mauritius isn’t a huge airline with tons of destinations – they have two long-haul routes to Europe, and one to India. These are London, Paris, and Mumbai, respectively.

Also from the route map, we can gather that Air Mauritius doesn’t function as a “connecting” airline, as most passengers are likely flying to or from the island of Mauritius itself.

The Air Mauritius partnership considerably increases Aeroplan’s access to the popular Indian Ocean destination, adding onto routes from Turkish Airlines and Austrian Airlines – the latter of which is only seasonal and known for rarely releasing any business class award space.

Air Mauritius also flies to nearby islands that represent new destinations for Aeroplan’s global route network, including Saint-Denis on Réunion Island (RUN) and Rodrigues Island (RRG). Air Mauritius also flies to Antananarivo, Madagascar (TNR), which is supported by another flight by Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa.

A final route worth noting is its daily flight to Johannesburg (JNB), connecting Mauritius to South Africa – are you already thinking about the complex routing possibilities?

Air Mauritius Award Pricing

All of Air Mauritius’ destinations fall into Aeroplan’s “Within Atlantic zone” chart:

What’s funny about Air Mauritius’s medium- and long-haul destinations is that each further destination will jump one distance band exactly.

Short flights to or from Mauritius to nearby the islands will cost 7,500 or 15,000 Aeroplan points one-way in economy class or business class, respectively.

Johannesburg will just barely squeeze under 2,000 miles in distance flown, pricing out at 12,500 or 25,000 Aeroplan points one-way in economy class or business class, respectively.

Mumbai will fall one category band higher, and will therefore cost 25,000 or 45,000 Aeroplan points one-way in economy class or business class, respectively.

Paris increases in distance again, and will cost 35,500 or 60,000 Aeroplan points one-way in economy class or business class, respectively.

10 points to anyone who guesses the price of London. Air Mauritius’s flagship route falls into the top mileage band of the “Within Atlantic Zone” chart and costs 50,000 Aeroplan points in economy class and 80,000 points in business class.

Here’s where things get even more interesting: London–Mauritius–Mumbai is exactly 100% over of the direct distance of London–Mumbai, and since the distance band has already topped out with London–Mauritius, this would also cost only 80,000 points in business class. You could even add a stopover in Mauritius for an additional 5,000 points.

Combining Air Mauritius with Other Airlines

If you were to combine Air Mauritius with Aeroplan’s other partners departing from North America, then your trip will fall under the North America–Atlantic charts:

For example, flying from North America to London to Mauritius on Air Canada and then Air Mauritius in business class would cost 100,000 Aeroplan points one-way. 

Since this already falls into the most expensive mileage band, we can assume that continuing to Mumbai will be at the same cost.

A stopover in Mauritius on the way to India never hurt anyone, did it? Adding the stopover will cost an additional 5,000 points, for a total of 105,000 points one-way in business class.

Furthermore, in theory you’d be able to continue onto Singapore, which falls under the North America–Pacific chart.

This means that the following routing will cost only a touch more at 105,000 points in business class one-way, or 110,000 points with the Mauritius stopover.

What’s Air Mauritius’s Onboard Product Like?

Air Mauritius uses Stelia Solstys III seats, which are very similar to Turkish Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner business class and Singapore Airlines 787-10 Dreamliner business class.

The window seats alternate between being closer to the aisle and the window. Meanwhile, the central seats alternate between being closer together and being far apart, with the ones close together colloquially named “honeymoon seats”. 

These seats are available on all of Air Mauritius’s widebody aircraft, including the Airbus A350-900 and Airbus A330-900neo.

As you’d imagine, these A350s and A330neos can be found on Air Mauritius’s primary routes to London, Paris, Johannesburg, and Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the airline’s shorter inter-island routes are flown by an ATR72-500, a small turboprop with only economy class.

Earn Aeroplan Points on Air Mauritius

Along with redeeming points on Air Mauritius, Aeroplan members are now able to earn points when flying on paid fares with Air Mauritius.

The earning chart is as follows:

Conclusion

With the new Air Mauritius partnership, Aeroplan continues to dazzle us with its relentless recruitment of new boutique airline partners, moving quickly to cover every corner of the globe and easily adding value to the loyalty program for all types of travellers. 

Aeroplan’s total number of partner airlines is now 45. Consider that Star Alliance is the largest global alliance with 26 member airlines, and the weight of that number quickly comes into perspective.

The addition of Air Mauritius makes one of my bucket-list destinations more attainable than ever. I’m certainly entertaining the thought of booking a Mauritius stopover en route to India or South East Asia, considering that it’ll cost the same amount as a more direct routing in many cases.