Air Austral shareholders held an Extraordinary General Meeting on March 24, 2023, to discuss the future of the company’s governance. They decided to transition from a board of directors to a supervisory board, backed by a management board.
The new supervisory board consists of 14 members: 8 from RunAir, which owns 55% of the company, and 6 from SEMATRA, which owns 44% of the capital. A representative of the employee shareholders will join the board in the near future. The newly appointed board chose Huguette Bello, the President of SEMATRA, as the Chairperson of the Supervisory Board and Michel DELEFLIE, a representative of RunAir, as the Vice-Chairperson. The board also appointed Joseph Brema as the Chairman of the Air Austral Management Board. The management board will focus on executing the company’s strategy, managing risks, and improving performance.
“I am honored and deeply grateful for the trust that the shareholders and the new members of the Supervisory Board have shown me by appointing me to lead this great company, which was founded by a Reunionese, Mr. Gérard Ethève,” said Joseph Bréma. “Our collective challenge is to transform Air Austral into a high-performance airline that puts its customers first, develops its employees’ talents, improves its environmental footprint, and is sustainably profitable. I am convinced that we can achieve these goals together.”
Michel Deleflie added, “This is a new chapter in the history of Air Austral. We are a regional company that has expanded its reach to long-haul flights to open up Reunion Island and Mayotte, increase competition, and promote economic development and openness to the world. We have decided to relaunch the company based on private management, while staying true to Air Austral’s DNA, which has always been a combination of public and private. Our goal is to guarantee the exercise of a private mission of public service for the benefit of the people of Reunion Island and Mayotte. Air Austral is a Reunionese company that provides direct connections to the Mascarene Islands, the Indian Ocean, East Africa with its subsidiary Ewa, and as far as South Africa. To maintain this network, we must be profitable and competitive, and being based in Reunion Island and employing staff who are invested in the success of the company and its credibility with Reunion Islanders is key. Air Austral is one of the jewels of the Reunion economy and a gateway to the world, and we are working hard to ensure its profitability and competitiveness because safety and trust cannot be compromised in air transport.”
