Air Seychelles Received Africa's First Airbus A320Neo and It's Beautiful

Air Seychelles, the national carrier for the Republic of Seychelles, became the first African carrier to take delivery of an Airbus A320Neo aircraft last week. The new plane sports a rainbow tail and colorful details on its wingtips and engines, making for a gorgeous livery.

Air Seychelles, partly owned by Etihad Airways, is facing competition serving the island. British Airways, Qatar Airways and Ethiopian all offer flights to the East African archipelago from Europe and continental Africa.

The new A320s will replace older Airbus planes used for regional flights, and come amid a shakeup in strategy for the carrier. Air Seychelles in 2018 that it would shift its focus to a regional one, dropping a high-profile route to Paris to instead focus on shorter hauls from its home base. The airline's main hub is in Mahé, the largest of the islands that make up the nation that lies off Africa's east coast in the Indian Ocean.

Related: How to Use Hotel Points to Visit the Seychelles

The Seychelles have emerged in recent years as a bucket-list beach destination. British royal couple Prince William and Kate Middleton honeymooned in the Seychelles in 2017, but a May 2019 TPG review noted that "there are also plenty of family-friendly reasons for us 'normal folks' (with points and miles) to vacation in this Indian Ocean island nation, too."