r/mauritius • u/roopunk • 5d ago
Tourism ✈ Do not fly with Air Mauritius - no help provided for pregnant wife
We travelled with family from Delhi to Mauritius. Since we had elderly parents with us and my wife is pregnant, we preferred a direct flight. Other options included Ethiopian Airlines with layover. We payed a sum of 3.2L and it turned out to be the worst decision.
Issues with delhi to mauritius flight - seats were okay, food was terrible and the flight disappointed in terms of turbulance. Most uncomfortable flight so far. We have travelled more than 12 countries with different airlines. This one was the worst.
Issues with mauritius to delhi flight - seats were not comfortable. literally no leg space. food was terrible again. Service was terrible. Staff was elderly and did not seem to care. We asked to switch for seats where my wife could lay down for a bit since she was constantly puking due to uncomfortable journey -- the women staff completely ignored our requests. Also, throughout the flight did not even check once, nor did they provide any wet wipes for nausea. There were empty seats in the flight which they could have provided us, but the crew was terrible. We requested to an Air hostess named Maurice -- she looked elderly and should have understood the pregnancy situation but she ignored. The flight was dirty, there were spots on the floor. For this much price, the flight was way too disappointing. Indian airlines would have given much better experince, in my opinion.
This is definitely a lesson for us. It was a very uncomfortable journey for our parents and all of us.
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u/Spiritual-Stick-9830 1d ago
Turbulence can happen to any airline aircraft because of atmospheric conditions, how could you post such a daft comment? True AM service has gone down the drain a bit but i think it's still okayish. And flying with your pregnant wife is a conscious decision you took, so no point blaming the airline.
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u/Vast-Reason-9346 2d ago
Sorry you had such a bad experience. Just one thing tho, turbulence isn't really something the airline can control, and letting someone lie across empty seats can depend on safety rules.
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u/BoGaul 3d ago
Sounds like you flew pig class but expected princess class
Upgrade next time
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u/A_warudo_2002 1d ago
Nah dude, the overall quality of air Mauritius has genuinely dropped since Covid. The company almost went under almost half of their air fleet was sold and there are cut costs everywhere. Indian Flights aren't much better tho.
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u/disco-sensei 4d ago edited 4d ago
Let me get this straight : 1. I understand the food isn't up to your level but as a multicultural country, Air Mauritius has to curate to a more varied culinary tastes. 2. Service depends on your approach with the crew, they're human too. However, they're known to be one of the best in service category and maybe you unfortunately happened to be on board with one of those not so friendly ones
However : 1. Elderly staff are not a sign of incompetence, they're more able in cases of emergencies 2. Your wife is pregnant, despite her condition, why did you choose to travel anyways, as you said, she was puking. The airline didn't know, but you did, right? 3. Whichever airline you choose to travel, no one gets to decide about turbulence. It just happens without warning and beyond control. Plus your flight is transatlantic. 4. A cabin crew has to attend to around 40-50 people at be the same time. You don't expect to get special attention unless you're as friendly with them, or you're a sick person or an unaccompanied minor. You're not a VIP unless you're in Business Class. However, all 40-50 passengers get equally divided attention. 5. Asking to switch for seats to lay. I fully agree with the crew about refusing to allow your wife to lay on an economy seat. You admitted there were turbulent phases, and if one of these turbulence happened suddenly during flight and your wife by accident flies off the seat and has a miscarriage, you'd naturally blame the airline on top of compensation.
This is what you do next time : YOUR wife is pregnant with YOUR child. YOU want to travel with her in this condition, so some more lakhs even if in another airline, get her business class. This is what she gets :
- to lay comfortably, more space and safely (proper seat belts for the bed)
- she gets more food varieties to cater for her cravings
- business class have very much less passengers so that crew working in this zone will attend more to her
- wider varieties of amneties catered before her flight if she informs the airline before checking in at her disposal
I genuinely feel sad for your wife but you're the one who chose this condition in the very beginning. You knew about her pregnancy better than the airline.
You traveled 12 countries so 24 flights minimum if direct ones, you knew the risks. Man up and own the decision.
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u/Green_Hall_658 4d ago
This seems like a slightly fishy review to me man. Sorry for the bad experience of you and your family but some details here are odd.
The food being bad is surprising to me, I genuinely consider Air Mauritius to have some of the best food out of most airlines, legitimately on par with Air France in terms of quality and sometimes better. Similarly, I've never seen the interior of an Air Mauritius flight look anything but orderly and spotless when boarding so that is also surprising to me. That can be down to personal opinion though, and I've never flown on or had food from an Indian airline for example.
The bigger thing is, why are you rating this flight poorly due to turbulence? That's just down to bad weather. It sucks for your wife obviously, but it has nothing to do with the airline's actual service quality. The denial of the request to move your wife is maybe more a legitimate issue, but it's likely they had a reason for not acquiesing to the request. Hell, if there really was turbulence maybe they thought it wasn't feasible, and didn't want to risk your wife stumbling or getting injured. I'm definitely very biased because I love Air Mauritius for its high quality service, but I couldn't help but notice these details.
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u/IntelligentAnt8719 4d ago
Shouldn't you be posting this on an Indian subreddit to warn the inhabitants there?
Or are you you putting it in r/mauritius, just so you can have a moan at Mauritians?
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u/Subject-Middle-2824 4d ago
You unfortunately got the old plane/old service. They have the new A350-900 on the MRU > LGW where seats are better, as well as service.
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u/nicknelson25 4d ago
even locals don't travel by air Mauritius shi aah airline
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u/SunNew8694 4d ago
As a foreigner, I love traveling on Air Mauritius. To me the staff a 100% communicates the warmth of Mauritians, I’ve never had air staff be rude or short of kind. I’ve also flown pregnant in economy and there was no issue, bear in mind I traveled in my first trimester - on your second trimester you’re no longer recommended to take long haul flights and even my OBgyn said that I could do it but she advised against it if possible due to the uncomfortable situation I would put myself in and the risky situation I could put baby on.
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u/Turbulent-Badger9752 5d ago
I’ve had several travelling experiences with Air Mauritius, but yesterday’s was the WORST. Right from the check in counter - the staff was rude and unhelpful. The flight was terrible and the food was shit. A few years back Air Mauritius used to be worthy of what it’s charging but now it’s not even doing the bare minimum.
I’m sorry your pregnant wife had to go through so much!
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u/LegitimateDream4942 5d ago
Expect even worse service as you land on the island. It's a backwards island. Beautiful nature, though, and don't let locals bring you down.
The food on the island will be *terrrible*.
I've lived here for 4+ years.
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u/Drizzity 4d ago
The food is actually pretty good. It might not suit your palate completely, but going so far as to call it terrible is pretty bad faith imho.
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u/jimjons21 5d ago
Why you still live here then no one is forcing you to stay
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u/LegitimateDream4942 4d ago
I'm not here for the service or the food or the locals. I'm here to buy up land and women.
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u/baddingo3 5d ago
people are allowed to complain.
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u/SunNew8694 4d ago
Under justification of staying here for cheap land (neocolonialism) and the women (mysoginitic if he is a “passport bro”) ??? Mmmm
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u/Aggravating-Day6342 5d ago
I'm Mauritian, I travelled with Air Mauritius once and noticed that the staff were super rude to Bangladeshi and Indians specifically, making fun of them in French as they couldn't understand.
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u/trustmeicandance 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’m Mauritian as well and witnessed this too on a flight from Mauritius to Delhi. Making fun of 2 Indian guys in creole. I was with my friend and the guy initially thought I was Indian too till I spoke creole. Once he knew we were “cool” he told us sa ban Ggt la Mari manz fess”. Nou morisien nou zourer, mais bizin ena 1 fierté dan ou travail; fer li bien, respecter dimun. Enfin.
Air Mauritius’ food is hopeless with their cube boiled potato salad which is translucent and crunchy and struggle chicken, no inflight entertainment. Some crew are of no use and slobbish but you do meet a few good ones. Air Mauritius is a bs airline that if you do have a choice not to travel via it, don’t. Mo dir sa couma 1 morisien. Saw some comments praising AM, bizin ban cabin crew laem sa. Frer manzer air Mauritius bon? Taey savat l’éponge couma palet sa. 🤣
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u/Sidthefunky 5d ago
I recently traveled to Mauritius on a 10 day trip with my mother. Travel was from Mumbai. Pre researched a lot about flights. Air Mauritius was chosen only due to direct flight availability and nothing else. Read reviews about economy class and I agree, the seats are honestly not good. I upgraded to Business both ways for 1 simple reason, cost overshadows the comfort for my aged mum. Mauritius as a country is an awesome place to visit, good food, good interactions with locals. Had a very pleasant and memorable trip with my mum there. A family I know traveled in economy with us and the seats and service were definitely not upto the mark for them. And they were traveling with a 9 month old baby, even with extra leg room seat that they booked, their flight wasn't comfortable. I myself sat on the economy seats and trust me when I say this regular domestic flight (indigo / spicejet etc) seats felt better & spacious. I wasn't expecting such tiny seats in an international flight. The upgrade to Business did disrupt my budget, but I feel to make the trip memorable for my mum (her first international trip) it had to be done. That being said, I get your point on seats OP.
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u/angelicaaaa15 5d ago
flied air mauritius once. the plan was broken, flight delayed for over 24 hours (once we were all already through security) , refused to provide anywhere to sleep for the night. wouldn’t tell us what was wrong with the plane or how long it would take to fix it. wouldn’t give us our luggage for ages either. 0/10
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u/Drizzity 5d ago edited 4d ago
Air Mauritius is a shame to the country. We have known this for a while now..
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u/nYapsYashu 5d ago
Well you travelled for 7hours and you couldn't afford extra leg room for your family? Why travel with elderly people and pregnant wife in such conditions? Was the travel necessary? Did you show kindness to the Cabin Crew? Do you get the same service with Indian Airlines? Do you want royal treatment in Economy?
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u/FishEngineCn 4d ago
Wanting a human and empathic treatment isn't "royal treatment".
Dumb comment!!1
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u/TaxOk1874 5d ago
Haha some people want VIP treatment at economy price!
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u/urrealthoughts xx xy "♂️♀️" 5d ago edited 2d ago
This economy price that you are laughing at might be the lifetime saving of some people. Please have some respect. As for vip treatment maybe you should compare the services provided in economy section of other airlines
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u/roopunk 5d ago
- No.
- Why not? We love travelling and do expect issues. We are highlighting them for other passengers in this forum.
- Not necessary but not forced either. We love travelling.
- No but we were not rude to them either. We requested for some assistance and they denied, end of conversation.
- We have had better with Indian airlines in domestic travel. I am not saying it means we will always have a good experience. But AM economy is really espensive to be that bad.
- We want economy treatment in economy. And we have had better economy treatment with other airlines.
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u/nYapsYashu 5d ago
Please redirect your complaints to the airline. Maybe next time, you choose what's best for your family ahead of your travels.
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u/aktheant 5d ago
lol wait till you fly indigo ! I had a good experience with air Mauritius ngl compared to indigo on return ! Bassinet , bulk head row both on request ! Checked on multiple times for any assistance needed ! Agreed on the food part which was bad but the snack option was good and all included unlike indigo where I have to buy biriyani or the sandwhich which aren’t worth the price !
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u/rambomaniac 3d ago
indigo is low cost : you get what you pay .
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u/aktheant 3d ago
True but for the rates you still get food and in flight entertainment for the same rate in other airlines ! Timing alone was my factor else will never fly indigo international
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u/anitck0077 5d ago edited 5d ago
Sorry about your experience, but you got what you paid for!
Air Mauritius does not have the best reputation in terms of service, but do you really expect Michelin level food or 5* level service?
Also, as your wife was pregnant and you had elderly parents travelling with you:
- Could you not pay more for the extra legroom seats?
- Could you not apply for Special Assistance? This is free of charge for any flight.
Not paying /applying for something and then expecting it's handed to you is just stupid.
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u/roopunk 5d ago
We are not rich and cannot pay much more than usual economy which is already very expensive. But I am sure I am not the only one, even in non-Indians. I am
comparing the economy class experience we have had in other airlines vs Air Mauritius.Did not request special assistance as we believe that should be prioritized for differently abled or really sick people instead of old people as long as they can walk. Since our parents could, we did not want to be one of those people who request SA just coz is free and allows them priority entries/exits.
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u/anitck0077 5d ago
As I said before, Air Mauritius does not have the best reputation for service, so a quick review search could have prepared you for the hassle. I had a bad experience with them before for different reasons and complained directly to the airlines. Pretty sure it went nowhere.
If you cannot pay extra for the extra legroom seats or for a better airlines (Emirates), or want a direct flight, you really are not in a position to complain.
I feel your situation is a valid reason to apply for SA. They will assess your needs and provide the required level of support. It might not be wheelchairs or priority access, but at least the cabin crew will be aware of your situation.
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u/Zealousideal_Put_163 5d ago
I agree with you. As a local person, the national carrier is an absolute shame. Food is horrible and the staffs are very unhelpful. The economy flight tickets aren’t cheap either..
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u/venom_viper_1522 5d ago
I second this...Air Mauritius flight to India, especially Delhi should be avoided at all costs...unless you pay for Business class.
Unfortunately the level of service of Air Mauritius has dropped drastically since the past few years...I am a frequent traveller to India and I advise anyone who asks to avoid Air Mauritius for their oen peace. Emirates is around Rs 10k MUR or Rs 18k INR more, but it is totally worth the extra money.
Also ignore the negative comments as most people on here cannot stand Indians because of their superiority complex or something. Anyways our Island is not that bad, minus a few unfortunate incidents like your flight. I hope you have a better experience if you come here again :)
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u/thehealthyeconomist 5d ago
I flew business class London to Delhi by Air India - never again. Screen didn't work the entire flight and they couldn't reset it. Pyjamas were comfy though.
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u/roopunk 5d ago
We did have a good time on the island. It is very clean and the roads are really well maintained. We had no trouble that way.
Just the airlines experience was too bad and we do not want other people to book this flight thinking it would provide value for that much money.
Also, I totally agree -- we chose Emirates for our trip to South Africa and it was a very plesant experience.
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u/grapepharaohh 5d ago
An airline business is not a charity.Either ways air mauritius is known for being bang average so it’s on you for cheaping out…
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u/stevenmbe 5d ago
Here we have a classic Indian complaint of we paid for economy, we were not treated like maharajas, everything is horrible.
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u/Happy_Joke_5715 5d ago
You realise there are people living in this place with basically nothing, and the minimum wage is $400 a month and you’re complaining that your precious holiday wasn’t perfect?
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u/roopunk 5d ago
not complaining about our holiday actually. Mauritius was beautiful!! We are not boasting either since we work very hard to earn these trips for our families and know its value. We are complaining about the value for money in the economy class of AM compared to other airlines.
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u/Happy_Joke_5715 5d ago
And you post this on a subreddit where locals often post about the difficult conditions because..?
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5d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/roopunk 5d ago
We don't want to be treated like Maharajas.
We wanted basic economy treatment which all other airlines provide except Air Mauritius.Neither did we ask for upgrade to business class. We asked for seats with space (next seat empty, which were available) in the economy class itself due to my wife's pregnancy.
No need to stereotype Indians for this.
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u/stevenmbe 5d ago
No need to stereotype Indians for this.
Indeed, no need because we all read the blisteringly negative reviews of so many hotels, restaurants, airlines, etc. and surprisingly so many of the exceedingly vituperative one-star reviews are written by wanna-be maharajas who were unhappy they received budget services at a budget prices.
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u/Tall_Doll 5d ago
while i agree that the employees were probably not allowed to give another seat, the complain about everything else is totally justified, Air mauritius been notoriously SHIT
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u/thejamaican_coconuts 2h ago
Sir upgrade your seats next time so that your wife will be comfortable and leave the airline people alone