Air Austral is a French airline based at Roland Garros Airport, Réunion. It operates scheduled services from Réunion to metropolitan France, South Africa, Thailand, India and a number of destinations in the Indian Ocean. The company has nine airplanes in the fleet and employs around 900 people. History 1974–1990: Founding years as RAS and Air Réunion Air Austral was created in December 1974 by local businessman Gérard Ethève as Réunion Air Services (RAS), Réunion's first commercial airline. By August 1977, RAS had started regional services from Sainte-Marie to Mayotte with a 32-seat Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop. RAS became Air Réunion in December 1986. In October 1990, Sematra, a company 46% owned by the local councils of Réunion with the remaining shares owned by banks and other private partners, purchased Air Réunion. 1990–2011: Development as Air Austral and growth in operations In November 1990, Air Réunion became Air Austral. Two months later, Air Austral bought its first Boeing 737-500. Another 737-300 was acquired in 1994, and in 1997, the airline purchased a 737-300QC, which enabled both passenger and cargo only traffic. In 2000, the airline took delivery of an ATR 72-500 short-haul turboprop. By then, Air Austral operated from both Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie and Pierrefonds Airport in Saint-Pierre, with scheduled services to Mayotte, South Africa (Johannesburg), Comoros, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and four destinations in Madagascar (Antananarivo, Tamatave, Nosy Be, Majunga). In 2003, Air Austral launched its first long-haul service between Réunion and Paris, with two Boeing 777-200ERs. The two Boeing 777s were joined by a third Boeing 777-200ER in 2005. A second long-haul route from Réunion to Marseille and Lyon was established. In 2007, a third long-haul service to Toulouse via Marseille started. In 2008, the airline introduced new uniforms for staff and crew members, designed by Balenciaga. A second ATR 72-500 was added to the fleet, followed by a third a few months later. In April 2009, Air Austral started a new service to Sydney and New Caledonia, thus opening up a new route between Paris and Sydney via Réunion. The airline also acquired two Boeing 777-300ERs. In November, it placed a firm order for two all-economy class 840-seat Airbus A380s, for delivery in 2014. These were intended for Air Austral's Réunion-Paris flights. In June 2010, Air Austral announced it would start scheduled flights from Réunion to Bordeaux and Nantes from February 2011. In August 2011, Air