While struggling to restructure, France's Corsair and Reunion's Air Austral battle for market share

Reunion-based Air Austral and French carrier Corsair International are at loggerheads, with Corsair claiming Air Austral received state aid when the local government of Reunion subscribed to the recapitalisation of the airline in Jul-2012. Regional authorities injected EUR63.5 million in the financially struggling airline, increasing their indirect shareholding in the company from 47% to 95%.

Air Austral gained worldwide notoriety in Jan-2009 when it signed a MoU with Airbus for the purchase of two A380s in a "low-cost" single-class configuration with around 840 seats. The airline so far is the only operator to have ordered the A380 with such a high seat density. However, the fate of the two Air Austral aircraft is uncertain with reports claiming the order has been cancelled. Air Austral's A380 were scheduled for delivery in 2014.