Editing Air Mauritius (section)

===Foundation===
[[File:Air Mauritius Boeing 707-400 G-APFD ORY 1978-7-28.png|thumb|right|A [[British Airtours]] [[Boeing 707]] leased to Air Mauritius at [[Orly Airport]] in 1978]]
The company was established on 14 June 1967 by [[Air France]], [[British Overseas Airways Corporation|BOAC]] and the [[Government of Mauritius]], with a 27.5% stake each; the balance was held by Rogers and Co, the general sales agent for Air France and BOAC in Mauritius.<ref name="FI1968" />

In the beginning, the carrier operated international services in conjunction with Air France, [[Air India]] and [[British Airways]], which jointly had a 25% holding in Air Mauritius at that time.<ref name="FI1978" />{{rp|1131}}<ref name="Tropical lifeline" />{{rp|41}} Until 1972, the company restricted its activities to ground services only; it started flight operations in its own right in August 1972 with a six-seater [[Piper PA-31 Navajo]] [[aircraft lease]]d from [[Air Madagascar]], connecting Mauritius with [[Rodrigues]].<ref name="Tropical lifeline" />{{rp|41}} The aircraft wore an Air Mauritius [[Aircraft livery|decor]], but kept a [[Madagascar|Malagasy]] [[Aircraft registration|registration]].{{sfn|Guttery|1998|p=124}}

In 1973, a [[wet-lease]]d [[Vickers VC10]] from British Airways enabled the company to launch a long-haul route to [[Heathrow Airport|London]] via [[Jomo Kenyatta International Airport|Nairobi]],<ref name="Tropical lifeline" />{{rp|41}}<ref name="flag" />{{rp|474}} whereas services to [[Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport|Bombay]] were operated by [[Air India]].{{sfn|Guttery|1998|p=124}} The Navajo was replaced with a 16-seater [[Twin Otter]] that was acquired in 1975. When an agreement with Air France and British Airways came to an end, a [[Boeing 707-400]] [[wet-lease]]d from [[British Airtours]] helped the airline to start long-haul services in its own right.{{sfn|Guttery|1998|p=124}} Long-range operations started on 1 November 1977.<ref name="FI1978" />{{rp|1131}} A second Twin Otter arrived in 1979.{{sfn|Guttery|1998|p=124}}