The front page of last week's issue carried two news announcements: the announcement by Air Malta it is opening a new route to Algeria's second city and a report of a press conference addressed by Ryanair's Chief Commercial Officer.
The latter, David O'Brien, seemed to spend more time rubbishing Air Malta than speaking about his own airline's plans for the coming season.
In this last regard, Mr O'Brien did not announce any new routes to be opened by Ryanair but merely tweaking existing routes. The airline will increase the frequency of flights to Bari, Bournemouth, Dublin, Gothenburg, Luton, Madrid, Milan, Stockholm and Venice. Some of the summer routes may be extended into the winter period.
Considering Ryanair's huge presence in Malta, this is substantial. The airline seems happy with the routes linking Malta to most of Europe and so far is aiming to increase the frequency and seat load factor.
On the other hand, Air Malta's only (so far) route announcement seems to target more an underserved destination, with possible linkages to other flights than to actually increase the number of tourists coming to Malta. In other words, Air Malta is once again building on the hub concept as it faces the problems of its own survival and profitability.
Some will argue this route seems very similar to the Damascus route opened a few years ago, and closed soon after. Maybe too, the coming AMITEX will tell us more about the national airline's plans for the coming year.
We would however have preferred Mr O'Brien to have spoken about his own airline rather than continued to shed doubts about the Maltese national airline. His own airline was a small airline itself just a few years ago. Like everything else, what matters is how it is managed and if it harbours high enough ambitions.
No restaurant owner likes having the chef from the rival across the road coming in and casting aspersions on the quality of food that is served and the viability of the restaurant itself.
Malta has opened, these past years, its doors wide open to low cost carriers, Ryanair included, and its national airline, the only one with a clear and direct interest to get tourists to Malta, has suffered as a result. There is, of course, no going back now, but surely there's no call for the new boy on the block to cast aspersions on the national airline at a time when this is facing huge problems of its own.
Beyond the call of duty
Never before in the short history of our republic has it been clear that at times the call of duty conflicts with private matters.
Last week, the father of the Minister of Finance Edward Scicluna died.
Last week too, the minister was shuttling to and from Brussels engaged in the high-powered Euro Group and Ecofin meetings regarding the Greek bailout.
Besides these meetings, which usually lasted well into the night, Minister Scicluna also had a planned meeting with Commissioner Moscovici (although in this case it would seem the meeting was held a day in advance) with the press release being issued at 8am the next day.
Be that as it may, the minister was engaged in State Affairs at a time when he would most probably have wanted to be with his dying parent and preparing for the last rites of burial.
Instead, the call of duty kept him travelling up to Brussels and facing the rest of the Eurogroup ministers at a time when he would have rather been back here among his family.
This, in our eyes, is going well beyond the call of duty and the Country must acknowledge and salute that.