As a result of this agreement – for people in the industry known as a codeshare agreement – Air Malta/SN Brussels Airlines will fly four times a week to the EU capital, Brussels, and clients will be able to connect to SN’s direct services to various other destinations.
These include Bristol, Budapest, Geneva, Manchester, Marseille, Newcastle, Toulouse and Strasbourg. The latter destination is of considerable interest, since Strasbourg hosts a number of important EU institutions, including the EU Parliament. Air Malta, which this year is celebrating 30 years of operations to Brussels, will be the operating carrier on the Brussels route.
On the other hand, SN flights from Berlin, Birmingham, Bristol, Budapest, Geneva, Gothenburg, Hamburg, London, Gatwick, Lyon, Manchester, Newcastle, Oslo, Prague, Strasbourg and Toulouse will also connect with Air Malta’s flights to Malta.
SN Brussels Airlines’ vice president of communications Geert Sciot explained that Malta’s accession to the EU had served as a catalyst for this agreement with the Maltese national airline. He said the market potential was there, so it was “wise” to join forces with Air Malta.
Moreover, he said, SN Brussels Airlines and Air Malta shared similar values, including good in-flight service as well as on-board quality, reliability and efficiency.
Air Malta chief officer strategic planning Domnic Attard announced that Air Malta will soon be concluding negotiations with another three or four airlines with which the airline will sign similar “win-win partnership agreements”.
He said the development of the Brussels route, which is being seen as a route with more growth potential, will be further enhanced by the availability of connecting flights thanks to this agreement.
SN Brussels Airlines is a Belgian airline based in Brussels which offers its customers a gateway to Europe, Africa and the United States. The company, which employs more than 2,000 people, guarantees more than 285 flights a day to 56 European and 15 African cities, as well as one direct flight between Brussels and Chicago and 22 US destinations beyond. The airline’s modern fleet consists of 38 aircraft.
SN Brussels Airlines was named the second most punctual European airline in 2003, with a 91.8 per cent punctuality rate. The airline carried just under 3.3 million passengers in 2003 and has recently been awarded the Airline Excellence Award for 2004.
The new destinations which the airline will be offering its clients this winter include Malta, Sofia, Oviedo, Moscow and Istanbul.