Lately we are hearing a lot of opinions regarding the effects of low cost airlines such as Ryanair on our tourism industry. What surprises me is that almost no mention is made of the benefits of low cost travel to Maltese independent travellers.

I myself flew with Ryanair from Torino to Girona in Spain for the incredible price of Lm5 including taxes and will surely be the first to use this airline if it starts operating to Malta. Contrary to some statements being made, Ryanair’s service was comparable to that offered by traditional carriers, if not better, since they use small and more efficient airports. Their aircraft are also relatively new.

Ryanair themselves will also probably not only rely on sales to foreigners if they were to start operating to Malta but will also market their flights to Maltese travellers through their website, as they are doing in other countries. For example, Ryanair’s website is presently advertising its newly introduced Italian domestic flights to Italian travellers at “a fraction of Alitalia’s high fares” and claiming that its new international routes from Frankfurt Hahn airport will mean “a savings of 300 million euros over the high fares charged by Lufthansa” for German travellers.

Do we expect Maltese independent travellers and families having flexible travel dates and wishing to spend a weekend or a couple of days abroad to keep on paying in excess of Lm100 per person? Why should Maltese travellers wishing to get a better deal on their flight ticket (if Lm110 may be called a deal) have no option but to join hords of Maltese travelling on Airmalta charter flights organised by local travel agents?

To be fair, our ridiculous hefty departure tax (Lm10 introduced by the Labour government and another Lm10 to come into effect next August) does not help a lot in making airfares competitive. This tax is also hindering our national airline from enticing Maltese to travel on weekend breaks and short holidays. No wonder that following a long weekend, Gozo Channel proudly announces record crossings to Gozo, since this is the furthest most Maltese families can afford to go for a long weekend.

We are hearing a lot on the effects low cost airlines might have on our national airline. Air Malta has had enough time to prepare for competition.

The least it could have done was retain customers’ loyalty. It failed to offer some truly good deals to the Maltese independent traveller such as last minute offers and, instead, preferred to fly with empty seats. Air Malta even failed to provide the right choice of destinations, especially between October and June. For example during this period Air Malta does not fly to Spain and Portugal, meaning the Maltese traveller must use foreign airlines to get there.

We should be proud that a number of foreign airlines are showing interest in our small island and should be careful not to scare them away, as this may result in very bad publicity.

After all, Ryanair flies to 19 European countries which also have their own national airlines and Malta should be no exception. At a time when travellers all over the world are shifting to low cost travel and self-booking over the internet, it is our country which will lose out and not Ryanair, since foreigners will simply opt for one of the other two hundred destinations available on the website of an airline which carries 25 million passengers a year.

Mariella Farrugia

Naxxar