Air Malta refers to the article entitled The tale of the CEO and Air Malta seats by Marisa Micallef (TMID, 30 October).

From the outset, while thanking Ms Micallef for having taken the time to put her thoughts to paper, please allow us to express our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused to this CEO while using our services.

One of the most difficult problems of air travel today is that caused by so-called “no-shows” caused by people booked on a flight and who fail to show up at check-in. “No-shows” make life uncomfortable and expensive for the entire travelling public. Seats blocked for booked passengers who fail to show up remain empty when the flight departs.

More important, however, is that “no-shows” block seats which other travellers need or want.

The above-mentioned difficulty has resulted in an all-out airline industry drive to try to find a solution to the problem and in the meantime, to reduce its effects to a minimum. The outcome which deals as objectively as possible with the no-show problem is the method known as overbooking.

We feel it is also pertinent to point out that this situation is, unfortunately, not particular to Air Malta alone. All airlines being full service or low-cost overbook their flights.

Air Malta has invested in a computerised revenue management system which monitors the inventory and profile of each flight. The system, which among other things manages the pricing and overbooking profile of each flight, gathers information from history data and forecasts expected passenger load per flight.

The above is not an excuse for the inconvenience to which the said client was subjected, but an explanation of a problem of the airline business and Air Malta’s endeavours to minimise the inconvenience.

However, should a passenger ultimately be denied boarding on an EU carrier due to an overbooking situation, the applicable actions and compensation parameters that are detailed in EU Regulation 261/2004, – the sole regulation that comprehensively governs cases of airline overbooking, cancellations and delays – must be applied.

The said regulation, in such unfortunate cases of overbooking, calls for a monetary compensation, a re-routing to the destination shown on the ticket from where the flight is departing and arriving, or a refund of the ticket if the journey no longer serves its original purpose.

Our records indicate that Air Malta has complied in full with the said regulation and our contractual rights and obligations are set down in our conditions of carriage, applicable tariffs, and the respective legislation have been met.

This regulation is applied equally to all passengers who experience overbooking.

Air Malta has always sought to maintain the highest level of customer service and will continue with its endeavours to maintain our high standard. We once again express our apologies for any inconvenience caused to the said client.

For the record we have been personally in contact with this client and have resolved the matter to the satisfaction of both.

Stephen Gauci

Executive Communications

Air Malta plc