Malta needs more low-cost routes to unlock the islands’ full tourism potential, Ryanair deputy chief executive officer Michael Cawley declared yesterday morning.
Mr Cawley was in Malta for discussions with the tourism ministry over the possibility of developing new routes to and from Malta and, as has been on the cards for some time, the establishment of an operational base in Malta.
While remaining coy as to what exactly would be tabled during discussions with Malta’s tourism authorities, Mr Cawley simply said he was in Malta to discuss “further growth in Malta”.
He added, “What we want to communicate is that there is a huge potential for growth in the Maltese market.”
Should the government agree to the airline’s long-standing request to set up an operational base in Malta, Mr Cawley said Ryanair would be in a position to do so after September 2008.
Mr Cawley gave no indication, short of opening an operational base in Malta, of what routes the airline was interested in adding to its Malta basket. Should such a base be established in Malta, Mr Cawley said Ryanair would be prepared to fly to a total of 31 countries that had an open skies policy – the EU27, plus Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Morocco.
Mr Cawley denied a compromise over Italian routes had been reached, to the effect that Air Malta had been awarded the lucrative Bologna route while Ryanair had received the Venice route. Asked if Ryanair was vying for a slot on the Bologna route, Mr Cawley declined to comment on what he described as “continuing discussions”.
The world’s leading low-cost airline yesterday put flights on its new Malta-Venice Treviso route up for sale on its website. The Venice route constitutes the eighth Maltese route taken up by the airline.
Mr Cawley heralded the Italian market as holding great potential, considering the fact that Italians had a high tendency to travel. Speaking of the Italian market, he added “there is plenty of room for operators. If there are the right fares, people will travel.”
Ryanair said yesterday it had delivered on its commitment on growth for the Maltese market, having generated a 12 per cent increase in passengers travelling to and from Malta.
With the addition of the new route, the airline expects to add another 300,000 passengers for the Maltese market over the next 12 months – generating visitor expenditure in the region of EUR63 million.
Mr Cawley commented: “Ryanair low fares have generated unprecedented growth for Malta and demonstrated that while others talk, we deliver. However, this growth is just touching the surface of what could be achieved by opening many more low-fare routes.
“We hope the Maltese government will take the initiative and unlock the islands’ true tourism potential by supporting the rapid development of low-fare routes for the benefit of the island, people and economy of Malta.”
In addition to the Venice route, the airline also operates routes from Malta to Girona, Bremen, London, Dublin, Pisa, Stockholm and Valencia.
The government is to issue a call for proposals tomorrow for more operators on the underserved Venice route. The call is to remain open until 18 October.
Air Malta has survived the introduction of low-cost carriers, Mr Cawley said, and the inception of cheap flights had not spelt out the “end of the world” for Malta’s national carrier. Mr Cawley remarked he had flown in on Air Malta the previous night and that he was pleased to have seen the flight had been full.
Malta’s airport charges negatively affected airlines, while Malta’s travel taxes did not help matters much either, Mr Cawley commented. “Travel stimulates economic activity and, as such, should be promoted as much as possible,” he added.