Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, honoured top Maltese travel and cargo agents at an award ceremony celebrating the 10th anniversary of Emirates’ successful operations in Malta.
Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Marco, Emirates’ senior vice-president commercial operations Europe Keith Longstaff, and Emirates manager for Malta and Cyprus Paul Fleri Soler presented the prestigious awards to three passenger agents, as well as three cargo agents in recognition of their significant sales performance in the face of strong competition across the island.
During the ceremony at the palatial ballroom of Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar, the travel award winners were Directions Travel, Planit Travel and John Portelli Enterprises. The winners in the cargo sector were MAL, B.A.S. Ltd and Gollcher Co Ltd.
Dr de Marco said that, in tourism, accessibility is essential and therefore Emirates’ daily flight as from December 2008 is definitely a step in the right direction. This will further encourage more people from the Emirates’ network via Dubai to visit Malta, either for holiday, business or language schools. “I look forward to so many years of celebrations for Emirates as the expression that the sky is the limit certainly applies to this airline,” he said
Mr Longstaff said: “We thank all travel and cargo agents for their continued efforts towards sustaining Emirates’ operations in Malta. Together, we can provide the very best service possible for Emirates’ clients.”
Paul Fleri Soler, Emirates’ manager for Malta and Cyprus, congratulated the winning travel and cargo agents. “You are all valued partners and, thanks to your support, Emirates Airline established an unrivalled reputation for service excellence in Malta.”
The event was held to mark the increase from the current five times-a-week service to a daily flight from Dubai to Malta, via Larnaca in Cyprus, from 1st December 2008. In addition, from 2nd May 2008, Emirates will be changing its aircraft from a Boeing 777-200 to a larger Boeing 777-300 in a 3-class configuration, offering a total of 358 seats and 18 tonnes of cargo capacity.