1st April marked Air Malta’s 35th anniversary of its first flight in 1974. Today, Air Malta has grown to be one of the leading organisations in Malta and is considered the major driving force behind the development of the thriving local tourism industry while also providing a vital distribution network of destinations to local and international organisations operating from the islands.
Since 1974, Air Malta has carried 35 million (63 per cent) of the 55 million passengers that have travelled to/from Malta by air. This is a substantial share of the overall traffic to/from the Maltese Islands. Air Malta was instrumental in opening up new markets such as the German, Belgian, Austrian, Swiss, Dutch, Russian and Greek markets and connecting Malta to the rest of the world.
Air Malta started flying operations with two wet-leased Boeing 720Bs from Pakistan International Airlines, operating its first flights to London and Rome. The first routes operated by the airline were London, Birmingham, Manchester, Rome, Frankfurt, Paris and Tripoli. Air Malta now serves about 40 destinations with around 200 weekly flights to Europe, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.
After 10 years of operations, Air Malta finalised an agreement with the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group to purchase three B737-200 Advanced aircraft. Within six months after taking delivery of its first three Boeing 737 aircraft, the Maltese flag-carrier established a world record with the highest utilisation for all operators of the aircraft type: 14.9 hours per aircraft per day in September 1983. Throughout the years the Boeing fleet has been pivotal in Air Malta’s success story.
In August 1990, Air Malta saw the delivery of the first Airbus A320-200 airliner while in March 1992 the second Airbus joined the airline’s fleet. After the first year of using these aircraft, Air Malta also achieved some of the highest utilisation figures of the type worldwide.
Early in 1993 the airline took a new approach to its cargo operation for airfreight to achieve a greater percentage of Air Malta’s turnover. In order to enhance its cargo operation, the airline acquired the old Luqa air passenger terminal, which had become vacant following the opening of the new Malta International Airport terminal. The Air Malta CargoSystems and Transhipment Centre were officially inaugurated on 19 January 1994.
Today, CargoSystems is a specialised unit providing services ranging from third-party handling through warehousing, cold storage facilities, marketing, on-board courier services and a dedicated scheduled freighter operation: a new concept for the airline which is now in its 14th year. Air Malta’s cargo services also provide a vital link to the transportation of mail to/from the islands.
Malta’s cargo transportation is a vital link for the distribution of Maltese manufactured products in various industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to tuna farming, microelectronics and others. These links are further strengthened by Air Malta’s interline partners stretching east to west and cover most of the world.
In July 2002, after months of intensive negotiations and evaluations, the airline concluded an agreement for the renewal of its fleet over a four-and-a-half-year period. This deal involved the sale and lease back from ILFC of Air Malta’s own two A320-200s and three B737-300s, and the lease of 12 new aircraft from the Airbus A320 family for a term of 12 years each. Air Malta’s fleet of aircraft now consists of Airbus A320s and Airbus A319s.
The delivery of new state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft has provided Air Malta with substantial operational and technological advantages including better cabin layouts, in-flight entertainment opportunities and cost savings arising from fleet commonality. Substantial savings were registered in crew certification and recurrent training, reduced aircraft and engine spares inventories and better economies of scale in the production departments. The new fleet registered superior performance, achieving a better fuel burn ratio presenting the airline with a more environmentally responsible aircraft fleet with less CO² emissions and noise footprints.
When Malta joined the European Union in May 2004, the airline immediately took the initiative and started operating intra-European flights. Air Malta also capitalised on these new opportunities by setting up bases in the UK.
In May 2004, Air Malta reached a wide-ranging “Rescue Plan” agreement with the four unions representing the airline’s employees. The three-year agreement paved the way for a restructuring exercise without the airline having to engage in forced redundancies. Soon after the signing of this agreement Air Malta started implementing its restructuring plan both in terms of its organisation and its operations. The restructuring plan, which has now become an ongoing process of change, is aimed to streamline the airline’s activities to reflect today’s realities.
The airline has also started divesting itself from non-core operations, namely hotel operations, the tourism handling company and its airport retail operation. It also embarked on an outsourcing programme and sought to change work practices to achieve significant cost reductions. It is also implementing changes to its Information Communication Technologies (ICT) systems aimed at providing better services to its customers while cutting down on its administration and distribution costs. This includes e-ticketing, a new portal and on-line booking engine, online check-in and revenue management systems. Other ICT projects, including mobile phone check-in, are currently in the process of being implemented. Air Malta has also sought to enhance the customer experience on board with the introduction of in-flight entertainment.
Air Malta continues to be the prime air transport enterprise and is the main operator on the Malta route offering the most extensive choice of air services to the Maltese Islands. Air Malta will strive to continue offering its passengers superior service and enhanced levels of customer satisfaction in the years to come.