People who fly Air Malta these days can see for themselves the results of a generational changeover that has so far gone unnoticed.

Among the cabin crew serving the passengers there are those who come from the older Air Malta generation and also the new entrants in this job.

Readers remember that many Air Malta employees have been offered, and many have taken, early retirement. But in some cases, especially during summer, the numbers that remained were not enough to man the planes. Consequently, some who had chosen early retirement were asked to stay on at least for summer, and some new entrants were chosen, perhaps just for the peak season.

There is a marked age difference between the first class we described and the second one: The new entrants are generally younger.

They probably have a different package, which would explain their eagerness to help out the passengers, together with a smiling approach that has not (at least not yet) jaded.

In a way, we have here what did not happen with Arriva. In the Air Malta case, the old regime employees have been kept on along with new entrants being brought in. One understands that this was necessary because the new entrants needed the old hands around them so that they could show them the ropes, especially in tricky circumstances that sometimes crop up on planes.

This is a rather rare occurrence among us, as it also means that we have two groups of people with different work packages working together at close quarters.

There are also two groups of people with widely differing mentalities. The older group came with a mentality that this was a job for life, a full-time job, almost a job with the government. The new entrants have nothing of the sort: Most probably their job is temporary, and that makes them all the more keener in their job for there is nothing like precariousness to sharpen one’s flexibility and eagerness to work and serve.

One also notices the new uniforms that had been prepared a rather long time ago but which were kept under wraps given the precariousness of the airline itself. The new uniforms are smarter and well-fitted and a welcome change.

However, all this general improvement is still patchy and is not matched in many other areas of the airline. We mention two.

First, there seems to be a glaring case of lack of training among the ground handling staff, another sector where ‘old’ employees work side by side with ‘new’ ones.

They seem ill at ease with accepting multiple bookings or groups, even families, instead of single passengers with one or two pieces of luggage. Sometimes, they also show incompetence with their handling of the software they are meant to use.

Secondly, Air Malta is still far from being there with regards to prices of flights. You get one price if you call, one other price if you access the website and you may even get a third quote if you get a friend abroad to call the office abroad instead of here.

Some of the prices that are quoted are simply out of this world. One does not expect Air Malta to compete with low-cost carriers, but at the end of the day, prospective clients can still choose between Air Malta’s prices and those of low-cost carriers. So, by default, the prices are in competition. People are coming to realise that prices of flights are variable and depend on who one asks.

The decision by the Commission last week that accepted the funds given to Air Malta by the government is a welcome development, one that not everyone was all that hopeful would come. But now that this decision has been made, so different to the Commission ruling on Malev that caused it to fold, this must be the point of departure, not one of arrival.

Now we have the opportunity to plan ahead, to think strategically, and instead of being just limited to the next flight, the next day, the next week, we can now plan at least medium-term if not long-term.