No sooner than the national airline held its Annual General Meeting that all sorts of spin were launched, as if this was the new plaything for the political dialectic.

The Opposition spokesmen, first off, got their figures wrong. It is true that the airline did not manage to contain costs and loss as it had promised at restructuring time, but the trend is there and the delay, while there, should not detract from reaching the target.

The ultimate impression was of an Opposition that did not do its homework and which proceeded to state facts when these were not there at all. Maybe having an MP who heads a tour company puts him in a conflict of interest when it comes to analyse the state of the airline.

The next line of attack was to shed doubts on the new recruits especially when some were found to be relatives of Labour figures. That an administration has the right to put its people in place has been one of the ills that has bedevilled the airline almost since its inception. What matters is the competence and seriousness of the people who are put at the top.

Then came the claim, yesterday denied by the government, that the airline is going to be sold to Air China. This is part of the bash-China movement that is casting doubts and worse on any deal with China especially after the power station deal.

One would have expected a more balanced approach by the alternative government. The PN has no glorious record to boast of and even if the airline is suffering mostly from the removal of its former monopoly, there are people working and lives depending on the success or otherwise of the airline.

For the time being, it would have been better to understand the new direction announced by the new administration of the airline and trying to assess whether this will work or otherwise for the benefit of the company and of the country.

There is still a mystery why the former CEO was unceremoniously ejected, especially when the chairperson said last week the airline intends to get back what belongs to it - rather mysterious words.

The new administration seems to have focused on looking beyond the end of the restructuring period at the long-term decisions that need to be taken. Until then, the airline intends to continue to cut costs and reduce losses by tackling such issues as the inflight catering contract, etc, by getting increased patronage from places like Germany which is felt can deliver more, maybe by seeking out new routes.

The new CEO has stated he would also like to see more revenue-generating to be done, especially through more advertising on the planes themselves, through the eg hiring out of electronic equipment during flights especially now that calls can be made and received during flights. Another change would seem to be that regarding luggage.

But to our mind there are two issues that were completely absent from the speeches made last week and which are extremely important for the survival of the airline.

One is the pricing policy. As is the experience of many who try and find flights with the airline, the prices quoted are many times higher, far higher, tjan those of the competition. It is understood that Air Malta is not a low-cost airline, but it finds itself competing against far bigger low cost airlines all the time.

The second issue is the airline needs to be far more customer-friendly than it is now. If one compares the level of service given on Air Malta with that given by competing airlines, scheduled rather than low-cost, other airlines are friendlier, the crews smile and are friendly, whereas many times our national airline seems staffed by people with many problems on their minds.

It is not, to be fair, on the low Alitalia levels with yesterday's mayhem at Fiumicino, but it surely needs constant encouragement to be more friendly and, dare we say it, to smile more. Maybe that is a national failing, as one finds by going shopping around here.

The national airline was on life-support for the past years and the country has given it many funds from its meagre budget. That it has survived when others, bigger than it have collapsed is as big a miracle as that which daily gets such heavy machines up in the air. It is not fair to continually cast doubts on its survival, as if these efforts are doomed to fail.