Whilst Mr Galea is fully aware of the complexity behind transforming Air Malta into finally becoming the constantly sustainable unit that it deserves to be , he also sees this as a most exciting time which gives Air Malta the chance to consolidate its position as the national airline of the Maltese islands and to structure its solid growth pattern for the next years .
So can we do without the airline after all ? His reply was crisp and clear : “ No , we cannot ! Because today we have control over our destiny since we are not dependent on foreign carriers who are only led by commercial interests .”
He feels that in the case of our national carrier , all too often the social needs of the country came before its business or commercial needs . This differs from some of the other airlines who service Malta and with our own concepts although some other national carriers do tend to give their own country the priority it requires without forgetting the commercial side . As examples he mentioned two different airlines - Austrian Airlines , which looks towards its own country , and Ryanair , which concentrates on catering for its shareholders ’ interests .
Looking back at the historical development of the hospitality industry Mr Galea underlined the reliance on Air Malta to get tourism on its feet in the past . Apart from the obvious UK , Italy , Germany and France destinations , “ certain other routes we take for granted today were actually introduced and developed by Air Malta , “ he said . In Germany , for example , apart from Frankfurt , Air Malta opened up smaller airports to travellers such as Dusseldorf and Berlin , and it did the same with other regions in the UK and Italy . Their success was then copied by other commercial airlines that followed suit .
Air Malta ... is the national carrier and therefore must support the efforts of all the country
Schedules
Mr Galea pointed out that the schedule of services which Air Malta operates isn ’ t all that effected by seasonal fluctuations , unlike those of some other airlines who see fluctuations between their summer and winter months . Nonetheless , Air Malta has always been there to service and support the efforts of the hospitality industry of these Islands .
HOSPITALITY MALTA Q1 | 2017
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