“ There is nothing that carries the pride of Malta to Europe as we do at Air Malta . Our logo , with the eight pointed cross , is a recognisable emblem on the tarmacs across Europe and it sends out an unmistakeable message to people that Malta is there . Do we want that all this disappears completely ? I , for one , definitely do not want that to happen . We are so small that people tend to forget us but being in Brussels airport , in Heathrow or anywhere else in Europe and the Air Malta plane gives us all a sense of pride which nothing else can ” said Mr Galea .
The Future
“ Strategic partnerships are the way forward ” underlined Mr Galea , and this because that is how the airline industry has developed throughout the world in recent years . These partnerships help the airlines to go forward . “ Even larger airlines have this kind of partnership let alone a small airline like ours with a handful of aircraft ,” said Mr Galea .
The Acting CEO explained that the role of the strategic partner is not only for the investment . “ A strategic partner will give you the network . What we are finding is that the pressure on yield is so strong that you need to continue increasing your passenger numbers significantly to counter the drop in yield ,” he explained .
A network that is feeding you with passengers will be the boost for the airline since the network could be made up of a number of other airlines all with their own clientele and all trying to sell seats around the world . “ They would therefore also be selling our seats for us . And this can be a significant boost for Air Malta ,” he said . This will also help Malta to become stronger , to become a better destination for holidays , and ultimately it will lead to growth .
What Air Malta is trying to do at the moment is to give the client a destination experience from the moment he books to the moment he boards on to disembarkation . Mr Galea explained that through this their call ‘ We Care More ’, “ We try to take care of any adjustments the traveller needs , how he gets to the airport , when he ’ s on the aircraft , whether he has any issues on arrival possibly even extra luggage , we try to give him a total experience . We don ’ t call passengers as such any more but we refer to them as guests because when you have a guest at home you tend to go out of your way to make their stay as comfortable as possible . Air Malta wants to give a good experience all round . A full service . We want to be more human in our approach . Travelling is after all an intrinsic part of the human experience ,” concluded the Air Malta Acting CEO .
HOSPITALITY MALTA Q1 | 2017
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