Air Malta close to deciding on new planes

Air Malta is close to deciding on the new aircraft it would need for the coming decade, civil aviation sources said yesterday. But a senior Airbus Industrie official currently in Malta would not comment on the talks in progress.

The Maltese airline has, for some time now, been planning to modernise its fleet which currently consists of 12 aircraft, five of them owned by Air Malta and the rest leased.

All are Boeing 737 aircraft except for three which are Airbus A320s, including two owned by the airline. Another leased A320 is expected to join the fleet in a few weeks` time.

Officials from both Boeing and Airbus are in Malta having talks with Air Malta on the supply of new aircraft. The talks have been in progress for some time but civil aviation industry sources said they had now entered their final stage with a decision being taken by the airline possibly within weeks.

The sources said a buyer for the five planes owned by Air Malta had already been found and efforts were being made to dispose of the four Avro RJ70 Avroliner regional jets now flying for AzzurrAir. The four jets had been bought by Air Malta in 1994 and originally also served with its fleet. They were then passed on to the Italy-based regional airline in which Air Malta has a 49 per cent equity.

The airline considered various options including buying new aircraft itself or striking a deal with a lease finance company which would purchase the planes itself and then lease them to Air Malta. The latter type of arrangement is gaining momentum in the industry.

Airbus Industrie yesterday held what was described as a presentation to the Maltese media at the Le Meridien Phoenicia. Marketing director Günther Schubert spoke about the company`s products and its successes in terms of market share in relation to Boeing.

However, he made it clear at the outset that the talks with Air Malta were not the subject of the event and "so, please do not ask any questions about it".

Asked whether it was coincidental that Airbus should make such a presentation when Air Malta was about to decide on new aircraft, Mr Schubert said it was `possible`. Such presentations were not unusual in the industry, he added.

Was it also coincidental that a high-ranking delegation from Airbus Industrie was expected to arrive in Malta today on board an A320, he was then asked. "Yes, it is," he answered.

In his presentation, Mr Schubert referred to the success of the A320 family of which 2,091 models have been ordered. He said 11 former B737 operators had switched to the A320 family and more than 20 B737 operators had selected the A320 family as complement or ultimate replacement.

Airbus Industrie has sold over 4,400 large transport aircraft since it was set up in December 1970. Last year it sold 375 aircraft and registered a turnover of e20.5 billion. The consortium has a total undelivered backlog worth an estimated $130 billion.