Demand for tickets on KM Malta Airlines flights during the summer 2024 months has “exceeded expectations”, the fledgling new national carrier said on Wednesday.

KM Malta Airlines said it has sold more than 250,000 seats during the summer months since opening for bookings on December 4, 2023. That represents 18 per cent of its summer 2024 seat capacity.

The airline will fly its maiden flight on April 1, taking over from the practically bankrupt Air Malta which had an attempted government bailout blocked by EU state aid rules.

The government has said that the new airline will be run on a strictly commercial basis, operating a slimmed-down route schedule of 17 airports across 15 European cities.

It has also said KM Malta Airlines could end up flying under the Air Malta name, as the branding is owned by the government and will be available against a licencing fee once the existing airline winds down.

In a statement on Wednesday, KM Malta Airlines said bookings from European tour operators and group sales have been especially strong so far and that it is seeing “very strong demand” for both its business class and economy fares.

An airline spokesperson attributed the strong demand to “the attractiveness of its new route strategy and the effectiveness of its new fare structures.”

The airline started accepting bookings from tour operators on December 4 and individual bookings through its website on December 11.