Stuttgart flights 'will help revive German tourism'

The new general manager of Lufthansa in Malta, Valdis Dombrovskis, believes that his airline's new direct service linking Stuttgart to Malta as from April 1 will help overturn the downward trend in the number of German visitors to the island.

He strongly believes Malta should be advertised more in Germany and that the sun/beach product should only be "the icing on the cake".

Mr Dombrovskis is also convinced there will be no big changes for the airline's Malta operations on the island's EU membership because the most important things have already been tackled.

"Of course, there will be changes which will be dealt with appropriately when the time comes, such as Customs and tax regulations, but these will come step by step. But there will not be any big shock come May 1," he said.

Mr Dombrovskis' five-year posting in Malta, which started last November, coincides with the 20th anniversary since Lufthansa started operating to Malta.

In 1984, Lufthansa German Airlines had originally intended to operate a weekly service between Frankfurt and Malta throughout the summer months but then decided to offer the service all the year round.

Lufthansa operated its inaugural flight to Malta with a Boeing 737 on March 31, 1984. The weekly flight used to be operated on Saturdays.

Lufthansa in Malta has put up a programme of cultural events to mark the anniversary.

Mr Dombrovskis said when interviewed by The Times he was surprised at the number of low fare airlines that were to come to Malta this summer.

"Four or five years ago everybody had thought that these airlines were no cause for worry and the feeling was that they would disappear. But it turns out they have found a market and they are getting stronger.

"We have to move with time and show that we are also able to compete despite difficulties from lower fares," he said.

Mr Dombrovskis said low fare airlines had some subsidies from airports. However, there was a minimum base cost for operating an aircraft that applied to all airlines.

Lufthansa was trying to adapt to the situation which would develop from the emergence of low fare airlines.

"We are fighting through various programmes to keep costs down without affecting the service, security and safety," he said. Fifteen years ago, Lufthansa's costs per head were three times higher than today's.

Asked about his Malta posting, Mr Dombrovskis said he was surprised at the big volume of work here despite the size of the island. "Working in a small market with such competition was much more complex than working in a larger country," he remarked with a smile.

Mr Dombrovskis has held several positions with the German airline, specialising in setting up and operating new Lufthansa stations in various parts of Germany and elsewhere.

He joined Lufthansa in 1979 as a customer service agent at Munich airport. In 2000, he was appointed general manager of Lufthansa in Turkmenistan, based in Ashkabad.

"But Malta is different in many aspects. In the countries where I have worked, Lufthansa had a very small market share of two or three per cent maximum and there were practically no agents.

"The structure for Lufthansa there was built from zero. Here, there is big competition with quality airlines, like Air Malta, Alitalia, British Airways etc, which will also continue to increase; so it is a challenge," Mr Dombrovski said.

Fourteen airlines are to start operating to Malta or increase their flight frequency over the coming months.

Mr Dombrovski also referred to the forthcoming new Lufthansa service between Malta and Stuttgart.

He said German tour operators had been on the lookout for potential "warm climate" destinations within a short flying time of regional German airports.

Lufthansa had overcapacity of aircraft which were serving German cities and had a lay-over during the day.

"An aircraft on the ground costs much more money than in the air so Lufthansa decided to use them to serve some holiday destination with sun and warm water during summer and it chose Malta.

"We are also encouraging people from Malta to go to Stuttgart which is a centre of industry and tourism," he said.

Mr Dombrovskis said there was considerable interest in Malta in Germany and therefore the new service could help in the revival of tourism from there.

He said it was of concern that tourism had been in decline over the last three years. He also felt that not enough advertising was being done for Malta in Germany. "You have to sell your product," he remarked.

From a peak of 212,430 tourists in 1999, the German market slumped to 204,749 in 2000, to 160,262 in 2001, 142,106 in 2002 and down to 125,811 last year. This was a drop of 40 per cent.

The Stuttgart service, which will run until October, will be operated through four weekly flights, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.