Former Air Malta chairperson Louis Farrugia has called plans to partially privatise the new airline that is to replace Air Malta a “good idea”.
Times of Malta contacted some former chairpersons and CEOs of the national airline following the announcement earlier this week that Air Malta is to be succeeded by a new company, KM Malta Airlines plc, next year.
Farrugia, who served as chair for two years from 2011, said he believed the partial privatisation would ensure the company was run commercially, adding it was what he and his colleagues had wanted to do in 2013.
He said it was “positive” that the number of employees had been brought down while the number of flights were set to rise and said it was “clear” that the new board of directors would have to ensure the future competitiveness of the airline.
Over the past two years, Air Malta has seen its workforce slimmed down from just over 1,000 to around 400. At this week’s announcement, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said the airline’s current personnel would be re-employed by its replacement.
Despite having previously questioned the wisdom of incentivising low-cost airlines in direct competition with Air Malta – calling them “not the right strategy going forward” in 2013 – Farrugia’s stance appeared to have changed.
Pointing to companies such as Ryanair as drivers for increased tourism, Farrugia conceded there was a benefit to incentivising low-cost airlines, saying “everything helps”.
In September, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary brushed off suggestions that MTA subsidies gave his airlines an unfair advantage, calling the amount of support “very small”.
It’s sad to see any airline in this situation
While recognising the role of budget airlines, however, Farrugia said there were “good reasons for having a national airline”.
Former CEO Peter Davies, on the other hand, called news of Air Malta’s demise disappointing but understandable after it was refused State aid by the European Commission.
“It’s disappointing it got to this stage but understandable following the commission’s decision... It’s sad to see any airline in this situation,” he said.
Earlier this year, the commission refused to accept the government’s request to inject some €290 million into the floundering airline.
Stressing that a lot of people had “worked their socks off” to save the airline between 2010-2014, Davies – who, like Farrugia, served from 2011 to 2013 – said it was a shame that many had been forced to leave in subsequent years.
He said it was important for Malta to retain a national airline, citing free flights to the UK for healthcare passengers as one advantage and its ability to represent the values of the country as another.
“It is and should be an important asset,” Davies said, but questioned whether the latest move could solve the national carrier’s problems. “How many extra minutes do you need to score a goal,” he wondered.
Former chairpersons Louis Grech, Sonny Portelli, Lawrence Zammit and Charles Mangion declined to comment when contacted.
Times of Malta was unable to reach former chair Raymond Fenech.