Air Malta’s main ‘achievement’

Ryanair CEO recently suggested (tongue-in-cheek?) in these columns that Air (KM) Malta was aimed at “elite” customers while his airline served the common man.

What did he mean by our national airline serving the “elite”? Did he mean Air Malta had been offering free “club class” seats to politicians, top civil servants and Air Malta staff (and their families)? Or was it meant as a sardonic remark because there is actually nothing “elite” about Air Malta’s services?

Air Malta’s economy seating package is inferior to Ryanair’s by at least two simple criteria. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Air Malta’s economy seating package is, in fact, inferior to Ryanair’s by at least two simple criteria: Air Malta’s flight booking website is rather obstructive and, as far as my last experience of a few years ago, you could not check-in online prior to 24 hours before departure, while you could check-in both departure and return Ryanair flights when booking and purchasing your seats. Secondly, Ryanair’s on-time record is better than Air Malta’s.

The local narrative has been that Air Malta is essential for our tourism. This is a fable and, like all fables, when you repeat them enough times they become true facts. Some other European countries (much larger than us) have no national airline and so not seem to miss it.

Furthermore, our tourist numbers took off when Ryanair was permitted to operate here; our politicians initially opposed it but then they had to back down when we joined the EU.

The cruel truth is that, like Malta Drydocks, Air Malta’s main achievement has been to burn taxpayers’ money to keep going. How a tiny airline can operate competitively against much larger ones is beyond commercial common sense. But, perhaps, the sole purpose of these overstaffed parastatal companies was always to provide employment (and a helping hand to electoral efforts).

Albert Cilia-Vincenti – Attard

Ugly Malta

Conservation architect Edward Said was quoted complaining that “… for the most part [streetscapes] being replaced by faceless, placeless, soulless greyness” (February 15) when Times of Malta reported on yet another traditional town house in Sliema giving way to “flats”.

Yes, this, too, is what I had in mind when, from as far as some dozen years ago, I wrote about the impending “uglification of Malta”.

The country is not only the “environment and open spaces”… it is also our towns, villages and their streets and squares. These, in their old built-up component, are (were) also part of the reason why we Maltese loved our habitats, plus, of course, also why foreigners used to come here.

Anyone at either the Planning Authority or the Malta Tourism Authority who thinks that the now uncontrolled rapid rate of urban uglification will not catch up on us for our national sins is kidding himself.

John Consiglio – Birkirkara