Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air unveiled its first brand new Boeing 737 in its own livery on Tuesday, a plane the airline believes will be a "game changer".
At a press conference soon after the Boeing 737-8200 “Gamechanger” with the Maltese cross livery landed at Malta International Airport for the first time, Malta Air CEO David O’Brien praised the aircraft for its lower CO2 emissions and reduced noise pollution.
“Malta Air is proud to fly the Maltese flag on our new game changer aircraft. Our team of over 3,500 aviation professionals at Malta Air will continue to work hard to secure as many of the Ryanair Group’s 210 Gamechanger aircraft order as possible for Malta Air. The Gamechanger was formerly known as the Boeing 737 MAX.
"We look forward also to growing our current six aircraft base at Malta substantially over the coming years and adding to the 57 direct Malta routes currently served by the Ryanair Group," O'Brien said.
New routes
The CEO also announced there will be nine new direct routes operating from Malta starting this winter. The routes are: Eindhoven, Bucharest, Kiev, Lourdes, Milan Malpensa, Paphos, Tallin, Warsaw and Zagreb.
"To celebrate, Ryanair have launched a seat sale with fares available for just €19.99, which must be booked by midnight July 29 on the Ryanair.com website," O'Brien said.
Transport Minister Ian Borg also welcomed the new aircraft to Malta, saying this was a "strong endorsement of the excellence and professionalism of Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate".
"Direct air connections are vital to Malta and I am delighted that these new aircrafts can deliver more connections and visitors to Malta, but at the same time reduce fuel, CO2 and noise emissions.
"Our mission is to build on the strong aviation platform we have developed, and we look forward to working with Malta Air and other airlines to further develop Malta as a leader in aviation and environmental excellence," Borg said.