Low-cost seats (2)

A lot has been said about whether we should or should not allow low-cost airlines to operate to and from Malta.

I speak from experience having lived and worked overseas for a period of time in the UK, which gave me the opportunity to try out what the low-cost airlines have to offer. I would like to point out a very important factor and a very simply exercise everyone with access to the internet can try for themselves.

I ask the relevant authorities if they have tried this themselves before reaching a final decision.

Low-cost airlines operate on a supply and demand basis when pricing up their fares, so a customer booking six months in advance in fact gets a one-way fare for as little as £30.99 plus taxes.

However a customer booking at short notice can expect to pay as much as £180.99 plus taxes (prices based on a low-cost airline flying from London airports to Amsterdam, April 2-9 and October 2-9).

Low-cost airlines offer a no-frills service where all extras have to be purchased on board the aircraft be it a coffee, sandwich etc.

Such airlines are not out to stop the major airlines from flying into a particular airport but offer stiff competition, which in turn helps to improve service and value for money on air travel.

In the winter of 2004/05, a couple of major British tour operators decided not to fly to the Costa del Sol in Spain for the simple reason that this resort had gone past its sell-by date.

The low-cost airlines stepped in and now those same tour operators are flying back into Malaga.

So not only has Malaga gained from the low-cost airlines but it also got the tour operators back.

Why are we so scared to allow low-cost airlines into Malta?

If this were not the future of air travel why have three of the major British tour operators started their own low-cost no-frills airlines?

Low-cost airlines make regional airports more accessible.

Where in the past most people used to have just one holiday a year, the trend now is increasingly to have two or three short breaks a year.

A very simple solution is to build a small airport in Gozo which would serve as a local regional airport whose charges and taxes would be lower than our international airport.

I can assure you that after the first season the major tour operators would also start flying into Gozo.

This would increase business for Gozo's leisure and tourist industry and provide a very much needed injection of revenue for Gozo Channel as customers would need to get to and from Malta after flying into Gozo.

Only a short runway would be required as most low-cost airlines operate small aircraft.