Ryanair plans to serve Malta from Luton, Pisa and Dublin

Within the short space of nine weeks, leading low-fares airline Ryanair could be offering a daily service to Malta from London Luton and flying three times weekly from Pisa, with a three times weekly service from Dublin scheduled for February.

The launch of the three routes on a year-round basis would mean passenger targets amounting to just over 200,000 (100,000 inbound and 100,000 outbound), with 85 per cent of these - 86,700 - calculated to be incoming tourists, whose expenditure in the local economy would amount to €36.4 million this year, Ryanair's deputy chief executive Michael Cawley said yesterday.

Mr Cawley was speaking about the proposals the airline has made to the government in response to its call to low-cost airlines for offers to fly routes to Malta.

He said Ryanair expected to carry 110,000 passengers a year in and out of Luton and 47,000 from both Pisa and Dublin.

The airline has been pushing for lower airport charges, and Mr Cawley said it would not budge on the fee it was prepared to pay, which, on average, stood at €7.15 per passenger at other airports it operated from.

Malta International Airport was offering about three times the European average, he said, calling its discount an "all too modest attempt".

Mr Cawley expressed optimism that, through its proposal, the effective costs for Ryanair would be reduced.

He was "cautiously optimistic" that its proposals would be accepted immediately, not fearing the competition from Easyjet, which has also taken up the government's offer and submitted its proposals, on grounds that Ryanair was the cheapest airline in Europe.

Ryanair, he said, was responding on three of the four routes the government had asked for because it did not have bases in Basel - the other airport proposed.

"Luton, Pisa and Dublin are the three routes we are capable of responding on, and we are responding extremely quickly by October 31. So we are hopeful."

Ryanair has not shelved its original proposal to establish a base in Malta, Mr Cawley said.

"It is a long-term plan, the timing of which is dependent on the government and the airport."

The proposal to the government to establish a base in Malta dates back a year and would mean bringing up to two million passengers - effectively "doubling the size of the airport".

The introduction of the three routes could be seen as a test for the country to determine what the initial effect on other aspects of its economy would be, after which Ryanair would be able to "move quickly to further development".

It would show that the feared "cannibalisation" of existing airline traffic would not happen.

There was absolutely no denying that low fares stimulated the market and economic activity hugely, Mr Cawley stated.

He believed the proposal was "the start of a new era for Maltese tourism", primarily attributing the decline in the number of visitors to high airport costs and no low fares.

"A monopolist was a monopolist forever," he said, referring to MIA, which he pointed out was clearly not interested in tourism, but in its own profitability.

There was no denying that tourism in Europe has grown by around eight per cent per annum over the last eight years, while it has declined in Malta, he said, describing the situation as "catastrophic".

Mr Cawley believed Malta was an attractive destination which could be sold well in Britain, Ireland and Italy.

Ryanair's proposal was "not an inconsiderable start" to what was hoped to be a long and fruitful relationship with Malta, Mr Cawley said, expressing his strong confidence in success on the three routes and looking forward to expanding the network to other destinations.

He was pleased that the government had taken a commendable, albeit modest, start down the road to salvaging Malta's tourism.

The Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU, which met Mr Cawley yesterday, together with hoteliers, was elated by the outcome.

The fact that Ryanair was showing an interest in Malta and believed in and praised its product was "the best news we have heard for a long time", the president of the GRTU's tourism, hospitality and leisure section, Philip Fenech, said.

Facts & figures

¤ Ryanair, the fastest growing airline, would have carried 42 million passengers by the close of the financial year in March, growing by seven million this year.

¤ In a week and a half, Ryanair carries the same number of passengers as Air Malta carries in a year.

¤ Since 1995, it has experienced an "unparalleled" 27-per-cent growth rate and plans to continue to grow by 20 per cent per annum, adding around eight million passengers per year and having 354 aircraft by 2015/2016.

¤ Boasting the youngest fleet, Ryanair operates the largest number of routes - 362. By the end of the year, it would have added an additional 80.

¤ It is currently in talks with another 70 airports of the 150 that have expressed an interest in talking, and would be adding seven more to its list between now and the end of the year.