Air Malta committed to Heathrow
Air Malta has no plans to relinquish any of its slots at London's Heathrow Airport, in spite of the fact that their value will have increased enormously as a result of the recent "open skies" policy agreed between the EU and the US.Runway slots at...
Air Malta has no plans to relinquish any of its slots at London's Heathrow Airport, in spite of the fact that their value will have increased enormously as a result of the recent "open skies" policy agreed between the EU and the US.
Runway slots at Heathrow are eagerly sought after and although they cannot be openly traded, industry reports say that they are regularly sold.
British Airways and BMI control more than half the slots at Heathrow. BMI's 90 pairs of slots at Heathrow were recently estimated to be worth as much as £500 million.
Air Malta operates two flights a day to Heathrow and its morning slot is considered to be prime time.
"Slots do not 'belong' to an airline so trading them is a very grey area. However, I can confirm that in the past, Air Malta had been made offers for its slot - although we have not been contacted since the open skies policy was announced.
"At this point in time, Air Malta is not considering moving away from Heathrow as it is a major factor in our success. We operate two flights a day to Heathrow and Rome, which indicates the importance of these routes. Low cost airlines have obviously had an impact on both our passenger numbers and passenger revenue but certainly not enough to justify dropping the route or reducing the capacity," Mr Cappello said.
"At this point, there is nothing on the table that would induce us to change this strategy. And you must remember that a financial offer would have to come with alternative slots - but moving to another time would involve a major re-scheduling."
This is not to say that Air Malta will not benefit from the new policy - albeit indirectly. Its code-sharing agreement with Lufthansa means that flights to Washington and New York via Frankfurt and Munich are now part of the deal.
The EU transport ministers last week unanimously backed the "open skies" aviation deal with the US, aimed at liberalising transatlantic air travel. The new policies will take force in March 2008 and will boost competition on the often lucrative routes. Negotiations have taken over four years and the deal is to be signed in Washington on April 30.
Under the open skies policy, any EU-airline will be allowed to fly from any city within the EU to any city in the US, and vice-versa. The major impact of the deal will be felt at Heathrow, Europe's busiest hub, whose use is currently dominated by British Airways, Virgin, American Airlines and United Airlines. About 33 per cent of all transatlantic flights from Europe leave from Heathrow.
Virgin Atlantic, which initially opposed the deal, has sought to make the best of it by announcing expansion into Europe with plans for flights to New York from Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Madrid. Low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet are believed to be looking across the Atlantic for new routes.
The EU believes that the agreement could mean 26 million more airline passengers over the next five years, creating up to 80,000 new jobs in the EU and the US.
However, the new policy is not entirely balanced. US airlines will gain free access to European airports but EU carriers will not be allowed the same rights on domestic routes within the US.
But while US airlines can land at any European city, pick up more passengers and fly on to any other European city, this privilege is not reciprocal. European airlines can fly to any American city but are forbidden by a law dating back to the 1930s from continuing on to a second city. The deal also means American companies could buy European airlines, while foreign investors are barred from owning more than 25 per cent of an American airline.
Runway slots at Heathrow are eagerly sought after and although they cannot be openly traded, industry reports say that they are regularly sold.
British Airways and BMI control more than half the slots at Heathrow. BMI's 90 pairs of slots at Heathrow were recently estimated to be worth as much as £500 million.
Air Malta operates two flights a day to Heathrow and its morning slot is considered to be prime time.
"Slots do not 'belong' to an airline so trading them is a very grey area. However, I can confirm that in the past, Air Malta had been made offers for its slot - although we have not been contacted since the open skies policy was announced.
"At this point in time, Air Malta is not considering moving away from Heathrow as it is a major factor in our success. We operate two flights a day to Heathrow and Rome, which indicates the importance of these routes. Low cost airlines have obviously had an impact on both our passenger numbers and passenger revenue but certainly not enough to justify dropping the route or reducing the capacity," Mr Cappello said.
"At this point, there is nothing on the table that would induce us to change this strategy. And you must remember that a financial offer would have to come with alternative slots - but moving to another time would involve a major re-scheduling."
This is not to say that Air Malta will not benefit from the new policy - albeit indirectly. Its code-sharing agreement with Lufthansa means that flights to Washington and New York via Frankfurt and Munich are now part of the deal.
The EU transport ministers last week unanimously backed the "open skies" aviation deal with the US, aimed at liberalising transatlantic air travel. The new policies will take force in March 2008 and will boost competition on the often lucrative routes. Negotiations have taken over four years and the deal is to be signed in Washington on April 30.
Under the open skies policy, any EU-airline will be allowed to fly from any city within the EU to any city in the US, and vice-versa. The major impact of the deal will be felt at Heathrow, Europe's busiest hub, whose use is currently dominated by British Airways, Virgin, American Airlines and United Airlines. About 33 per cent of all transatlantic flights from Europe leave from Heathrow.
Virgin Atlantic, which initially opposed the deal, has sought to make the best of it by announcing expansion into Europe with plans for flights to New York from Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Madrid. Low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet are believed to be looking across the Atlantic for new routes.
The EU believes that the agreement could mean 26 million more airline passengers over the next five years, creating up to 80,000 new jobs in the EU and the US.
However, the new policy is not entirely balanced. US airlines will gain free access to European airports but EU carriers will not be allowed the same rights on domestic routes within the US.
But while US airlines can land at any European city, pick up more passengers and fly on to any other European city, this privilege is not reciprocal. European airlines can fly to any American city but are forbidden by a law dating back to the 1930s from continuing on to a second city. The deal also means American companies could buy European airlines, while foreign investors are barred from owning more than 25 per cent of an American airline.