Benefits of low-cost flights

I was recently watching a TV programme in which the senior head of marketing at Air Malta was interviewed by a TV presenter, who also happens to be a travel agent. The Air Malta representative was rightly pleased with the record number of passengers carried by the national airline during the winter months. He also spoke at length about why Air Malta, as opposed to low cost airlines, is the only airline which provides a reliable service to the Maltese and attributed the winter's success to its emphasis on marketing short breaks in foreign countries.

While Air Malta may be offering an invaluable service to the industry, business community, travel agents and foreigners, the same cannot be said for the service given by the airline to Maltese independent travellers over the years. These travellers may not be willing to join tours organised by local travel agents, leaving and returning to Malta in the middle of the night.

While Air Malta may be enticing foreigners to spend short breaks in Malta, it is surely still not encouraging Maltese families to do the same in foreign countries. A recent search for flights for May 1 long weekend only proves that had it not been for the arrival of low-cost airlines in Malta, it would practically be impossible for a Maltese family to go on an independent short weekend break to a foreign country. To give an example, a family of two adults and one child could fly with Ryanair for a long weekend on the May 1 weekend for an approximate total of €294 to Valencia, €310 to Bremen, €369 to Pisa, including all taxes and baggage fees.

With Air Malta, flights for two adults and one child on the same weekend would cost about €823 to Munich, €911 to Zurich on a non direct flight and €975 to Rome .

I personally cannot imagine spending threefold on flights only, for a weekend break. The high response by Maltese families to low-cost flights, such as the Malta-Pisa Ryanair flight, is more than understandable. The issue of government subsidies to low-cost airlines was also discussed. When are we going to get it right about this issue? Government subsidies are only given on undeserved routes. Air Malta persisted for years and still persists in not flying to Portugal and Spain, except for two months in the summer. The result was that Maltese took six hours to reach these destinations, whether on business or leisure trips, having to change planes in Italy or Germany. At the same time, Malta lost out for years on Spanish tourists.

Now thanks to a couple of low-cost airlines, an influx of Spanish tourists is conspicuous on our islands, and Maltese independent travellers are free to fly on a short holiday to Spain, from prices starting at Lm45 for two adults. Besides, Air Malta is probably free to fly to Portugal and Spain and receive subsidies.

Air Malta and travel agents, please keep your hands off low-cost travel, for the sake of the whole tourism industry, Air Malta itself and Maltese travellers. Competition in fact proved to be beneficial even for Air Malta, which is finally waking up to today's travel trends and registering some positive results. Had the government not taken the bold step of encouraging low-cost airlines against opposition from a number of sectors, the whole tourism industry, including Air Malta, would have kept on suffering for years, while the rest of the world keeps moving on. Low-cost travel is a reality of today's travel and is here to stay. Malta is no exception. It should be facilitated and not hindered. There is surely potential for more low-cost flights from countries such as France, Germany and Switzerland. The longer we wait, the more Malta loses out on tourists, to the benefit of other countries such as Spain and East European countries.