Air Malta vs Ryanair

Air Malta has recently been rebutting Ryanair's claims that its fares are almost three times as much as those offered by Ryanair. However, a quick search on the internet proves Ryanair right.

A recent search for flights to France on Air Malta at the end of September worked out at the hefty cost of about €815 for two adults and a child including taxes. In contrast, Ryanair flights to Pisa, Treviso, Bremen, Girona or Valencia cost €280 euros for two adults and a child including all taxes, baggage and credit card fees.

Air Malta seems to operate most flights to France and there seems to be no low-cost service from France to Malta. I cannot imagine a family of three wishing to travel independently, that is not using the services of a tour operator, spending €815 just for the flight.

With such fares we will surely be losing a number of tourists, especially from Germany and France, who skip Malta for other destinations that are served by cheaper flights. Now, besides competition from East European countries, Malta faces stiff competition from countries such as Morocco and Turkey, which are also very well served by Ryanair and other low-cost airlines.

The truth is that had it not been for the arrival of low-cost airlines, a Maltese family wishing to travel independently would still not afford a short holiday in a foreign country when Europe has been enjoying low-cost travel for years.

The small airports serviced by low-cost airlines are much more practical than large airports and save airlines and travellers a lot of time.

These airports are uncongested, most flights land on time and one is out of the airport within 15 minutes.

In contrast, it is not uncommon to experience delays of up to three hours when flying Air Malta. All of the airports mentioned earlier are very well served by trains, coaches and car rental companies.

Although Air Malta has in the past also cut back on non-profitable winter routes such as Lisbon and Spain, leaving Malta with no direct flights to Portugal and Spain, it still boasts that it operates non-profitable services, simply to support the Maltese tourism sector. It is hoped that this is not a replica of our public transport service, where the government gives subsidies to keep certain routes running with empty buses. We are not living at a time where, faced by such high fuel costs, an airline can afford to operate non-profitable routes.

Maybe it would be wiser if Air Malta did everything possible to market its routes better by, say, offering last-minute seats at cheap prices, and fill up its planes. Like Ryanair, Air Malta should also put pressure on Malta International Airport to cut its fees in line with those charged by airports of a similar size such as Pisa.

A reduction of such fees would benefit all airlines and consumers instead of having passengers making good for inefficiencies at MIA.