Fiona Galea Debono
See the islands by helicopter
A new helicopter service will provide tours of Malta and Gozo and may later offer transport between the two islands.
The first helicopter of a planned three is scheduled to land in Malta today, and the tours will be launched next week.
The operation is an investment by Eagle Associates (London) Ltd, which is represented in 53 countries. It has already set up its Malta Heli Tours office and booth at Malta International Airport, which will be offering sightseeing and tailor-made luxury packages. Four British pilots will do the job.
Managing director and CEO Philip Bayne hopes to move on to providing a helicopter service to Gozo once the tours are up and running, and Malta Heli Tours is paving the way for that. "The infrastructure is in place and we are ready to go!"
However, Mr Bayne stresses: "We are not in competition with Harbour Air (the seaplane company) or ferry services; we just want to complement them and offer the Maltese additional means."
But Mr Bayne's sights have been set farther and the Maltese sky is not the limit. The company is also looking to expand its helicopter services to Libya and Sicily.
"The idea is to take advantage of the fact that a helicopter can land almost anywhere," he said. In fact, its aircraft is also being fitted with floats to operate on the sea.
Future plans are far-reaching and include getting involved in a multitude of other related services - from emergency interventions and fire fighting to the chartering of jets and helicopters and taking aerial photography.
"We also have a strong aero-medical evacuation role. In the case of an accident, we could deploy a helicopter to transport the victim to hospital and we could intervene in the case of a shipping disaster, for example," he said.
The company is also interested in landing government contracts, for example to carry government officials overseas, and plans to have a jet in Malta.
A Maltese-registered company, Eagle Associates (Malta) Ltd, plans to recruit local staff as the operation expands, said Mr Bayne. "We want to be Maltese!"
Retired from the Royal Air Force, and having worked for the major US aviation companies, Mr Bayne has been working on the business for the last year.
He has a "love affair" with Malta and Gozo. "That is why I want to invest," he said, pointing out that it does not come cheap but refusing to disclose the amount due to the competition: "Any group in the UK would be interested to set up shop in Malta."
Eagle Associates has linked up with Heli Air, Robinson aircraft dealers in the UK, and is bringing over an R44, which can carry three passengers, as well as deploying a Bell 206 L3, which takes six. The Robinson R44 should be deployed within around 10 days and a third helicopter should be arriving shortly after.
Eagle Associates have already landed a contract with Saga Holidays - catering for tourists over 50 - and is looking for a convenient landing pad near the Coastline Hotel, which provides their accommodation.
The service is also being promoted on cruise liners, Mr Bayne said, adding that, ideally, the company would also have a helipad at the Viset Valletta Waterfront and could fly passengers to wine and dine in Gozo.
Eagle Associates is big on ferrying sports and entertainment celebrities and hopes to bring some over to Malta, Mr Bayne added.
The tours are designed in such a way that tourists can enjoy a recorded commentary, which eventually should be presented in four European languages. So far, there are three types of various lengths: the starting price is €125 for the 20-minute Platinum Tour, which could even include dinner and golf, with others going up to €165.
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David Schiavone
Feb 9th 2009, 18:46
Well, to be frank, i can't see the real use of having helicopter service in malta. Personnaly I prefer going to gozo, with my car and I can't see the use of having helicopter to gozo. But anyways if Eagle would like to have a go.. however i can assure you that the maltese arent really interested in helicopter business. Also if you would like a tour around malta, we already have existing operators offering these services.
Robert Court
Jan 31st 2009, 11:49
The reason the helicopter service was uneconomic before was that it was ONLY a scheduled service.
The gentleman concerned seems to want to look seriously at ALL niche markets for helicopter filghts. It might be possible to both provide a reasonable commuter or link type flight AND service the luxury market at the same time; provided people pre-booked their flights well in advance - this would prevent a helicopter having to be on stand-by for a scheduled flight with the possibility of no passengers turning up to make use of the service.
I am sure that the running costs, let alone marginal costs of running a helicopter are considerable - to make maximum use of the helicopters by providing a reasonable 'commuter' type service COMBINED with tourist sightseeing and other specialist flights seems the only way to provide a reasonably priced helicopter link service without going bust!
Stephen Borg
Jan 30th 2009, 11:42
Mr Tyrrell. The inter island air link is not only needed by tourists but also by the locals. As mentioned before it is good to have a reliable and affordable service between the Gozo Heliport and the Malta International Airport so that Gozotians traveling on International Flights would benefit from an affordable and reliable internal connection. As you can appreciate the new service is not affordable at all because in most cases the price of a low cost airline ticket to any European destination is far more cheaper then the prices being offered by this new operator for a ten minute flight to Gozo. By the way when I go abroad as a tourist I always appreciate to find reliable and affordable point to point internal air links as tourists coming to Malta also expect to find.
James A. Tyrrell
Jan 29th 2009, 21:19
@Stephen Borg. I assume from your name Mr. Borg that you are not a tourist. Can I therefore suggest that you refrain from telling everyone what tourists need. Thank you.
Alfred Farrugia
Jan 28th 2009, 00:37
It is heartening to see foreign entrepreneurs try to enrich the tourist facilities on our island. If we succeed to attract the right type of tourists to Malta, Malta Heli Tours might secure a niche market.
I shall never forget the experience over the Grand Canyon in a Las Vegas Helicopter. It is a question of priorities among different guided tours available. We need to encourage these entrepreneurs and not try to discourage them. They are capable of conducting their own feasibility studies, and they might offer different services at different price levels. I wish them the best of luck.
The only problem that I see is if we start covering up all our prehistoric temples. Can the proposed tents be made of transparent material?
http://starsandstripesair.com/
J Martinelli
Jan 28th 2009, 00:29
@ M Bezzina
"The man told me that unless the government does not financially support (subside) them it is not possible to keep the service by air between the islands. And here we say we cannot give subsidy!!" That's your exact quote.
So, what you are saying is that the Irish taxpayer paid the difference between what you paid and the real cost of your flight!
That's fair, very fair.
You should be wearing a shamrock on your lapel.
Stephen Borg
Jan 27th 2009, 23:09
Mr Tyrrell a thousand foot air strip will not ruin the Gozotian landscape, neither will it ruin the island's environment. It is good to have a helicopter service serving this route and offering other sight seeing tours around the Maltese islands but it is not a long term solution and as experienced in the past at some point in time the service would be terminated because the operator would deem it as unprofitable. The only long term solution which would be both profitable for the operator and attractive for the islanders and the tourists alike is the use of a fixed wing aircraft which could be operated at a lesser cost. This service should also serve as a fast, affordable and reliable connection to the Malta International Airport where tourists and islanders alike can be directly connected to international flights flying in and out of the Malta International Airport.
Oliver Mallia
Jan 27th 2009, 22:51
A flight to Lampedusa will be excellent with the helicopter!
Thousands of tourist in summer visit this island situated between Malta and Libya. To go to Lampedusa you have to get a flight from Italy, and it’s quite expensive. If a service will be provided from Malta, tourist could easily spent 1 or few days for holiday here, and for sure it will become much cheaper because of short distance.
James A. Tyrrell
Jan 27th 2009, 20:45
I too would like to wish Eagle Associates all the best in their new venture. If I make it over this year which is uncertain due to the economic climate, and if they are operating the Gozo Malta link I will certainly use them.
Gozo does not and never have needed a fixed wing service and I do wish the usual people would get that into their heads. The island has been destroyed enough by greedy developers without having another concrete scar on its landscape. The people calling for a fixed wing service are not in the least bit interested in the tourist sector.
The only people who will benefit from such a venture are the developers and their investors and the ones with their rich boys toys who want to fly in and out of Gozo instead of taking the ferry with the common people!
Charles J Buttigieg
Jan 27th 2009, 19:32
@ Tim Ripard
I simply can’t understand why some people find the need to resort to personal insults to prove a point.
For your information Malta Air charter operated under no less than five different chairmen, I was not its first MD but the one before it’s last. On many occasions I recommended to shut down the operation but two different Political Party’s administration insisted on keeping it going due to political reasons. EU finally saw to its closure.
As to my Marketing and Management skills I would allow my former Directors at Air Malta, previous International Institutions, Business Partners, and practically all the operators that asked for my assessments before bidding for the operation, to be the judges of that.
Let’s all be patient now and wait for the results.
Charles J Buttigieg
Jan 27th 2009, 18:46
@Tim Ripard
Don’t forget that the operation was also tried and tested by other operators and failed. Helisureste lost a lot of money ,packed up and left.
There’s practically no traffic originating from Gozo and the traffic ex Malta is too spread out during the day to make a flight viable. On a good day in summer we used to get a demand for 50 seats that could be carried in two flights however due to the genre of the traffic,sporadic arrivals on different international flights, we had to operate something to the tune of 10 return flights every day. That means 20 one ways, 520 seats to carry 100. Winter traffic was practically inexistent.
The lion’s share of the traffic originates abroad, connecting passengers, likewise marketing and sales. The sales and reservation set up of Air Malta were at our disposal too.
There simply isn’t enough traffic to operate a round the clock 24\7 viable operation.
I wish good luck to the prospective adventurers.
Stephen Borg
Jan 27th 2009, 18:40
Through past experiences with Malta Air Charter Russian built Mil Mi-8s and Helisurestre AB412 and SA360 Dauphin helicopters, it is clear that operating a helicopter inter island air link is not the answer. The solution for a sustainable inter island air link is a fixed wing aircraft which is cheaper to operate. To develop a sustainable long lasting service we should opt for fixed wing aircraft like the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, a seventeen seater aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT-6 engines which make it a reliable and cost effective workhorse. The Twin Otter is a Short Take Off & Landing (STOL) aircraft which can land or take off from tarmac or grass strips not more than thousand feet in lenght. In archipelagos like the Caribbeans, aircraft like the Twin Otter, Britten Norman Islander or the Dornier 228 are used to transport Passengers and Cargo between islands far smaller then Gozo. This is the kind of air link which suits Gozo and it's Tourism industry, a small tarmac or grass strip which surely will not going harm the environment or serve as an eyesore and which can accommodate Twin Otter aircraft or equivalent.
M.Bezzina
Jan 27th 2009, 17:45
I hope that he successed I don't want to be pessimistic.But the service proved to be unsuccessful. Unless the government subsides the service this will fail again.
In 2006 I went to Ireland and visited the Arann Islands with an Islander Bn-2 fixed wing aircraft like the AFM has .The flight was 15min away departure point from Connemara .It only costed 20Euros for a flight of 15min with return. I spoke to the counter how on earth the price was so cheap because I explained to him that a 5min flight from Malta to Gozo costed much more compared to this service the airline operates.The man told me that unless the government does not financially support (subside) them it is not possible to keep the service by air between the islands. And here we say we cannot give subsidy!!
WHAT A JOKE!!!
Tim Ripard
Jan 27th 2009, 14:07
@ Charles Buttigieg.
How on earth did you manage to lose money (year in, year out) in your circumstances (cheap equipment, free heliport, 100% subsidized Heliport staff)? I think the problem was with your marketing and management skills, not your luck which seems to have been pretty good to me.
V Zahra
Jan 27th 2009, 12:59
Let the man live and give this company a chance! At least somebody is investing in product Malta and trying their best! I wish this new helicopter service good luck and may they expand & prosper!
After all its all in the marketing!
lgalea
Jan 27th 2009, 12:57
Roy Perry
Why don't you forget your obsession for a fixed wing aircraft service to Gozo Roy?
Isn't Gozo already destroyed enough by environment destroyers?
Charles J Buttigieg
Jan 27th 2009, 11:38
Working with inexpensive Russian equipment, free use of the Heliport and all staff at the Heliport paid by the Government, with a return fare of Euro 37.28, carrying 40,000 passengers per year plus regular sightseeing tours, Air Malta was losing money year in year out.
I sincerely hope that the new operators succeed where we had failed.
J.Borg
Jan 27th 2009, 10:14
At the prices listed i wonder how many tourists and maltese locals will take the tour.........
125euros for 20minute ride......for a couple that will amount to 250 euros (Lm100 + in our old currency).........
Charles J Buttigieg
Jan 27th 2009, 10:09
Wish you better good luck than I had.
Former General Manager Malta Aircharter.
Roy Perry
Jan 27th 2009, 09:52
Fact 1
Eagle Associates and their partners Kudos Air Services offer specialist travel facilities to the rich and famous. They also buy and sell Jet aircraft and Helicopters.
Fact 2.
Neither company has a current Operator Certificate to actually run a charter operation, they merely act as agents for those who do.
Fact 3
The Robinson R44 is a type in wide use by the well-to-do as personal transport. I cn carry four persons.
Question. Who is to benefit from their operation and has the Department of Civil Aviation issued an operating Certificate.
Any promise to offer a Malta-Gozolink is conjecture and will only confuse the proposals for a regular fixed wing service.