SAS brings Maltese star on its inaugural flight

Swedish Pop Idol Kevin Borg, Malta's "new ambassador", arrived aboard an inaugural SAS flight yesterday morning to an "overwhelming" welcome from family, Floriana residents and fans at the airport.

"I hope every time I return, it will be like this," he joked, here for the first time since he won the TV song competition in December.

"My success is like a dream but at the same time it isn't," he added, aware that once it has been achieved, holding onto it would not be easy but acknowledging he was doing well.

A beaming Mr Borg, who already exudes pop-star confidence, had not been to Malta since September and said it was great to be back and reunited with his relatives.

He was looking forward to meeting the Maltese - and they did not let him wait too long. Family gathered at the VIP lounge and Floriana residents, carrying Maltese and Floriana flags, assailed the man who grew up among them as he drove past the arrivals area.

Mr Borg's approach stirred fervour in the crowd of mainly women, who had been waiting for a while and were bursting with pride. They stormed the car, cheering and clapping, and managed to shove a bouquet of flowers through the window and snatch a couple of autographs.

Later, Mr Borg offered a taste of his album, The Beginning, which was launched yesterday and sold 300 copies in a day, emptying the shelves. He signed copies and sang one song to a crowd of teenagers that gathered outside Exotique in Republic Street, Valletta. It was also a preview of two concerts that are being planned for August.

Addressing a press conference to welcome the first SAS flight from Stockholm, the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco praised Mr Borg for his achievements, saying "the pursuit of love yields many results".

He was referring to Mr Borg's Swedish girlfriend Sofia - the reason why he left Malta in 2007 and the push to participate in the Swedish Pop Idol TV show that shot him to Scandinavian stardom last December.

His success was timely and the Malta Tourism Authority is riding on it. Rather than getting a foreigner to endorse the product, Mr Borg slipped easily into the promotional equation.

And he has happily worn the hat of promoter, raising awareness of Malta in Sweden. Without wasting time, he donned the pilot's cap on the SAS flight yesterday and got the passengers going, offering them a hearty welcome to his home. The Nordic market was the fourth largest and Sweden was crucial, Dr de Marco said.

SAS confirmed its Malta operation last year, when other airlines were shedding rather than adding routes.

Additional routes were crucial to growth and more would be announced in the future, he said.

Despite a 14 per cent decline in seat capacity in winter, accessibility in summer would be slightly up from last year, Dr de Marco said, pointing out that the EU had experienced 82,000 fewer flights and there had been 43 million fewer seats globally in 2008. The packed flight from Stockholm transported several travel journalists, including from popular station TV4 which is taking footage of Mr Borg to be aired in Sweden over Easter.

SAS is operating flights on Thursdays and Sundays until November, offering the possibility of weekend breaks.

It is expected to attract business and conference travel and should service the Scandinavian companies based in Malta, said SAS communications vice-president Andris Zvejnieks.