MIA must reduce costs to encourage tourism - Ryanair
Ryanair has called upon Malta International Airport to stop claiming that its airport charges were within the EU average.
In a statement, the airline, which operates from 146 airports in 26 countries, said it paid an average of €7.80 per passenger for airport charges last year and believed that any objective analysis of charges by airport operators should review the charges it paid.
When MIA’s existing cost of almost €20 per passenger was combined with handling costs of €5 per passenger at Malta, the total passenger cost was more than three times Ryanair’s average cost.
It was such excessive costs from a monopolist private company that were holding Malta’s tourism industry to ransom with MIA only interested in lining the pockets of their shareholders, Ryanair accused.
Ryanair’s Colin Casey said:
“If MIA is genuinely interested in the Maltese economy, it should reduce its airport charges by offering a volume discount scheme in return for guaranteed growth. Such a scheme would be open to all airlines that achieve the necessary growth criteria, on a clear and transparent basis.
“This would stimulate passenger traffic which will have a direct impact on the tourism and leisure industries whilst also improving the business prospects for Malta. Cost reduction schemes have recently been announced by the Dutch, Greek and Spanish governments in an attempt to reverse their declining tourism trends and MIA should follow suit.”
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Steven Brockwell
May 28th 2009, 22:54
how can anyone reduce cost when all the government does is hamper us with UN just electric bills ????? so on
Steve Muscat Azzopardi
May 28th 2009, 20:38
Many of the secondary airports Ryanair uses in Europe have been upgraded as more passengers used them, adding shops, cafes, car rental etc. creating employment for many. If not for Ryanair and other low-cost airlines this wouldn't happen. Similarly if Malta lowers its costs more tourists would visit. Here in central Europe sunny summer destinations include Morocco, Egypt, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus... but very rarely is Malta promoted because for the same money one can fly to exotic destinations. If the powers that be want to promote Malta as a top-end destination then we need to see far more attention given to public transport, heritage sites, roads & pavements, general cleanliness....
Stephanie Farrugia
May 28th 2009, 19:34
Ryanair may not charge for toilet paper and extra body weight yet but it will surely charge you 40 euros both way if you forget to print your boarding card or do not have access to a printer....and no more free online check in..5 euros each way please to add to the amount ryanair is saving in passenger handling fees..and then they have the cheek to criticise other companies about their fee policies...and do we have assurance from Mr O that he will not pack up his two airplane base in Malta when it no longer suits him..as he did in Valencia , leaving everyone stranded on this rock
Tony Borg
May 28th 2009, 18:11
@ Joe Grima
100% agreed with you.
As a person once said....when we privitised the MIA we sold our front door!!
Joe Grima
May 28th 2009, 17:40
@Tony Borg. You may be right on that one. The core of the problem remains the privatisation of our only airport. This way we cannot control prices charged to airlines and since Tourism is our most important industry, the privatisiation of the airport lost us control over an essential area of our economy. Thankyou again Austin Gatt
Tony Borg
May 28th 2009, 17:04
@ Joe Grima
Although I agree with most of what you have written, I do not agree with you when you try and justify the fact that MIA charges more because it is an International Airport.
Most of the airports that Ryanair uses are alot bigger and alot busier than MIA.
What's in a name?
Joe Grima
May 28th 2009, 16:53
Ryanair is only partly right. As has been stated , Ryanair uses secondary airports that are not comparable to inernational airports such as ours. However, the difference between 7.80 and 20 euro per passenger is enormous. I agree with Sylvan Mifsud, and I wrote precisiely so when the airport was privatised (The ugly Face of Privatisiation. di-ve.com). that that privatisation was an abominable decision against the inational nterest. I said at the time that the decision to privatise the airport will have a direct negative effect on our tourism and it has. You just don't sell off the water source from which you expect to drink every singe day of the year. In his infinite wisdom, Austin Gatt did just that.and we will continue to bear the consequences of that disgraceful decison for as long as we live.
Someone asked where the Minsiter of Tourism is in all this. Sorry, the Minister himself is busy with the EU Elections. Don't expect the Parliamentary Secretary to enter into the debate. Like many other serious issues that are defeating Malta's collective tourism efforts, this one is beyond his grasp.
Give us back the old days when overbooking was the commonest problem
lgalea
May 28th 2009, 16:24
That's what you get by privatization to a foreign company.
MIA should be re-nationalized.
Simon Azzopardi
May 28th 2009, 16:17
When will the local government wake up! It is cheaper to travel elsewhere in the Med! Our whole tourism sector needs a major reovation. From our beaches to transport system and pricing. We need to do this ASAP.
The financial situation will certainly effect all sectors of tourism this year, and yet, as other goverments react to such changes, we follow the "wait and see" policy.
S. Camilleri
May 28th 2009, 16:05
@Tony Borg
Of course it doesn't .................YET!!!
Carmel Farrugia
May 28th 2009, 16:02
Have we forgotten that once Ryaniar comes in, it holds to ransom whoever is dependant on its service. The story of Ryanair and Valencia airport is a case in point. When the conditions dictated by Ryanair were not met by the Valencia Governemnt -- Ryanair just left leaving in the lurch the people in Valencia who depended on Ryanair. Beware from Ryanair. The best is to have a mix of airlines as we have at present. This way no -body can dicatate.
Sarah Attard
May 28th 2009, 15:59
@ Tony Borg
Apologies, you're right. I intended to write "from an airline CONSIDERING charging for toilet paper and fat people."
muscat. Pat
May 28th 2009, 15:51
Whilst the main airport in Vienna is nationalised and the majority belongs to the Austrian state, the ONLY Maltese airport belongs -in its majority - to the Austrians! It makes you wonder!
Roger Boyle
May 28th 2009, 15:50
In what way is MIA not in line with EU airports? If you are referring to the landing fields (note I cannot call them airports) that Ryanair flies from, MIA is a Heathrow. Ryanair does not owe anybody a living and their history of indiscriminately suspending previous operations is proof of this. All the airline is interested in is free publicity and making money without any overheads. Aren't we paying enough to subsidise this cheap and ruthless airline? Do not be blinded by their cheap fares.
Tony Borg
May 28th 2009, 15:19
@ Sarah Attard
Just to put the record straight.....Ryanair does not charge for toilet paper or for fat people.
Sarah Attard
May 28th 2009, 15:07
Whilst I'm sure that Ryanair have very valid points in their argument (and if so I hope that the necessary action will be taken to bring MIA in line with other EU airports), I find it quite rich that such a statement is being made from an airline charging for toilet paper and taxes for fat people.
John Montague
May 28th 2009, 14:51
It was clearly a mistake to privatize MIA. This should be reversed. Greece dropped landing charges for part of this Summer in view of global economic developments and a drop in advance bookings. Cyprus regularly drop landing charges most Winters. Our tourism imports remain partially dependant on what is effectively a third party. This becomes unacceptable given current conditions and an uncertain future.
Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg....
J Farrugia
May 28th 2009, 14:40
@ Silvan Mifsud: was it a bad descion or not that is not for you to say. In my humble opinion, that was the best thing to do to avoid labour governments from employing their own supporters at the airport as happened during the lives and times of Labour governments. Those now are past times. As for Ryanair, the only thing I can say is that seeing their operations records, if Ryanair doesn't like it here, it can go somewhere else. Punto e basta. it is useless to offer us trojan horses when we know the record of this low cost airline. When Ryanair speaks of millions, the way I see it is divide by two.
Tony Borg
May 28th 2009, 14:36
@ Pierre Agius
Yes of course Ryanair uses alot of secondary airports but it also uses the like of Gatwick, Stanstead, Luton, Madrid, etc etc.
What you failed to mention is that the operational costs and in particular the wages in Germany, Belgium, Italy, England and all the other countries you mentioned are alot higher than those being paid by the MIA.
The MIA, with its monopoly, is holding hostage the tourism industry!!
Jack Skelt
May 28th 2009, 14:28
@ Silvan Mifsud
Well Said - look like you have knowledge in economics. Unfortunately our politicians need some lessons in economics.
S Borg
May 28th 2009, 14:24
I travel extensively around Europe are rarely see Malta advertised in tourist agencies. Its always Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Cyprus, Tunisia, Greece etc. Although we have a beautiful country with lots to do we can never compare to what Spain Greece Tunisia etc have to offer (in terms of greenery, long beaches etc.). I travel with Ryanair to many destinations most of which I pay less than €100 for a return ticket including taxes and charges for two persons. So why is Malta so expensive compared with other places? Its true ours is an international airport but whatever it is its the only one we have and we must adapt to the market. Its not fair having one airport deciding the price everybody has to pay in order to travel. The MIA is a private entity I suppose and reasonably enough a target of theirs must be profit. And this is understandable. But it must not be in detriment of the social good.
T Mifsud
May 28th 2009, 14:15
Like any other commercial company Ryanair is also doing the same thing ... lining up te pockets of its shareholder. For example, if Ryanair "is genuinely interested in the Maltese" people :
- why did it charge AND KEEP the departure tax when it knew it had to return them? Did it have to make clients go thru the Ryanair's claiming department maze with many dead ends to claim back the taxes?
- And what about the flights that are cancelled at very short notice because the flight won't be profitable (never mind the customers who booked hotels and transfers - those will not be refunded!)?
This is nothing other than standard Ryanair publicity. Did ANYONE see ANY Ryanair advert in our media? No? Well this letter is one .... because they dont pay for adverts but they thrive on letters that create controversy. Let it be known to everyone. Free publicity.
Mr. Felix Granville
May 28th 2009, 14:14
Sorry As a Britain and frequent flyer,i support your policy entirely i am afraid from past experience your policy is falling on deaf ears, as the only reason the Maltese see is the colour of money, and any reduction in effective cost reduction to attract tourism i don't think they can see reason even now after a making a loss.but in the mean i praise RyanAir and will continue to fly with this carrier and i dare say also my clients in the UK.
Silvan Mifsud
May 28th 2009, 14:01
The decision to privatise the Malta Airport was one of the worst decisions ever taken by a Nationalist Government. While monopolies should be avoided, having a monopoly in public hands is much better than in private hands. Since Malta is too small to have more than one airport, and thus no competition between airports, having a monopoly airport in private control is the worst strategic decision that could have been taken in this regard. When a monopoly is in private hands it has little or no regard towards its effects on the general economy, but is only worried on increasing its super profits. This is the present case for MIA, whereby it has little regards towards increasing tourists arrivals in Malta, if it can obtain a higher level of revenue through lower levels of tourist arrivals, as it charges much higher landing charges. We seem to have become the country whereby we privatise profits and socialise (through our taxes) the losses!
Silvan Mifsud
May 28th 2009, 13:59
The decision to privatise the Malta Airport was one of the worst decisions ever taken by a Nationalist Government. While monopolies should be avoided, having a monopoly in public hands is much better than in private hands. Since Malta is too small to have more than one airport, and thus competition between airports, having a monopoly airport in private control is the worst strategic decision that could have been taken in this regard. When a monopoly is in private hands it has little or no regard towards its effects on the general economy, but is only worried on increasing its super profits. This is the present case for MIA, whereby it has little regards towards increasing tourists arrivals in Malta, if it can obtain a higher level of revenue through lower levels of tourist arrivals, as it charges much higher landing charges.
pierre Agius
May 28th 2009, 13:58
Of course Ryanair pays lower average in other European airports - it uses secondary airports not national ones! Airports without any facilities such as unused military terminals! Compare like with like MIA with Vienna International Airport, with Brussels International, with Fiumicino, with Heathrow, with Frankfurt and not with Charleroi, Treviso, Ciampino and other converted fiels in the middle of nowhere! Come on be fair ... we may be small but not stupid!
joe attard
May 28th 2009, 13:52
Another solution for reducing fees is the reduction of costs. A visit to the MIA offices and a look at the published finanacial report of the company under salaries/benefits proves my point.
J Oatmon
May 28th 2009, 13:40
I tend to believe Ryanair on this - it has actual the costs it incurs at the various airports, as opposed to the reported/claimed costs MIA uses.
I think that MIA losses a lot through the 'backdoor' with pilfering and suchlike, but is unwilling to do anything about this sort of problem because it is still making money. I think to make MIA a truly efficient 'lower cost' operation would probably need a 'sea change' in the present security arrangements, more CCTV's etc, and better regulated work practices.
Tony Mangion
May 28th 2009, 13:37
If Colin is stating facts, where is the Minister for Tourism.
Tony Borg
May 28th 2009, 13:36
What is Dr. Demarco waiting for to intervene? Yesterday's figures (13% drop in arrivals in the first 4 months of this year) are'nt enough to sound the alarm bells?
Jos Vella
May 28th 2009, 13:27
MIA is only the tip of the iceberg when one mentions prices in Malta; for example how come do hotels still quote the price per person rather than the price per room? I am not saying that restaurateurs and hoteliers do not have their expenses too.... far from it; in my opinion we need to revisit the pricing strategy in Malta, be it MIA as well as all other establishments that are tourist facing.