Air Malta launches summer schedule with 200 flights weekly

Air Malta has launched its Summer 2010 schedule of flights to and from 40 destinations connecting the Maltese Islands with various cities in Europe, northern Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

Running up to October, the schedule offers convenient flight timings to major city airports.

With around 200 flights every week from Malta this season, the national airline has enhanced its network by increasing frequency of flights to popular destinations such as London Gatwick, following the recent withdrawal of British Airways, Munich, Vienna, Dusseldorf and Paris Charles de Gaulle, while introducing new flights to Turin and Genoa in Italy.

Air Malta’s chief officer commercial Brock Friesen said:

“We are sticking to our strategy to operate a schedule with convenient timings to central airports which are close to the city that they serve.

“We have opted for increased frequencies to the most convenient international airports, enabling passengers to fly when they want with the least ground transportation costs to and from airports.

“Our strategy to operate more flights has translated into better opportunities for short break traffic that helps the Maltese hotel industry to increase bed nights especially in shoulder months while also giving better connectivity to the Maltese travelling public.”

Dr Friesen said that in economically depressed 2009 this strategy delivered (+129,677 passengers) a 13 per cent increase travel industry sales in France on Air Malta, while the French air travel industry contracted by minus 16 per cent. Impressive gains were also made in Germany where the market also shrank.

He said that in the first three months of this year passenger traffic increased by 5.2 per cent over last year.

“We are working hard to maintain this pace and have launched several advertising campaigns in core markets.

“Our goal is to exceed the record breaking passenger traffic achieved in 2008.”

This summer Air Malta is operating direct scheduled flights to Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Birmingham, Bologna, Brussels, Budapest, Catania, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Genoa, Hamburg, Istanbul, Leipzig, London - Gatwick, London - Heathrow, Lyon, Manchester, Marseille, Milan, Moscow Domodedovo, Moscow Sheremetyevo, Munich, Naples, Palermo, Paris – Charles De Gaulle, Paris - Orly, Prague, Reggio Calabria, Rome, Sofia, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Tripoli, Tunis, Turin, Verona, Vienna, and Zurich. Furthermore Air Malta will be operating flights out of Catania to Munich, Frankfurt and Geneva, while serving Rome and Genoa from Reggio Calabria airport.

Air Malta is anticipating a capacity increase of more than 120,000 seats on key markets like Italy, France, Germany and the UK.

As from the end of this month it will be increasing its seat capacity on the Italian market by around 60,000. Besides the introduction of two new routes to Genoa and Turin with two flights a week in peak on Tuesdays and Saturdays (Genoa), and Mondays and Fridays (Turin), flights to Bologna, Verona, Naples and Reggio markets will be served with additional convenient flying time.

The capacity floated on the French market is increasing in the region of about 25,000 more seats on flights to Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse. The majority of this increase in seat capacity will be on flights operated to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport with an increase of two weekly flights when compared to last summer’s schedule, serving the Paris metropolitan area with an average of two flights a day from Malta to Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly.

As a result of increases of two additional flights per week to Munich and Dusseldorf, and an increase of additional seats on its flights to Stuttgart and Berlin Tegel, a total of over 20,000 more seats shall be offered on the German market compared to last year’s Air Malta summer flights.

The Austrian market will have additional seat capacity, with the introduction of an additional flight to Vienna, bringing the total weekly flights to six when compared to five weekly flights in last summer’s operations.

Due to the withdrawal of British Airways flights to and from Malta, Air Malta has increased another weekly flight to London Gatwick, bringing its flights to a double-daily frequency, thereby representing an additional capacity of around 15,000 seats.

New intra-European flights from Catania to Frankfurt and from Reggio to Paris Orly have also been launched.

Air Malta said it offered customers a full service treatment on all its flights to main city airports, where it operates a new aircraft fleet, in-flight entertainment, complimentary refreshments and newspapers, eight kilogrammes of free hand luggage, as well as a poolable 20 kilogrammes free baggage allowance for economy class passengers and 30 kilogrammes for Club Class passengers.

www.airmalta.com