Air Malta is striving to improve its image in the name of elegance, comfort and practicality. Claudia Calleja saw its new uniforms in action on a trial flight to Berlin.

Three flight attendants strut through the airport wearing tailored navy blue uniforms as they effortlessly drag their hand luggage that perfectly matches their handbags.

Their hair and make-up is flawless and as they walk, like actresses in an old film moving in slow motion, one can see teasing hints of a deep red material peep through their skirts' back slit.

What airline are they from?

A closer look makes the answer obvious and surprising at the same time -the Maltese cross is a telltale sign that they belong to the Air Malta crew.

The trademark cross features on their hats, perched elegantly on their head, and a subtle Maltese-cross-inspired pattern is printed on the scarves.

Some people who flew on Air Malta recently may be wondering what this is all about. The reason is not all the crew are wearing this new uniform since it is currently on trial and set to be introduced later this year.

The uniform, to be worn by all in-flight and ground crew, was designed by Carlo and Sabrina Schembri who worked closely with the staff to understand their needs and requirements. This is the fourth radical uniform change for the airline.

"Seventy per cent of the design procedure involved listening to the staff," the Schembris explain adding that they started working on the new designs last summer. "We wanted to find a design that suits all figures since not everyone has a model's figure." The designers came up with three options for women and a suit for the men.

Women can choose between wearing a navy skirt or straight-cut trousers with a matching tailored, three-button blazer that is longer towards the back for a more flattering look.

This outfit comes with a white, mostly cotton, shirt with red and blue fine stripes and an adjustable collar that can be worn differently according to the person's neck shape.

Then there is the dress - a one piece, long-sleeved, belted dress for the slimmer girls. It has red details on the cuffs that match the touch of red on the slit.

The women's outfit is topped with the elegant navy and red hat, handbag and hand luggage. For the colder days there are also gloves and a waterproof trench coat that can be easily folded away without creasing. Oh yes, and they also have two pairs of colour coordinated navy and red shoes to pick from - one- or three-inch heels.

The men have a tailored navy suit with a waist coat and blazer that has red lining and details around the buttons and pockets. The shirt's pattern is similar to the women's and the tie's fabric is like that of the scarves. They also get gloves and a tailored coat for colder weather.

The tender was awarded to retailer Jon David who subcontracted works to an Italian company.

But one question has to be asked: earlier this year Air Malta announced it suffered a loss of €31 million last year. So why did the company decide to change the uniforms now?

"It the past years, the uniforms' stock levels were reduced to the very minimum and since new stock had to be ordered, it was decided to introduce a new uniform concept," an airline spokesman said.

The cost for doing this equalled that of the last uniforms, designed by an Italian company in 2000, but will lead the company to eliminate about €500,000 of unwarranted expenditure over five years.

Unlike the older uniforms, the new ones are machine washable and will eliminate the dry cleaning costs. As for the pilots' uniform, the spokesman explained, the company still holds a stock for the next five years.

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