All four unions representing Air Malta employees have lambasted the rate of reform at the beleaguered airline, saying the new management had simply focused on the easiest task: shedding staff.

“Everyone knew that Air Malta needed to let go of staff, so actually doing it did not require much skill. The foreign management did nothing new by reducing staff levels,” the president of the pilots’ association, Domenic Azzopardi, said.

“Apart from cutting costs, Air Malta also needs to look into new routes, tapping markets such as Morocco, Tunisia and other Arab countries.”

On top of this, the “little” being done was taking place behind the unions’ backs, he argued.

And Mr Azzopardi is not a lone voice, with the General Workers’ Union, the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin and the cabin crew union more or less echoing his frustration.

Their reaction comes in the wake of upbeat comments by the airline’s CEO, Peter Davies, who said Air Malta had exceeded targets for last year through an improved hedging agreement and shedding excess staff.

But Capt. Azzopardi questioned certain recent decisions, which, he said, were taken without consultation, such as selling the head office in Gudja and moving to the Skyparks business centre near the air terminal.

“We were not even told about this. No consultation or even information. Did Air Malta save any money by moving to Skyparks? What is the company going to be paying in rent? What about parking facilities for workers? Has this been looked into? These are the kind of questions we want answered,” he said.

Capt. Azzopardi also wondered whether the airline will continue with the same loss-making pricing strategy for tour operators.

He said that nothing had been done about the association’s suggestion of adding two A321s to the fleet, which took 220 passengers each, up from the 139 that its present aircraft could take, to fit more passengers in one flight.

One of the A321s could be used to service both Manchester and Birmingham through one flight, saving costs.

Capt. Azzopardi also asked why Air Malta was only flying to Libya once a day when it could afford to fly twice and why the airline had not struck a deal to buy cheaper fuel from Libya.

He said pilots were doing their bit but they demanded respect in return, pointing out 20 of them had taken unpaid leave and gone to work with other airlines, saving the company €1.8 million.

One pilot, who took a job with a Polish airline, learned it was looking for an aircraft and put Air Malta in touch with them, securing a leasing agreement. He also found jobs for another 10 pilots.

GWU general secretary Tony Zarb questioned the airline’s recruitment process, seeking to employ what it is calling “permanent part-timers”.

“What is this? We have questioned the company about it and are waiting for replies. These permanent part-timers are replacing those who already left the company after receiving the golden handshake.”

Cabin crew union president Noel Mercieca complained that the management was not discussing the rebranding with the union, especially with regard to the promised overhaul of on-board services.

Equipment they were using was old, he said, and when asked to give examples, he said the tea and coffee pots handled by flight attendants were causing repetitive strain injuries.

Mr Mercieca said the union had not forced the airline’s hand during negotiations because they were promised things would change.

UĦM president Jesmond Bonello said his union was particularly concerned about those whose early retirement application had been accepted but had not yet been given indication of their release.

He said some workers had applied for a smaller sum and a job with the civil service but, when Air Malta released them, their government job had not yet been prepared. They were then sent back to the airline until the job was ready.