Returning home from Paris this weekend on an Air Malta flight, I asked for some red wine to accompany my meal and was told there is a €4 charge – a new strategy since up to a few months ago wine was complimentary.

There was only one wine available: the rather tired, vinegary and brown-looking Pjazza Regina Valletta by Emmanuel Delicata in quarter bottle with no vintage or grape varieties. Incidentally, the chicken with curried rice and olives was equally unpleasant. But nothing new there.

Now before anyone mentions cost-cutting, saving our national airline, patriotism... let me clearly state that I am patriotic and would love Air Malta to survive and to become the best airline in the world, just like every Joseph, Jurgen or Clint.

But as a frequent user of our national airline and now that I have to pay for my wine, I think that, at least, a decent wine should be offered and even better, there should be a choice of two or three.

I assume that this new charge is meant to generate revenue and push up profitability. While I am not totally convinced that there would be a big demand for Ch Latour, I am certain that a choice of a couple of good Maltese wines, and maybe an Italian or French, could generate an interest.

Why not have a small wine list of half bottles for the benefit of those discerning passengers, Maltese and visitors alike?

Better still, why not make the excellent food served in first class available to all passengers against payment? I am sure there is some whizz kid who can come up with the software, so that when you are booking your flight online, a banner comes up suggesting to upgrade your meal at perhaps an extra €10 or €15. A similar service already exists for diabetic and coeliac travellers.

Passengers who go for this option can be seated in the front rows, so as not to complicate matters for the stewards. Or even better… forget about this and spread those having the first-class food around the plane so as to tempt those sitting next to them.

Make sure there are a few extra first-class trays to sell on the spot. Space on planes could be an issue; maybe even security, but surely my suggestions are not impossible. It’s a bit of a win-win(e) situation. Lunch or dinner-time flights would become much more enjoyable, Air Malta would make more money and we would increase the quality aspect to our islands for the benefit of all.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.