The Airline Pilots' Association (Alpa) said this evening that any further reduction of Air Malta's fleet of aircraft could make matters worse for the airline and undermine its ability to compete in today’s markets.

"Furthermore, it seems to show that Air Malta is not looking into its long term survival, but rather into short term quick fixes," the union said.

"A reduction in the number of aircraft will bring about a reduction in capacity, which in turn could mean that Air Malta loses more of its current market share. The importance of the airline keeping its current market share has already been emphasised by various industry stakeholders," Alpa said.

It said Air Malta should rather work towards increasing its market share, and a reduction in the number of aircraft will definitely not help in this matter. Rather, it will only undermine Air Malta’s expansion prospects, and ultimately, its only survival. 

Whilst noting and welcoming Air Malta’s recent statement announcing a planned increase in flights for the coming winter, Alpa said it hoped that a detailed analysis of the current route structure was done beforehand, especially since the statement implied that the airline would be operating more flights with less aircraft.

"Whilst we agree with increasing aircraft utilisation, we do have our concerns whether such plans are feasible and possible."

"Whilst understanding that fleet reduction would result in lower costs, it would inevitably be accompanied by a reduction in generated revenue, with the result being less chance for the airline making a profit," Alpa said while calling for revenue generating initiatives.