Malta has managed to halve its operating losses to €3.3 million in the first quarter of the financial year from April – down from €6.1 million in the same period last year.
Financial results released yesterday show the airline carried more passengers and brought in more revenue when compared with April-June 2012.
If one-time restructuring costs were included in the equation, losses went up to €4.9 million, still a far cry from the net loss of €10.6 million in the same quarter last year.
The airline said the results were in line with the targets set out in the restructuring plan approved by the European Commission.
Air Malta carried nearly half a million passengers in the quarter, an increase of 29,000. It had its best June for five years.
It also improved revenue by almost €6 million to €62.4 million.
The results came on the back of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s comment on Tuesday that he was still waiting for the results of the airline’s restructuring.
In a veiled jibe at the foreign managers brought in by the previous administration to oversee the restructuring process, Dr Muscat had said people were paid half a million euros to deliver results.
But the remarks were played down by Air Malta CEO Peter Davies – who has a pay packet of €500,000 – who said the Prime Minister’s comments were “an endorsement” that the airline restructuring was on track.
Commenting yesterday on the first quarter results, Mr Davies said the figures confirmed Air Malta was on its way to recovery – the airline had gone from a budgeted annual loss of €55 million in financial year 2011/12 to €15 million in 2012/12.
“We are meeting the milestones listed in the Restructuring Plan,” he said.
But while revenue targets were on track, more had to be done to reduce costs.
“Let me make myself absolutely clear. Our challenges are still significant and this year we have a tough challenge to achieve the financial break-even milestone,” Mr Davies said.
Pilots deadlock persists as meeting between management and union proves fruitless
Air Malta pilots are still locked in dispute with the airline, and a meeting between their union and management yesterday produced no results.
A directive for pilots not to wear their jacket, tie and hat while flying will remain in force, according to union chief Dominic Azzopardi. Pilots have been observing their union’s directive since mid-August. “The meeting left us with the status quo,” he said yesterday at the end of an hour-long meeting, the second in as many weeks.
He did not elaborate on what was discussed.
But a spokesman for the airline insisted the meeting was “constructive” and another will be held next week.
“Both sides discussed the issues that have given rise to the industrial dispute; the tax due on the early retirement scheme and the computation of service of an employee who had resigned from the company to work abroad and rejoined after a four-year absence,” the spokesman said. He confirmed that the roster issue that led to the dispute on the adequacy of staff levels was also discussed.
The Airline Pilots Association (Alpa) claims the airline is dogged by a pilot shortage caused by an early retirement scheme. But the airline spokesman told Times of Malta that Air Malta stood by its restructuring plan, which envisages a pilot complement of 110.