A 25 per cent reduction on Air Malta’s winter tickets led to an increase in revenue of 52 per cent during the week-long campaign compared with the same period last year, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said yesterday.

The winter sale was just one of many measures the airline was taking to respond quickly to market movements and to increase tourism figures in Malta during the shoulder months, the minister said.

He was speaking during the inauguration of the airline’s new offices at the Sky Parks Business Centre at the Malta International Airport.

Thanks to the price slash, sales increased by around 5,000 tickets, nearly 70 per cent more than the same period last year.

He said Air Malta had taken it upon itself to promote Malta and, following its rebranding, was now marketing the islands.

The restructuring exercise was on target and the airline would this year receive €40 million from the Government in line with the terms agreed with the European Commission, he said.

Airline chairman Louis Farrugia expressed satisfaction that so much had been carried out in a relatively short period of time. Mr Farrugia noted that the airline had made an operating profit in the second quarter and had also registered good results in the third quarter. The company was continuing to rein in spending.

Chief executive officer Peter Davies said the move to Sky Parks was a significant step forward in the life of the company.  He said 75 per cent of the changes that Air Malta needed to make involved a culture revolution, and moving to an open plan environment was challenging for the staff members. The new set-up will help the staff improve communication and the level of efficiency.

Mr Davies said he was exceptionally proud of what Air Malta had achieved in terms of restructuring, although there was still a long way to go.

Surrounded by airline staff, Mr Davies thanked them for their continuous efforts and for helping Air Malta achieve the results it had achieved so far.

Air Malta’s previous head office was built by the Royal Air Force as sleeping quarters and had been used as offices by the airline for more than 33 years. It was among the properties sold back to the Government last January for €66 million.

Air Malta will be occupying one-and-a-half floors of the building for the next five years. The airline has already identified a site to build its head office for the following years.