Air Malta’s CEO Peter Davies has been asked to identify a Maltese person to replace him once his three-year contract is up, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said yesterday.
Mr Fenech defended the fact that a foreigner had been chosen to head the restructuring process by saying the job required someone who had experience in conducting a turnaround of a “failed” airline like Air Malta.
Interviewed on TVM’s programme Dissett last night, Mr Fenech denied having infamously said he did not want a “Maltese fool” to head the national carrier, saying this was a “first-class exaggeration”. In fact, he made sure a Maltese person would eventually run the airline by asking Mr Davies to identify and prepare someone to take over the role.
However, during a restructuring process that required experience, Mr Fenech said he was not prepared to appoint a Maltese national simply for the sake of having a Maltese CEO.
“Let me be crystal clear: When it comes to leading an airline even I am a fool. I am not an expert and I will not pretend to be one,” Mr Fenech said, adding the government could have “tested” a Maltese person for the job but the risk would have been too big.
Speaking about Air Malta as having a “very politically charged” environment, he said it was good at this stage to have foreigners who were “less impressed with political colours” so they would choose people who delivered.
Mr Fenech stressed that if the restructuring process at Air Malta was not implemented immediately, all 1,300 jobs would be lost rather than 511 because the banks would not lend the company money and the European Commission would not accept the aid plan.
“I’m not threatening. These are the facts,” he said.
He said Air Malta could not and would not become an airline like Ryanair but it must find a way to be efficient and offer a varied package.
There had to be a philosophy change where the airline responded better to new realities in the market, diversifying its products and seeking new opportunities.
Mr Fenech denied that low-cost airlines like Ryanair were offered better conditions than Air Malta. Ryanair was simply taking advantage of incentives to operate on unconnected routes, something Air Malta could have done but did not because its business model did not allow it.
He said Air Malta was supported by Malta Tourism Authority because most advertising campaigns were conducted in places where the airline flew to and it always featured significantly in the adverts.
Mr Fenech stressed that the government’s financial assistance to Air Malta was not a loan.
Asked about how Air Malta’s restructuring would affect the government’s deficit cutting projections, Mr Fenech said it all depended on how the European Commission decided to view Malta’s capital injection into the airline. If the sum could be classified as an investment, it would not affect the deficit projections. But if the Commission saw this as an expense, it would “derail” the government’s targets.
Mr Fenech called on the media publishing details of the restructuring plan to be “more responsible” about divulging Malta’s negotiating position because it could “prejudice” the negotiations.