The proposed strike by Air Malta pilots is “a totally irresponsible action”, according to the airline’s chief executive, Peter Davies.
In a memo issued to all employees yesterday afternoon and seen by The Times, Mr Davies said talk of industrial action had already started to cause the airline “financial harm via loss of bookings and people deciding not to come to Malta during the summer”.
He said action had already been taken on “waivers and favours”, which have resulted in a reduction of the company’s deficit by over €10 million for 2011-2012.
When contacted, a spokesman for the company declined to comment and said Air Malta did not want to discuss internal matters in public.
In the memo, Mr Davies said that if pilots went ahead with their threat to ground Air Malta’s fleet on July 16, the gains they were seeking “will be outweighed by the short and long term losses to the airline’s revenue and reputation”.
The memo was issued in the wake of strike action approved by an overwhelming majority of pilots.
It referred to the Ernst and Young draft restructuring plan leaked by The Sunday Times, describing the news item as “most unfortunate”, “inaccurate” and a cause of “much concern and worry”.
However, Mr Davies did not touch the most contentious issue in his memo, that relating to the number of employees who will be made redundant in each section. Instead, he told workers that talks had started with the four unions this week “to develop a comprehensive restructuring plan”.
Mr Davies also highlighted issues of concern raised by the pilots in relation to supplier charges, missing cargo revenue opportunities and the inadequacy of the website.
“All of those need to be fixed – we agree – and we are already working on these. But going on strike to force these actions and force the government to further subsidise the airline is counter-productive,” he wrote.
Mr Davies said management had started reviewing the top 20 contracts weeks ago and good progress was registered.
“A dedicated contract review project team has been set up to tackle this logically and on the basis of facts. In relation to the MIA, a representative of the pilots is on that working party so is fully aware of the progress we are making,” Mr Davies said.
Focusing on Malta International Airport charges, which pilots have been particularly vocal about, Mr Davies said Air Malta had already secured “some savings” and was in discussions to secure more.
However, he ruled out a proposal by pilots for a moratorium on airport charges for three years, which would be paid by the government instead of Air Malta.
“This would be illegal under EU rules... being classified as state aid. Our position is that there are ways to go about implementing change and this is not one of them,” Mr Davies said.
He pointed out that in the new organisation structure, cargo would be set up as a profit centre and given resources to operate effectively.
Air Malta was reviewing all cargo arrangements in place, he added, to ensure revenue opportunities were maximised.