After much paddling underwater, when much unseen work was taking place, the past two months has seen Air Malta consistently in the news – for far more positive reasons than the gloom to which the national airline had become accustomed.

The springboard was the European Commission’s approval in June of a five-year restructuring plan that permitted €130 million of state aid to be pumped into the airline. This decision effectively saved the national carrier from the abyss. And when the finance minister said this was a “good day for the country”, he was in danger of understatement.

Air Malta is a vital component of our nation. Throughout the years it has not only brought tourists to our shores, but it has also connected the Maltese to the rest of Europe. In short, the airline has been a lifeline and its loss would have been a national tragedy.

Since the EU decision, Air Malta has announced plans to halve its €29.8 million operating loss by next year and break even by 2014. This is a tall order, not least against a background of (still) rising fuel costs and capacity reduction which is a restructuring package condition.

However, in the wake of the EU announcement the national airline went on the offensive. It quickly announced an investment of €3.5 million in new ground service equipment and last week it went a step further, launching a rebranding exercise whose centrepiece is a striking new livery for the fleet.

This was undoubtedly a bold move. For starters, the new livery breaks away completely from the sober yet dignified livery the airline has carried for some years now. Some have questioned, and will continue to question, whether it has gone too far and whether the national airline suddenly looks too much like a tourist jet. Others will applaud in awe.

A more serious question has related to the €1.9 million cost of the rebranding exercise (which includes application of the new livery) at a time when the airline is seeking to make cuts across the board in order to save costs.

While the decision not to subject the rebranding contract to open competition, in order to attract proposals from local and foreign marketing agencies, is suspect, time will tell whether the assessment by Air Malta CEO Peter Davies – who has described it as an investment – is correct.

More important will be the airline’s ability to, in chairman Louis Farrugia’s words, “rapidly and successfully execute a range of cost and revenue initiatives” laid out in the restructuring plan. Air Malta’s future will depend on whether the management the government has entrusted to carry out this task get it right.

It is to be hoped that they do not price the airline out of the market, which is more delicate than ever before given the large-scale presence of low-cost airlines.

But Air Malta needs a little help from the outside too. The attractiveness of the nation it is now not only flying to but actively promoting on its fuselage, is more important than the pulling power of its new livery. This means the tourist product has to be value for money and up to scratch.

While the Maltese islands should be gleaming gems, in too many places they are scuffed and tattered – not least in areas where roadworks are being carried out in the most appalling manner – while they do not always offer the value of their competitors.

Malta does not just depend on its national airline; Air Malta also depends on its nation. It is about time we all figured this out.