Air Malta is to introduce a new four times weekly service to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris early next year. This service will complement the daily service offered by Air Malta to the other main Paris airport of Orly.

It said the decision was taken following double-digit growth registered on the French routes last year.

"By servicing the capital’s two airports, Air Malta is expected to mirroring its success on the London market where today it serves the three main airports of the City," the airline said.

“With the new Paris service Air Malta is ensuring that it is offering the most convenient schedule to the Maltese islands from both the Paris inner city area and also from the Parisian suburban areas known as Île de France, with a potential market of over 10.5 million people. Our clients will now have a choice of airports in Paris depending on their travel requirements,” said Brock Friesen, Chief Officer Commercial of Air Malta.

For summer 2009 the airline will be floating an additional 30,000 seats on Charles De Gaulle to add to its 60,000 floated seats on Orly.

This summer Air Malta added a third weekly flight on both Lyon and Marseille and in the first month these routes generated a 47% and 96% increase in passengers respectively.

The airline said the French market has responded very well to both its and the MTA’s aggressive advertising campaigns in France.

"We have focused on the short break market segment and the extension of our traditional summer season to include off peak months. Last year our winter 2007/08 marketing efforts kicked off as from May and continued aggressively in the following months. Through this investment we registered an overall +25% increase in passengers from France. The new airport and additional frequencies to Paris are expected to continue generating positive results for the airline to and from the French market.”