When I first visited Malta it was still very quaint and I loved the old post-war vehicles that hurtled around blind bends (so long as I was on the other side!).

I still smile at what we saw in the capital, Valetta… a very old car totally brown with rust, its top cut off, all its innards removed except for the driving seat – which wasn't even fixed to the floor – and no clocks or other dials.

Then there was the old yellow bus: the only seat I could find was balanced precariously over a huge hole, through which I could plainly see the road. With every bump, the seat jumped in the air and crashed down again, and the window next to me was barely held in by sticky tape! I loved it all, even though my vertebrae needed replacing! And the people are naturally friendly, so what the heck.

Also at that time Malta had a very small fleet of old jets, with few passengers compared to other airlines. But the Maltese air-crews were lovely folks, homely and helpful. From ‘planes to country, Malta is superb, but, as everyone will tell you, you either hate the place or love it! This is because it is not the usual nightlife hot-spot with rowdy teenagers, but a country steeped in history and ancient sites, very safe to walk around even at night.

In summer the island is uniformly stone-coloured with little greenery or flowers, because of intense heat and dust. Each season is different, bringing a wide variety of experiences for those who visit regularly. Go in late winter and you'll get your greenery and flowers!

As with everything else, times change and so do airplanes. Air Malta has revamped itself, to keep up with international trends. It recently held what it calls an "aggressive advertising campaign in the UK, France, Italy, Germany" and other European countries, with great results. Added to this, journalists were invited to see Malta for themselves, and the resultant articles helped the campaign enormously.

Over the past few months Air Malta has increased its UK passenger list by 8% every month, Italian customers by 18% (possibly because Italian is a main language in Malta) over the past seven months, and French visitors by 13%. Germany has increased its flow by 10%. (Figures based on same period last year). Sales in November and December alone stood at 11% and 14% more, respectively, over the same period in 2006.

In line with European trends, Air Malta has concentrated on advertising short-breaks and extending the season into winter. Until now, going to Malta has not been cheap. It is rather like Cyprus, which maintains a higher-price holiday than other destinations used by European travellers. But, also like Cyprus, Malta maintains warm weather and bright days even in winter. That is why bookings via its new website have increased 500%. "Customers like the simplicity and transparency of our competitive pricing and absence of hidden charges" says Chief Officer (Commercial), Dr Brock Friesen.

I love Malta, but, until now, I would not have considered a short-break there because it would have been far too costly. In fact, I have always booked in two-week stretches, to make it financially worthwhile. Now, Air Malta is bringing in very competitive prices, so short-breaks are now a real possibility for Europeans. In this way, Air Malta is tapping into a very lucrative short-stay market that would normally go to more affordable destinations.

The advertising campaign was pervasive, including TV, radio, newspapers, articles, and even mobile-phone messages. And it worked. Anticipating a good response, Air Malta increased seat capacity by 27% for German customers and 5% for the UK, which is already a major core market for Malta, with their historical links. Italy's seats rose by 39%.

Air Malta now has cleaner, newer aircraft, and has provided more flights. So, whilst other carriers fly into Malta, the country's own fleet should soon become its top provider.

Notes: At the moment there are about 50 scheduled European, North African and East Mediterranean destinations to and from Malta, using 13 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The fleet will be upgraded fully by next year, with an average ‘plane age of 2.5 years.

December 2007. Barry Napier
barry.napier@ntlworld.com  

Contacts:
Customer: www.airmalta.com  
Other: Stephen Gauci, Executive Communications, Air Malta
stephen.a.gauci@airmalta.com