Air Malta to add two new aircraft to its fleet
Air Malta will be adding two more new aircraft to its fleet by the summer of 2019, Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion said on Tuesday. These additions are part of Air Malta’s long term strategy and will offer new opportunities to its clients, Mangion said.
The new aircraft will both be, like the most recent addition to Air Malta’s fleet, Airbus A320neos coming straight out of the factory. The reason that this model of aircraft was once again chosen was because of its technologically advanced nature and also because of its high environmental standards; it emits 50% less noise than previous models and has 17% better fuel efficiency, Dr Mangion explained.
The arrival of these aircraft raises the number of aircraft in Air Malta’s fleet to 12 and signifies further addition to the history of Air Malta’s fleet, with the national airline having flown Airbus type aircraft since a fleet revamp at the beginning of the 21st century.
Dr Mangion also said that in the long term, Air Malta was evaluating setting up external bases in other Mediterranean islands, as this was an empty niche which it could focus on. He also spoke about the potential expansion of Air Malta’s services in North Africa, with flights to Tunis and Casablanca already in existence, and to other parts of the African continent as well.
Air Malta hope that the arrival of the two aircraft will allow for more destinations and flights to be added to the airline’s repertoire’s and it will surely be hoping that the delays and flight cancellations that characterised parts of previous months would become a thing of the past.
Dr Mangion refused to divulge how much these delays and cancellations had cost the company financially, saying that it was commercially sensitive information. Such delays are things that happen within the whole airline industry and not just to Air Malta but this was not an excuse for allowing such scenarios to occur, Mangion explained.
The only way to prevent such a situation however is by having an aircraft on standby on the ground, but this is a practice that not even the biggest airlines do, the chairman said. Indeed, he said, having an aircraft always on the ground was the sign of a dying company.
Meanwhile the infamous ‘bezzun’ is soon to be no more, with its replacement coming in the form of a totally revamped economy class in-flight catering service, Air Malta announced on Tuesday.
The ‘bezzun’, which was Air Malta’s response to an increasing need for cost-cutting measures and replaced Air Malta’s selection of hot meals, had led to controversy among clients ever since its introduction in 2015; but now it is to be replaced by a “flexible catering concept” which will work to present clients with a choice of quality food.
Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion called this revamp an important step for Air Malta, and one that will add to the current strategy being implemented to help the airline grow and improve the experiences of its passengers. This revamp, Dr Mangion said, complements the airline’s decision to introduce the Go Light system. The new catering service focuses on offering more opportunities for clients to set their own trips as they want.
As part of this new service, which falls under the remit of Charlene Camilleri who is now taking care of Air Malta’s ancillaries, a selection of over 70 quality food and drink items will be available for purchase on board Air Malta flights. For the first time, guests will also have the opportunity to pay by credit card. Depending on the length of the route, Air Malta will also be offering a selection of fresh and hot food items.
The menu, which is the brainchild of leading chef Neil Darmanin, will contain options to suit all tastes, including vegan options and is as diverse as to include traditional food items such as sandwiches and wraps along with more extravagant options such as a tapas tray. All of these will be made with mostly local produce, and all the packaging apart from the food’s seal will be plastic-free. The menu will also change seasonally based on passenger feedback.
This new catering service ties into a short to medium term strategy that the airline is currently following; one which sees the airline focus on customer centricity, Dr Mangion said. This strategy has been characterised by continued investment through the airline, investment which has seen the introduction of a brand new Airbus A320 NEO aircraft in the past month, along with improvements to the airline’s scheduling and roster system, improvements to the airline’s online presence and a renewed focus on providing training services – something which Air Malta can do as it holds an Air Training Certificate.
The new catering system will come into effect on all flights as of today.