Air Malta announces the appointment of new CEO
Air Malta announced on Monday that the board of directors has resolved to appoint Captain Clifford Chetcuti as the chief Executive officer with effect from 1 September.
Capt. Chetcuti will join Air Malta as CEO reporting to the chairman and to the board of directors. He will be using his expertise to focus on the improvement of efficiencies in Air Malta’s organisational structure and its brand image, ensuring it is prepared to become the Airline of the Mediterranean.
Capt. Chetcuti has vast experience in the aviation industry particularly in-flight operations, training and aviation practices. During his experience abroad, he was instrumental to develop successfully operational areas with Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Chetcuti started his career in aviation as a cadet pilot with Air Malta in 1987. He completed his training at Air Service Training in Perth Scotland where he was the recipient of the Principals Award as Pilot of the Year 1988.
He joined Emirates in 1994 and was promoted to Captain in 1999, where his career path saw him progress through various managerial roles within the company. He was a Captain on the Emirates inaugural A380 flight from Dubai to New York in August 2008.
He left Emirates in 2016 to join Qatar Airways initially as a consultant on organisational and operational aspects of the Flight Training Department. Subsequently he was appointed vice president Flight Training and head of the Approved Training Organisation managing more than 4,000 pilots as the Nominated Person for Flight Training.
He was the director of the Deployed Response Group responsible for the overall management of the Incident Management Centre for Qatar Airways and member of the Qatar Airways Group Safe- ty and Security Committee.
Clifford’s strength is his influencing leadership style that empowers his team to deliver results. His broad experience in management of change focuses on establishing sound processes which deliver pragmatic and efficient organisational outcomes.
He flew the Boeing 737, Airbus A300, A310, A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380 and has more than 15,000 hours of flying experience gaining a vast understanding of the Airbus systems and philosophies.
Born in Malta, Clifford received his education at Saint Aloysius College and the University of Malta where he interrupted his B. Mech Eng programme to join the Air Malta cadet pilot programme.
Clifford is married to Natalie and has two children.
Captain Chetcuti replaces Joseph Galea who has been occupying the position of acting CEO of the national airline since 2016. Galea joined Air Malta in August 2014 as deputy chief Commercial officer but was given the post of acting CEO of the airline in August 2016 at a time when the airline was in discussion with Alitalia on a possible strategic partnership.
Galea held the post for the last two years when the airline has experienced a period of growth in recent months and is looking at a possible break-even.
Galea’s contract ends in August and he had informed the airline that he has decided to branch into tourism consultancy taking advantage of his 30 years’ experience in international tourism marketing.
“Air Malta is a unique asset for the Maltese Islands and I would like to thank the Minister for Tourism, Dr Konrad Mizzi, the chairman Dr Charles Mangion, the board of directors, the senior management team and all the employees for working together to make Air Malta an airline that every Maltese should be truly proud of,” commented the outgoing acting CEO,” and I augur the airline continued success for the future.”
The Board would like to thank Galea for his years of service as an executive and acting CEO of the airline.
Minister Mizzi congratulated Capt. Chetcuti for his appointment as Air Malta’s new chief Executive officer. Dr Mizzi said: “I am confident that, together with the chairman Dr Mangion, Capt. Chetcuti will lead Air Malta in its strategic direction to position itself as ‘the Airline of the Mediterranean’ and enhance its commercial and active operations to achieve the government’s growth strategy for the airline.”