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Air Malta should stop complaining and lower fares I refer to the article ‘Air Malta CEO disputes Ryanair subsidies’ (4 April 2010). David Darmanin’s piece failed to highlight that the ‘subsidies’ Mr Cappello complained about are perfectly legal and available to all airlines, not just Ryanair and Low Cost Carriers. These government incentives are in place to encourage carriers to develop new routes and deliver much needed traffic growth to Malta.Air Malta has not applied for these incentives, as they do not wish to operate on the routes covered in the scheme. For many years, Air Malta’s high fares and its disinterest in opening new routes had stifled Maltese tourism and prevented ordinary Maltese residents from travelling abroad. Last year, Ryanair expanded its Maltese traffic by 13%, while Maltese traffic fell by 10%. This highlights the success of Ryanair’s routes and the importance and success of the route incentive scheme, which Air Malta criticises. The truth is that Air Malta cannot compete, so they complain simply because they are losing passengers to Ryanair. Instead of complaining, Air Malta should apply for the discount scheme, lower its fares and compete on price to grow its business, something it has never had to do. Any comments? |
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