According to figures issued by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), in 2009, Air Malta was the fifth best performing airline in terms of passenger traffic compared to the 30 European airlines members of the Association. Last year Air Malta transported 1,541,300 passengers (-2.6%) on scheduled services compared to the average -5.8% registered by the airline members of the Association, 3.2% points better than the European average.Commenting on these results Air Malta Chief Executive, Joe Cappello said, "A few weeks ago the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic show that 2009 suffered the largest ever post-war decline whilst in Europe, the Association of European Airlines said that its members registered a 20 million passenger drop which surpasses the previously greatest recorded annual traffic loss, of 14 million in 2002, following the 9/11 outrage.""Considering the international scenario, our record 2008 results, and the intense competition we have on the Malta routes, we believe that we have registered a relatively good year in terms of passenger figures,” continued Cappello.In the past 6 years, Air Malta’s fuel bill rose from €26 million in 2003 to €86 million in 2008/2009, he explained."During the last 6 years Air Malta’s fares went down by 13% while the fuel cost went up by 330%," stated Mr. Cappello.He said, "During these hard times it is normal for airlines to cut on capacity, however last summer we had taken the conscious decision to operate with an extra aircraft to increase seat capacity on Malta.""The figures released by AEA show that cumulatively last year the European airlines decreased capacity by 4.2% whilst Air Malta increased capacity by 4.6% floating 2.3 million seats, 432,000 more seats than in 2008. Unlike other airlines which take decisions according to the financial returns to their foreign shareholders we at Air Malta know that our shareholder is Malta and thus our decisions are solely based and intended to benefit the islands’ tourism requirements. Such decisions continue to reaffirm our firm belief in the Maltese market and its tourism industry", concluded Mr Cappello.In 2009 Air Malta’s ten best performing routes were London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Munich, Catania, Rome, Paris Orly, Frankfurt, Brussels and Amsterdam. These contribute to almost a million passengers annually.(www.di-ve.com)
Malta Int'l Airport plc has been classified overall as the 4th best Airport in Europe by the Airport Council International. It is preceeded by airports of the calibre of Keflavik (Iceland), Zurich and Porto.Malta Int'l Airport has also been classified as the 3rd best in Europe for its shopping facilities. This result is evidently attributable to the recent improvements which were unveiled at M.I.A. in 2009 most notably the expansion of the retail area with its innovative concept of a virtual walk-through shopping mall.M.I.A. also fared very well on other scores such as the availability of parking facilities and its related value for money whereby M.I.A. placed fifth in Europe. Moreover good results were notably achieved for the availability of banking facilities and Internet / Wi-Fi access whereby M.I.A. also placed fourth in Europe.ACI Director General Angela Gittens commented, "2009 was a tough year for airports worldwide. Traffic numbers fell while competition increased. For airports, it was a year of balancing tight budgets with high customer expectations for service excellence. The results of the year-long ASQ passenger survey help identify the leaders that meet the challenge and demonstrate that airports have continued to invest and focus on customer service despite falling traffic numbers."The Airport Service Quality Survey has won the industry recognition as a world class benchmarking programme and has grown steadily over the past four years. It currently comprises 140 participating airports. In 2009 over 275,000 passengers were surveyed worldwide. Passengers indicate their satisfaction with the airport experience from the time of arrival at the airport through to the moment of departure at the gate.To ensure that results reflect customer perceptions during all peaks and troughs in traffic flow, the survey is carried out following a rigorous set of programme requirements representative of a diversified passenger mix, at all times of day and during all travel seasons of the year.(www.di-ve.com)
Comlux Malta Ltd. has taken delivery of its latest aircraft to be registered on the Maltese Aircraft Register, a Bombardier BD-700-1A10 Global Express XRS, with registration 9H-XRS (c/n. 9329), ex C-FUOK ('C'- cancelled on 9-Feb-2010).
During the month of January M.I.A. registered a 7% increase in passenger movements over the corresponding month of 2009.The total passenger movements on scheduled and non-scheduled flights in January 2010 was of 147,697 an increase of 9,721 passengers when compared to the corresponding month in 2009.
Both aircraft movements and cargo & mail figures registered increases of 5.2% and 1.4% respectively.Passenger traffic for main markets U.K., Italy and Spain increased by 5.7%, 7.0%, and 140.4% respectively, whilst Germany registered a decrease of 11.3%.The busiest day in January 2010 was the 2nd with 9,925 passengers and 71 aircraft movements(www.maltairport.com)
The Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta has taken delivery today of four new 'P21 Class' Inshore Patrol Boats (P21, P22, P23 and P24). The 21.2m patrol boats were built by Australian-shipyard Austal to AFM specifications.
A small patrol boat donated by the United States to the then Malta Land Force in 1971 is expected to head back to the U.S. this year to become a memorial.P-24, along with P-23, is still in regular use by the AFM, the last in-service examples of the Swift class of inshore patrol boats built at the time of the Vietnam war.The American Swift Boat Sailors' Association (SBSA) last year submitted a request through the U.S. embassy to be given one of the boats.P-23 and P-24 will be decomissioned in a few weeks time, along with a Bremse-class patrol boat. They will be replaced by four brand new Austal class boats, built in Australia to AFM requirements. They arrived in Malta on a cargo ship last night. Their commissioning ceremony is expected to take place next month.The SBSA would like one of the Swift boats to serve as a memorial to fallen sailors during operations in South-East Asia.It is understood that the AFM would like to retain P-23 and possibly use it as 'gate-guard' for its maritime base at Haywharf. It would also be a memorial to the seven soldiers and policemen killed on board in a fireworks explosion 25 years ago.(www.timesofmalta.com)
Four brand-new patrol boats for the Armed Forces of Malta are due to arrive in Malta tonight, on cargo ship Archangelgracht, at 0100LT.The inshore patrol vessels were built by the Australian shipyard Austal to AFM specifications.The 21-metre boats are being delivered just nine months after the contract for them was signed.They can reach speeds of over 26 knots and perform a number of roles, however, they will primarily be used for surveillance and patrolling.The boats will be equipped with 12.7mm main machine guns, two 7.6mm light machine guns as well as fire-fighting and rescue equipment.The new vessels, costing €9.3m, have been partly financed by the E.U.They will replace two Swift-class boats, donated by the American government in 1971 and a former East German Bremse-class patrol boat bought from Germany after the reunification of that country.
(www.timesofmalta.com/www.maltaspotting.com)
A 68-year-old Tiger Moth biplane was rolled out at the Malta Aviation Museum today in a milestone in its long restoration process.
The 'moth,' started being produced from 1931 and most of Britain's wartime pilots took their first training flight on it. The aircraft bought by the Aviation Museum, built in 1942, it being restored to full flying condition, a first for the museum. "The restoration work is almost complete, we have now started the process of certification and hope to fly it for the first time by the middle of this year," a proud Ray Polidano, chairman of the Malta Aviation Museum said this morning. The flight would also mean that it will be the first time in more than a generation that a full-sized aircraft would have taken off from Ta' Qali, which is a former airfield. Some 700 metres of the old runway still exist, enough to get the nimble 'moth' on its way, but for that to happen the museum authorities would have to overcome administrative hurdles and make arrangements for the removal of low walls and the closure of a street. The Tiger Moth was acquired from the U.K. in 2000, minus its wings, which were bought separately. A complex restoration process was then taken in hand, with most of the engineering work being carried out in-house under the engineering direction of David Polidano. The work was funded mostly by donations from the U.K., as well as some from Malta, and the Good Causes Fund made a donation which enabled the museum to settle the final payments due.
Mr Polidano said restoration work of this nature usually cost £80,000 but the aviation museum was able to spend less because it was able to use its own expertise. The museum has already restored a Supermarine Spitfire fighter to static display condition. It is concluding the restoration of a Hawker Hurricane to taxiing condition. Once the 'moth' takes to the air, efforts would be concentrated on the more challenging restoration of another biplane, a Swordfish torpedo bomber. (www.timesofmalta.com)
Air Malta saw a decrease in passengers of 2.6% in 2009, faring much better than many of the other airlines in the Association of European Airlines (AEA), which overall saw a decrease of 5.8%.The worst hit airline was Aerosvit (-28.2%) while Turkish Airlines actually registered an increase of 12.3%.Air Malta carried 1.54 million passengers in 2009, and 7.4 million tonne-kilometres of cargo, a decrease of 10.7%.Overall, the AEA airlines carried 20 million fewer passengers in 2009, a decrease in passenger-kilometres of 4.5% with an even greater fall of 5.8% in the number of passengers boarded, from 346 million to just below 326 million."This 20 million drop easily surpasses the previously greatest recorded annual traffic loss, of 14 million in 2002, following the 9/11 outrage," AEA said.Cross-border traffic within Europe was 5.3% down, the North Atlantic minus 5.6% and the Far East minus 5.9%. Traffic to/from the Middle East and Africa managed to buck the trend with positive growth.AEA secretary general Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said: "We have seen, quite clearly, that the industry’s suppliers and service providers have been able to insulate themselves from the worst of the downturn by their ability to recover costs, or sustain profits, through their pricing policies. This lesson must be taken on board by our regulators."We have seen, quite clearly, that airlines and their passengers cannot sustainably be treated as a cash cow by national treasuries, to be taxed and taxed again. This lesson, too, must be taken on board by our regulators".(www.di-ve.com)
According to figures issued by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), in 2009, Air Malta was the fifth best performing airline in terms of passenger traffic compared to the 30 European airlines members of the Association. 
