About to book a holiday to Malta and wondering which airline to fly with?

A letter praising Air Malta appeared in the Malta Times yesterday and is worth reading - including the comments below the article from other readers about their Malta flights.

I have holidayed every year in Malta, bar one, since September 1979, and apart from two years have always flown with Air Malta, for many years more than once a year. So I think I am well equipped to comment on Air Malta.

I have just returned from Malta and was interested to read of the criticism about flight prices etc. on the web yesterday in the many letters regarding Ryanair.

Firstly, I have no financial or employee connection with Air Malta. I am merely a longstanding and loyal tourist to Malta but I am a Flypass member due to my frequent flying.

I live on the Isle of Man and, therefore, need to fly from here to the UK and then on to Malta and rarely do I now pay more than £125 for my return flight and this is not because I am a Flypass member.

I do not have to pay for meals, which for the most part are more than adequate, and I even get a free newspaper. I do not pay credit card charges, I do not pay for hold baggage or have weight or specific airline size restrictions on cabin luggage. I do not have to pay to go to the toilet, soft drinks are free on all scheduled flights and the cost of alcoholic drinks is very reasonable. I do not have to pay extra to choose my seat online. I can download my boarding card online or via mobile. Air Malta also advise either by web or mobile of the impending flight or indeed beforehand if there are any delays and confirm by mobile or the web at a time agreed by me of the departing flight. The web booking system is easy to understand as are the timetables, days of flights and prices for each flight on each day you may consider travelling, so it is possible to forecast times and prices before booking.

Add to that the fact that Air Malta flew when airlines like Ryanair cancelled flights in large numbers, not only during the recent ash crisis but also last January when the heavy snow and ice hit the UK - I know because I was flying both last December and January and got through to Manchester.

The staff at check-in desks both in Malta and Manchester, which is the UK airport I mostly use, are exemplary in their dealings.

Going back to cost, I note from my records that I first started to use flight only as against a package holiday in 2003 and the cost of Air Malta’s return flight was £247. It then varied depending on the time and date of flight up as high as £300, down to £177 in the following years but since 2004 the average price has dropped from about £252 to £101 in July 2008, £114 in October 2008, £94 in December 2008, and last April I paid £125. I am quite happy at future prices. I return in July!

I pay nearly £90 for a 45-minute Flybe flight from the Isle of Man to Manchester, no meals, limited cabin luggage size and weight etc. so maybe that puts it all into perspective as I can pay a lot more if I booked nearer to the departure date.

We had our own airline, Manx Airlines, and it was swallowed up by BA for a couple of years then they pulled out and now we have an assortment of airlines. We do not appreciate what we have until we do not have it, and if you lose Air Malta then you lose - big time.

To read the full article at the Times and to see the comments left click here

For Malta flights visit yourmalta.com - airlines and holiday companies who fly to Malta include Air Malta, Ryanair, easyJet, Thomson Holidays and Thomas Cook.

Malta holiday news for the people of the UK counties of Hampshire and Dorset - their local airport is about to have flights to Malta - and at prices which will tempt many to take a holiday or short break as the flights are being operated by Europe’s most successful low cost airline.

With low cost flights it will boost the island’s tourism industry as more people decide to try a Malta holiday for the first time - or remember their last trip and decide to visit again.

With prices low it will encourage not only traditional week and fortnight holidays, but also three and four day breaks for those who might normally visit the Spanish Costas.

Ryanair pioneered cheap Malta flights a few years ago after a long battle with the authorities who seemed apparently entrenched in their ways, and protective to existing carriers.

It was only after quite a battle to win the right to fly to the island that airfares came down in line with much of the rest of Europe, bringing more holidaymakers and relief to the Malta holidays trade.

As well as Bournemouth, the airline offers cheap Malta flights from Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds and Luton - and from Ireland has a service from Dublin.

Further helping the island’s economy Ryanair aren’t just flying to and from the UK and Ireland. In mainland Europe they have cheap Malta flights to and from Spain - Barcelona and Madrid - Pisa and Venice in Italy, and Stockholm in Sweden.

These flights from Spain, Italy and Scandanavia has helped Malta become more cosmopolitan, which in turn means visitors are more likely to visit from diverse destinations across Europe and not just from the UK. Helpful indeed to the island’s economy as it’s no longer reliant on just one country’s tourists to choose it from a multitude of other locations, especially when that country has been in a recession for two years and is only just beginning to emerge from it.

Holidays in Malta can now appeal to a wide range of people both from the UK and Europe, and with the cost now on par with a week in Spain there’s every reason to hope that the island will see a good number of holidaymakers visit for 2010.

More Malta holiday details are at http://www.yourmalta.com

Tourists often post comments about their holidays on facebook

After losing some of the British tourism trade in recent years, Malta has been successfully reversing the trend recently.

Malta has been a holiday destination for tourists from Germany, Italy, France, Holland and the UK for many years. In the past British tourists have always composed a high percentage of the overall tourist trade. But as coverage of Malta as a holiday destination dropped off in the British press, so did tourism.

The Malta tourist board stirred from complacency and woke up to realise that British holidaymakers have other choices other than a Malta holiday.

Action included awarding airport slots to some of the low priced airlines, like Ryanair and easyjet. In addition the official airline of Malta (Air Malta) began lowering its own fares and working with hotels to offer great package deals. And the cheap Malta flights started to work with Ryanair flying tens of thousands of extra holidaymakers to the island.

Because Malta is not just a holiday island, there is always something to do or see for those who do take a Malta holiday.

Tourists who are familiar with the island know that it is impossible to see and do everything in a week or even a month. With the multitude of sporting events and sports to participate in, the nightlife, movies, historical and cultural performances, concerts, sailing, rock climbing and hiking, the choices can be overwhelming.

Malta also boasts some of the most stunning beaches and scenery in all the Mediterranean. There is a lot to be said for spending lazy days on sandy beaches where the most strenuous activity may be choosing the right restaurant for dinner.

A Malta holiday can match any other Mediterranean island for both activity and relaxation.

Holidaymakers are not at all bound by the area in which they are staying. The public transport system is excellent and inexpensive. You will quickly find that you can traverse the island in less than an hour. If that intriguing sounding restaurant is not exactly just around the corner, it’s still very accessible.

Planning a Malta holiday very often does not include consideration of communication issues. The official language of Malta is Maltese, which most tourists probably do not know. Luckily for tourists, especially the British, Malta’s second language is English. Everyone speaks English. It may seem inconsequential, but anyone who has experienced difficulty in communicating knows how frustrating it can be.

British tourism seemed to be returning to Malta in 2007 to 2008. The world economic crisis threatened to wreck the progress as potential tourists all over the world had to rethink what was possible.

American tourists used to travelling abroad began to look closer to home or even stay home. Like the Maltese tourist industry, resorts and Malta hotels began to offer incredible package deals in order to fill rooms.

In Southern California some of the most sought after vacation venues are currently offering deals that make it hard to say no. First rate hotels and resorts in Monterey Bay, Carmel, Santa Cruz and San Diego are discounting their rates by as much as 50 percent. In addition to the luxury accommodation, tourists are a relatively short drive from places like Sea World, Disneyland, the Big Sur, Pebble Beach, Hearst Castle and even San Francisco.

The approach is not very different from the deals offered to bring British tourism back to Malta. Smart marketing and going the extra mile to bring tourists back goes a long way, recession or no recession.

For more details about Malta visit http://www.yourmalta.com  which has the latest holiday deals and travel news.

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Here are some news stories and articles we have seen recently about Malta we think are good, and worth reading:

The first one concerns hotels in Malta, and how some of them might become all inclusive resorts for those thinking of taking their holidays in Malta

A number of hotels in the north are looking at the possibility of transforming their property into all-inclusive resorts, Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said this morning.

Addressing a press conference about an initiative bringing over 1,000 German travel agents to Malta for five weeks to promote the island, Dr De Marco said the government wanted to affirm its commitment to the German market, the second most important to the local market.

It had brought over 212,000 tourists in 1999 and although the numbers dropped to 128,000 in 2003, the market was again improving and 150,000 German tourists had visited Malta last year.

Dr de Marco said this winter saw…

To read more click through to the Times of Malta here

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The second article is a very good that appeared in The Daily Telegraph about the Fortina Spa, already one of the best Malta hotels

It might have been a three-day break, but the impact has lasted nearly three months… and counting. At the end, 4lb and an unimaginable number of inches had slipped off. Having made a decision to keep it off, after 10 weeks Spa Spy is a further five pounds lighter and determined to keep going.

To read the full article click here

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And the final article was in the Malta Independent, commenting on Malta flights

Ryanair believes that MIA costs are too high and it wants a substantial discount, accessible to all airlines, according to the volume of passengers carried. On the other hand, it also feels that where no growth is registered, there should be no support forthcoming.

Funds to seed the base and the new routes, Mr O’Toole insisted, could come from the existing market spend, since, according to him, present advertising is clearly not working.

MIA’s charges are equivalent to three times what it costs Ryanair to fly to Malta, Mr O’Toole contended – e25 per passenger against e7.

To read the full article click here

At the risk of incurring the wrath of Air Malta again, we venture back into the world of low cost airlines and consider how they have helped people see more of the world…

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Everyone loves a bargain, and holidaymakers are no exception - this can be seen in the impact of low cost airfares on travelling in Europe.

The first major impact is the rise in short haul travel and vacations. Many of these are three-day holidays, mostly over the weekend or one or two-day public or state holidays. As airfares become lower, there is no need to justify going overseas for a short stay. People are travelling to a famous museum one day and the beach and back home.

Why Short Haul Trips are So Popular

Apart from cost, short haul travel is gaining popularity as more people prefer to stay close to home. This can be for many reasons, including wanting to stay close to family and children, or the necessity of being close to work in case of an emergency. The changing face of personal commitments has also impacted the way in which people travel. Business owners often prefer to stay close because of the demands of their enterprise. The popularity of short haul vacations could also be due to trepidations about making long trips to faraway destinations. In the post 9-11 context some holidaymakers in the US eschew faraway destinations in favour of new experiences closer to home.

Apart from pleasure, some short haul, low airfare trips are for medical or business reasons. The average traveller usually can’t afford the spontaneity of just jetting off somewhere just for the fun of it or to look up an old friend. With travel agencies offering more group and family packages, this is possible. Popular outdoor activities like hiking and white water rafting also attract groups and families who are seeking more value for shrinking budgets.

The UK to Malta in a Weekend

Visiting the island of Malta is now an easy thing for British tourists. Flights to Malta from London takes around three hours. Ryanair chartered the way for low cost fares to Malta from the UK and Ireland, with easyJet following later - Malta resisted budget airlines for some time, but with visitor numbers dropping year on year and British travel companies rumoured to be considering droppping Malta holidays from their brochures, the island had two choices:

Maintain the status quo with the existing airlines who had failed the island’s holiday industry with high fares and a poor service for years, and manage the decline of Malta from a mainstream holidays destination to niche travel status…

…or embrace the likes of Ryanair who could deliver far more tourists than the established airlines and bring the cost of airline fares from the UK and Ireland on a par with flights to Spain.

Malta reluctantly opted for Ryanair, and the exisiting airlines dragged themselves kicking and screaming into the 21st century by improving their own services, cutting costs and fares, and opening new routes such as Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport. Without the competition the exisiting Malta airlines would surely now be flying to and from a tourist destination relegated to Europe’s second division of holiday destinations.

Malta offers a great climate, and one of the highest levels of sunshine in Europe. It has become a popular spot with families. There are a number of resorts and beaches to suit just about anyone regardless of income levels. There are numerous bars, clubs and restaurants, where you can mingle with the locals and unwind. Malta makes a great weekend getaway, with lots to see and do before the three-hour trip back to the U.K.

Short Haul Travel in the USA

Not only is the reduction of airfares being felt in Europe, but even across the pond in the USA. More Americans than ever before are vacationing close to home. Short haul travel with its much lower airfare is reaping rewards as visitors tour other states.

States such as California and Texas have invested a great deal of money into promoting its tourism inside the US. One TV ad for tourism in California features Governor and former actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood. Capitalising on this current trend, many businesses in the tourism sector have changed how they promote and package their products. Many now target visitors and groups from other states, offering discounts for groups of a certain size.

Simply put, many Americans want to discover their own country. Famous landmarks like the Grand Canyon continue to draw large numbers of visitors. National parks and attractions such as Universal Studios theme park also receive large numbers of visitors from inside the US. Lower airfares have made Canada and Mexico even more attractive to Americans seeking a weekend get-away.

More Americans are also renting trailer homes to drive cross country and visit well known landmarks. Bed and breakfasts offer cost-effective options for travellers working with a budget. Some popular destinations in the US include Las Vegas, Honolulu and Orlando. As states continue to pump money into the advertising machinery, it is unlikely this trend will slow anytime soon.

Even when the global economy recovers, short haul trips will continue to be popular, especially if airfares remain low. We can expect to see rather diverse offerings, including golfing, spa packages and historical site tours. It is quite possible that the three-day holiday may become the break of choice for many tourists who seek a little respite from everyday stresses of the factory or office.

Real estate markets the world over are seeing sharp price declines and a real lack of serious buyers as the recession hits home.

But it seems some areas of Europe are doing better than others at attracting new buyers and maintaining current property prices, while other locations have seen much sharper drops in their real estate prices.

Malta is a good example of somewhere that has seen sharp prices in recent years, helped by a domestic market complemented with buyers from overseas looking for second homes and to move to Malta on a permanent basis, which normally entails buying a Malta property. Overall Malta property might have dropped under three per cent in 2008 if recently released bank statistics are to be believed.

And Malta is a classic example of an island that could see property prices fall through the floor as the domestic market quietens down and international buyers from her main tourist market - the UK - stop buying altogether.

But at less than a three per cent drop, the Malta property market has so far avoided the big falls witnessed by some areas of Europe, despite her main market of the UK hiting recession and the value of the British pound dropping in value against the Euro - and it has avoided the price drop by diversifying, and seeing other nationalities move into the void left by the British buyers, notably from Norway and other Scanadanavian countries.

Whether Malta can withstand the pressures of the global economy taking a downturn remains to be seen, but 2009 does depend still largely on the UK economy, which at the moment isn’t looking too promising.

                                                               Recession

The hope of more buyers coming from countries like Norway is high, with some estimates suggesting that Norwegians could buy some 35,000 European properties between them next year, taking up some of the slack from a drop in the number of British and Irish property buyers - how many of those 35,000 buyers would be for Malta isn’t easily answered, and some estate agents fear it will not match the British and Irish demand of recent years.

Looking at a map of Malta, many buyers, whether from the UK,Ireland, Norway or elsewhere tend to head to the north of the island, to areas such as Mellieha and St Paul’s Bay, and with new properties going up over the last couple of years there could be some bargains from real estate developers hoping to improve their cash flow during the 2009 downturn.

And it’s not just the property market in Malta that is hoping for a good 2009. The holidays industry has seen a good revival over the last three years, with the number of holidays in Malta being sold increasing each year, and cruise ship passenger number arrivals hitting record numbers too - over 500,000 for 2008.

The Malta holidays market reversed a steady decline in her fortunes three years ago when low cost airlines started flying to Malta’s Luqa Airport. One major holiday company had even considered dropping Malta altogether as a holiday destination for British tourists, but the low cost flights to Malta has seen the Malta holiday industry revitalised. Without the low cost airlines moving in Malta would almost certainly be a niche tourist market now.

‘What was Malta like before the low cost airlines came on the scene?’ is a question some ask. The answer is easy - it was an island sleepwalking into oblivion as a tourist destination, and it took the arrival of Ryanair to wake up the island’s existing airlines.

But there could be something that will hit both the holidays and real estate markets in 2009 which the island has no control over - the strength of the Euro - which the island now uses - and the British Pound. In spite of the property and holiday markets diversifying and attracting new markets the British market is still by far Malta’s biggest. The Pound has dropped sharply against the Euro, and British tourists might be tempted to try holiday destinations such as Turkey which is outside the Eurozone in 2009 as it will offer good value for money.

There’s a lot of factors which will determine if 2009 is good for Malta, the island will be hoping the dice roll favourably!

The more expensive something is, the fewer people will be able to afford it. Airlines that offer lower cost airfares will ultimately carry more passengers and create more revenue than their more expensive counterparts. Low-cost airlines could be the underlying cause of the increase in tourism on Malta. In fact, some airlines claim to be more responsible for travel to and from the island than others.

Air Malta

Air Malta believe they are primarily responsible for Malta’s increase in tourism. About 77,000 more tourists flew from points in Europe to Malta in the first half of 2008 primarily because of Air Malta’s new pricing packages. A staggering 57 percent of those tourists traveled via Air Malta.

Chief Officer Commercial, Brock Friesen said, “We are building on the positive results registered last winter, when, for the first time in history, Air Malta transported over half a million passengers.” He also said that tourism to Malta was strongly benefitting from Air Malta’s increases in traffic.

Ryanair

In August, Ryanair reported carrying more than 40,000 passengers to or from Malta during the month of July. Ryanair spokesman Alessia Viviani said, “While Malta airport registered traffic growth of only 1.3 percent in July 2008 compared to July 2007, Ryanair has increased its traffic volume by 116 percent, making a vital impact on the Maltese economy.”

easyJet

easyJet is another low-cost airline laying some claim on the increase in tourist traffic to Malta. easyJet offers inexpensive flights to Malta and a variety of hot tourist spots throughout Europe. Since the first flight to Malta in March of 2008, easyJet has seen an increase in traffic to the island. The airline plans to continue several flights per week to Malta in the coming years.

The Impact of Low Cost Flights to Malta

Because the Maltese economy is reliant primarily upon tourism, low-cost flights to Malta have become important. The current state of the economy world-wide could cause people to reconsider vacations and weekend getaways. They may even cut them out of their budget entirely. The introduction of low-cost flights to and from Malta has actually increased the number of tourists the island entertains per year. Many tourists are repeat visitors who say they would not abandon their vacation to Malta, even if it means tightening the budget to accommodate it.

Some travel agents seek low-cost airlines and hotels to book more affordable travel packages for their clients. Clients often look toward professional travel agents to find the best cost for their favourite travel destinations. When resorts, hotels and airlines work together to combine great deals for their guests, travel agents promote those great deals to ensure more repeat business.

The impact of low-cost flights to Malta has been astounding. In 2003, about 1.2 million tourists visited Malta. In 2005, the island attracted nearly 1.5 million international tourists. Each year, Malta’s tourism statistics jump as much as 13 percent. The first six months of 2008 have already seen more than half a million visitors, effectively breaking Malta’s previously held record within the same time frame.

But for Malta travel guide http://www.yourmalta.com the answer as to which airline can claim credit for the island’s boost in tourist numbers over the last three years is clear.

‘Malta’s holidaymaker numbers were on a long term decline before Ryanair came along with flights to Malta’, they say, ‘And in the three years since Ryanair have been flying to Malta tourist numbers have climbed each year. It’s not a coincidence. The benefits Malta has had in an increase in tourist numbers is down to one company - Ryanair.’