Air Malta not just a financial concern: ‘A strategic partner is a must’

Air Malta’s financial woes were not simply tied to a question of money, but a strategic partner is required for a true turnaround of the national airline.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted that all options were on the table, and no deal would be signed with Alitalia if it would not give Air Malta the ultimate benefits.

“We’ve been consistent in what we’ve said and we won’t exclude anything to bring forth the best deal for Air Malta,” he told a political activity in Hal Ghaxaq.

MaltaToday on Sunday – vide digital edition – is reporting that Muscat appears to be close to pulling the plug on troubled talks with Alitalia. MaltaToday understands demands from Alitalia to turn Air Malta into a feeder airline for its own routes is bringing talks nearer to their end.

In his intervention this morning, Muscat reiterated that the government will not sign a deal that would not favour Air Malta. Reiterating that Air Malta cannot be floated on the stock exchange – as suggested by the Opposition leader – Muscat said the government would be open to consider direct investment from local investors.

He however warned that a financial injection into the airline would not be enough to make Air Malta competitive enough to fight the much bigger international airlines.

“A sole company cannot compete with an international network … competitiveness is affected by the best deal obtained from other airports and the price by which fuel is bought. Air Malta needs to find a way to tap into the international markets and this can only be achieved through a strategic partner,” the Prime Minister reiterated.

Muscat this morning to the Labour Party’s club in Ghaxaq following a short summer break during which the customary Sunday sermons were halted. His first appeal to the party fateful and the electorate was to consider whether they were better off today than they were three years ago.

A survey published today by MaltaToday shows Muscat still leading rival Simon Busuttil by 7.7 percentage points, a marginal increase of half a point over the past four months.

“Simon Busuttil is too bitter,” the Labour leader said, referring to the PN’s latest focus on the $100 million investment to be carried out by Boston banknote printers, Crane Currency.

The PN is taking Muscat to task over “a potential conflict of interest” if Crane Currency were to procure Komori machinery for their printing facility in Malta. The agent of Komori in Malta is the Kasco Group, which belongs to Muscat’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri. Schembri has declared that Kasco will not be supplying any machinery to Crane Currency. If Crane were to opt for Komori machinery, however, then the Kasco Group may be tasked with the machinery’s servicing. Kasco Group have been the agents of Komori for the last eight years.

Focusing on the investment itself, Muscat told his audience that the extent of the investment by Crane Currency was one which Malta has not seen since the 1980s, when SGS set up shop in Malta.

“But Simon Busuttil is too bitter. He is only focused on criticizing any investment that we attract. Any good news for Malta is an opportunity for Simon Busuttil to see how to attack it. And I feel sorry for the genuine Nationalists who feel betrayed by Busuttil’s thinking.

“He’s only showing people that he is not prepared to recognize or accept that good in the country. He is in a state of panic.”

Eliciting laughter from the audience, Muscat said Busuttil had decided that a general election – scheduled for March 2018 – was near. “He has declared that he has turned on the electoral machine … it feels like he has shifted to reverse gear,” Muscat quipped, adding that the election was 18 months away and that everyone will realise when the Labour Party starts gearing up for elections.

“Whether it’s competitiveness, employment, tourism or the creation of jobs, this country is moving forward. And that is what counts in the heart of every individual. Ask yourselves: are you better off today?”