Ryanair sbarca a Malta?

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Basare a Malta fino a sei aerei per portare sull'isola per milioni di turisti ogni anno. Questa la proposta fatta da Ryanair a Malta secondo quanto reso noto da Michael Cawley Deputy Chief Executive del vettore irlandese. L'incontro è avvenuto nei giorni scorsi tra alcuni funzionari di Ryanair, il Ministro del turismo dell'arcipelago Francis Zammit Dimech e il Chairman del Malta Tourism Authority (MTA). Ma da superare vi è l'ostacolo delle alte fee aeroportuali, "tre volte più care che nel resto d'Europa" come ha sottolineato Cawley. Venti le rotte in progetto su Malta da parte del vettore.

Speriamo che si mettano daccordo, secondo me Malta ha delle potenzialità turistche ancora inespresse, ad oggi non ci sono low cost che volano a Malta.

Qualcuno ha news a riguardo?

[airblue]

Se avvenisse c'è però il rovescio della medaglia, ossia la possibilità che poi il vettore nazionale Air malta venga fortemente ridimensionato o rischi perfino di chiudere....

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Ecco un articolo tratto dal "The Malta Independent" che parla della vicenda:

Ryanair ‘guarantees’ two million passengers if MIA lowers tariffs
by MICHAEL CARABOTT


If the Malta International Airport lowers its tariffs to something close to the European average, Ryanair will set up a six-aircraft base in Malta and will guarantee two million passengers per year, said deputy CEO Michael Cawley yesterday.

Addressing the press at the Westin Radisson yesterday, Mr Cawley said that Ryanair can and will save the Maltese tourism industry, generating 750,000 new tourists and directly creating about 2,000 new jobs at the airport – not counting the positive domino effect on the whole of Malta.

Mr Cawley said that the key to everything was price. “Ryanair has recently set up a route to some remote town in Norway. No one had even heard of it. Yet, since we set up the route and charged e32 for a return trip, we have sold almost 600,000 seats in eight months,” he said.

Mr Cawley said that low frills, low costs, was the only way to attract tourists. “And Malta will only benefit if it allows us to operate here. We can advertise Malta at e39. And believe me, experience has shown me that people will flock here,” he said. He mentioned Riga as another example.

He explained: “We do not only operate from the UK; we can bring tourists from Spain, Italy, France, practically anywhere we fly from.”

“For years Malta’s tourism industry has been in decline, starved of low cost access which is so necessary for tourism to grow. Our proposal is to base six aircraft and deliver two million passengers to MIA,” said Mr Cawley.

He also said that he realised that the proposal might sound radical, but Ryanair has succeeded in many similar ventures around Europe. “Our proposal will help bring Maltese tourism up to the growth enjoyed by other destinations in Europe. We would like to embark on a project with the government of Malta to generate 2,000 jobs within the next three years,” said Mr Cawley.

He said that Ryanair’s nearest competitor was EasyJet, which was 59 per cent more expensive. “We use price stimulation. At e62, you might not fill an aircraft. But at e32, people don’t really care where they go. It’s cheap, they can afford it and might just take a weekend break,” he said.

Mr Cawley also rubbished suggestions that Ryanair cannot service a route that is serviced by another airline. “We think straight to the point. Most airlines just do not think rationally at all. Look at Air Malta. They were in trouble long before we ever came along,” said Mr Cawley. As incredulous as it sounds, Mr Cawley said that Air Malta employs 2,000 staff to cater for 1.5 million passengers.

“Ryanair has 2,800 staff to cater for 35 million passengers. Do the sums and you will see what I mean. We expect our staff to work hard and be efficient – and in return they are the highest paid in the industry. The philosophy runs all the way through the company. Our aircraft only have a 25 minute turnaround time on ground,” he said.

He said: “We gear our prices in order to be able to put people on the plane. Sometimes if need be we give away free seats and only charge taxes because we know that these people will spend on other things such as car hire and the like.”

Mr Cawley said that Ryanair was well capable of delivering its promise, because it had done so in every other country it decided to operate from. “But if we are bringing so many passengers, we expect more competitive fees. If we don’t meet our targets, then yes, we will refund the difference to the MIA,” he said.

He explained that MIA’s tariffs were not expensive, but outrageous. “They are about three times as expensive at the European average with e20 handling fees per person. We cannot profitably carry passengers with those charges,” he said.

He likened the process to a large supermarket buying from a wholesale at a cheaper price in comparison with the prices charged for orders made to a corner shop. “The supermarket buys in bulk and is given a discount. The corner shop buys things at a costlier price and in turn charges a costlier price,” he said.

He said that if Malta wanted to be part of the European tourism boom, the MIA had to lower its fees. He said the European average was e7 handling charge per person.

Mr Cawley said that on 1 May 2004 Malta changed forever. “Joining the EU is a good thing. Ireland benefited from it. But I just hope it does not take you 20 years like it took us to realise that things have to change. I hope you change quicker than we did,” he said.

Mr Cawley said the airline realised that Malta had particular circumstances and that his company was prepared to work around them.

“We could make it an evolutionary change rather than a revolutionary one by servicing a few routes at first and even not the UK. We would love to have a base here, but at the end of the day it’s up to you. You cannot make omelettes without breaking eggs,” he said.

He said that Malta was the only country that registered a drop in arrivals from the UK. “The market is ailing. But it is up to you to allow us to do something about it,” he said.

He said Ryanair could double if not treble arrivals from the UK. He concluded: “Customers like paying low costs. They don’t care about image anymore and that is the reality. Low cost carriers are here to stay, the only obstacle for us and Malta is the MIA charges. We want a deal that is competitive in relation to European average charges.”

He said that discussions would continue between the airline and the authorities.

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Ecco un altro editoriale del Malta Independent che dimostra come a Malta stiano iniziando a capire come cambiare il loro modello di turismo aprendo finalmente le porte alle low cost e proponendosi come una delle migliori destinazioni per uno short break durante tutto l'anno.

Friday Wisdom: Reinventing our tourism
by Alfred Mifsud

Just examine the following two facts. Firstly, we have what it takes to make a success in tourism and it should remain our major economic pillar, generating growth capturing 50 per cent of our entire GDP. Secondly, we have not been going anywhere with tourism for the last 10 years, being jammed in terms of number of visitors, bed nights and earnings in spite of huge investment in hotel configuration made by the private sector.

So what are we doing wrong? It is quintessentially important to get a correct answer to this question before making big strategic decisions, both regarding re-branding, which the Malta Tourism Authority is in the course of doing, and before deciding on the terms being demanded by the low-cost airlines in order to generate the volume growth we are missing.

What we have been doing wrong is that we have been trying to be everything to everybody rather than accept who we really are and then research and access the markets that can be expected to buy into what we are and what we can offer. The latest fad of the golf course is yet just another example of our determination to deform ourselves to ensure we have something to offer to everybody lest we miss out on anything. The end result is that we are missing out on most.

I have been saying with increasing conviction that our most promising role in tourism is to position ourselves as the ideal location for a short break – three, maybe four-day holidays. Our marketing message should be “nowhere else in the world can you see what you see in Malta in three days”.

This marketing strategy builds on the three advantages with which nature and history have endowed us. It builds on our geographical location in the centre of the Mediterranean, not more than three hours flight away from most European cities – so near and yet so different. It builds on our small size, which enables tourists to make the most from a short break visit. And it builds on our rich and varied history left behind over the millennia by the various civilisations that found it in their interest to occupy these Islands.

Would such a strategy fit with international trends in tourism? Obviously it would be much more difficult to go against the grain than it would be if the strategy can have a tailwind from international tourism fashion trends. There is no doubt that the strategy I propose is moving along the grain. Many people would choose more exotic locations for their long main holiday. There is so much to see in the world that it hardly makes sense to be trapped for some two weeks on a densely populated island without any hinterland to go to. But apart from their main holiday, people are taking a series of shorter breaks. Working life has become too stressful to wait 12 months between one holiday and another.

And it is here where we have a comparative advantage. If we succeed in this market, we can have all-year-round tourism with visitors here on short breaks whom it should be fairly easy to impress. Our pre-historic temples, our harbours and the unique architecture of Valletta and the three cities, the mystic feeling of Mdina and the heart-warming scenery of Gozo are ingredients rich enough to make a short break holiday more memorable than any other location within a three-hour flight radius from most European cities.

This strategy can only succeed, however, if there is the necessary flight infrastructure. Firstly, there must be regular direct flights from a wide array of regional airports. Modern travellers tend to avoid major city airports for regional flights as they are inconvenient, expensive and over-crowded. Regional airports are often closer to home, cheaper to go through and cheaper to fly from.

Secondly, the flight infrastructure must include low cost no frills flight content in the overall package. The shorter the holiday, the higher the relative content of the travelling cost and therefore the more important it is to provide low cost no frills airline services.

One should not run away with the idea that no frills airlines are being sought only by low-class tourists. The business model is changing. The internet is giving the consumer the power and facility to compare prices with relative ease and in a flash, following a few mouse clicks. Nobody likes to spend more if the same or sometimes better service is available for less.

The internet is changing customers’ behaviour and those companies that do not adjust their business model to take account of it are heading for extinction. It is no longer the case that Malta tourism is dependent on Air Malta. That was 30 years ago, 20 years ago and maybe 10 years ago, but now it’s different. Air Malta does not have what it takes to operate a wide array of regular services from regional airports, and its cost structures do not permit it to make an economic return by competing in the no frills sector. What Air Malta seems to be doing, unfortunately, is cutting the frills without cutting the price.

Which is why it would be a grave mistake to disregard Ryanair’s appeal for Malta International Airport to offer competitive handling charges to operators producing volume business, as Ryanair’s infrastructure fits hand in glove with the re-invented profile for tourism which I envisage.

This ought not be a commercial decision which is left entirely in the hands of a privatised MIA that operates Malta’s only airport. This brings into question the strategic wisdom of government passing such strategic monopolies to private investors who cannot be expected to defend macro-economic interest at the expense of their bottom line.

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Abbiamo gia' alcuni vettori low-cost a Malta come ad esempio la BritishJet.com su di Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow e Leeds-Bradford, Excel Airways da Gatwick e Manchester, Transavia da Amsterdam, Maersk Air, e la Centralwings da Varsavia. In piu', ci sono i voli low-cost dell'Air Malta su Stansted e Colognia.

Mi piacerebbe vedere piu' vettori low-cost operari su di Malta da altre destinazzioni. Comunque non vorrei che questo risulta in una diminuzione dei servizzi operati da LH, BA, KM or AZ.