Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/770367
14 AIR Malta could be saved and become successful even with- out a strategic partner, but will ultimately fold as governments continue to refuse to take drastic measures across the board that would turn the national airline into a leaner, but meaner ma- chine, according to the president of the GRTU's tourism and hos- pitality leisure section. "The main issue to tackle would be the passenger vs em- ployee ratio, as that is one of the fundamental pillars upon which all airlines base their commercial viability," Philip Fenech insists when I ask him what it would take to save Air Malta. That means firing employees, I interrupt him to clarify what he's saying. "Unfortunately, yes, people would have to be sacked, or the government could take it upon itself to find them alternative employment," he said. Fenech said the airline's future was pre-determined more than a decade ago, with the onset of low-cost airlines and their in- creased traction in the industry. Successive Maltese govern- ments chose to ignore – or un- derstate – the extent to which so-called legacy airlines like Air Malta could be affected, he said. Fenech was himself one of the few, back then, who recognised the true appeal of low-cost air- lines to consumers and had tried to prepare others for the inevita- ble. "And now, Ryanair has just cel- ebrated its tenth year of opera- tions in Malta and will be basing its fourth aircraft here from this year," he said. "In the meantime, Air Malta is left registering loss- es year after year and seeking a partner in a final bid at staying afloat." Other measures would need to be introduced at the same time as the employee lay-offs, includ- ing reviewing fuel price hedg- ing arrangements, and revising the catering contract and other agreements with outside suppli- ers and contractors. "I still believe Air Malta is sal- vageable, if all these and other cost-cutting measures are imple- mented," Fenech said. "But my gut feeling says that it will not happen and that the gov- ernment will choose to drag out the process as much as possible before admitting defeat." And he points out one impor- tant thing: staff lay-offs and oth- er cost-cutting measures would be necessary to make Air Malta commercially viable, with or without a strategic partnership with another airline. "At the end of the day, I don't think the deal with Alitalia will happen, for many reasons, but mainly because of the precari- ous situation Alitalia itself is in, particularly with Etihad CEO James Hogan's strategy of buying smaller airlines having backfired on the group." (Etihad acquired 49% of Alitalia in 2014.) I turned my line of question- ing to the national alcohol policy launched in October, which pro- posed that the alcohol limit for drivers be slashed from 0.8g of alcohol per litre of blood to 0.5g. In comments to this newspa- per earlier this week, Fenech had said that this, and other puni- tive measures intended to clamp down on drink-driving, could lead to a dip in the number of people dining out, since it would become more expensive for peo- ple to go out. In the wake of the sharply neg- ative feedback from readers that his comments generated – for the implied suggestion that prof- it was more important than lives – was he still of the same opin- ion, and was he suggesting that business and profit were more important than people's health and saving lives? "Absolutely not! Not now, not ever, have we felt that profit is more important than saving lives," Fenech said. "I want to make it absolutely clear that we recognise and accept that peo- ple's health and safety take prec- edence over everything else." He says that those who reacted badly to his previous comments had failed to comprehend that the GRTU had been consulted on the proposed changes to the national policy, and that it had immediately signed off on them, making clear its approval to low- ering the alcohol level limits and increasing fines for people driv- ing while under the influence of alcohol. "In my remarks midweek I did not intend to lead people to think that this was the first time the GRTU had heard of these proposals or that we were opposed to them because of a possible effect on the catering industry," Fenech said. That is what may have hap- pened, if the sentiments and re- marks in some of the comments in reaction to Fenech's state- ments are to be taken literally. He certainly seems to think that people jumped to conclu- sions and that his comments were blown out of proportion. "A substantial increase in out- side catering orders was regis- tered this holiday season, mean- ing that fewer people opted to dine out," he says. "Additionally, cash and carry businesses have indicated an increase in business over the festive season, further confirm- ing catering outlets' reports of a drop in business." He says that those outlets and areas that took it upon them- selves to offer attractive enter- tainment to their clients, were highly sought after. Valletta, in particular, saw a general in- crease in patronage. But Fenech insists that the in- dications still need to be verified, because although catering estab- lishments in some areas might have registered a small decline in business, this did not necessarily reflect the entire industry. "With restaurants, bars and other types of outlets cropping up in practically all towns and villages around Malta, people nowadays have more options and could simply have chosen outlets in their own localities, nullifying the need to use trans- port and to visit areas tradition- ally associated with catering and entertainment," he says. There was also an increase in demand for taxi services and other transport-on-de- mand, proba- bly due to the widespread media campaign on responsible driving and against drink-driving. So how is drink-driving to be tackled? I ask him Fenech says that public trans- port and taxi services should – and are – providing enough of a viable alternative to make them attractive to people wanting to go out and consume alcohol without having to drive. "The concept of designating a driver when going out as a cou- ple or in a group does not seem to be practised enough to make a difference," he says. "People need to be encouraged to adopt this practice more often." That is where the public trans- port and taxis come in. Of course, public transport would need to be available across the island into the early hours. In the meantime, Fenech said, taxi services were becoming more af- fordable, as evidenced by the in- crease in demand. Fenech says he is looking for- ward to the introduction of skill cards in the leisure industry, as was done recently in the con- struction industry by the Build- ing Industry Consultative Coun- cil (BICC). "This would raise industry standards further, as employees and operators would be encour- aged to take up specialised train- ing that would be recognised throughout the industry," he said. With all the reference to lei- sure and entertainment, I cannot but ask Fenech about the much- criticised Paceville master- plan and where he stood on the issue of high- rise development in the area. "I am not against high-rise develop- ment per se, but I feel we should never lose Malta's traditional charm," Fenech said. He says that when he attended the first briefing on the proposed mas- terplan, it was i m m e d i - a t e l y Interview By Paul Cocks maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 JANUARY 2017 We recognise and accept that people's health and safety take precedence over everything else Government will choose to drag out the process as much as possible before admitting defeat DRINK-DRIVING AIR MALTA My gut says Air Malta will ultimately