Marsaxlokk (pronounced marsa-schlock – meaning southeastern port) is a small fishing village with a population of around 4,000 located on the south-eastern coast of Malta located at the shoreline of the second largest port in Malta.

At present, this important fishing village has the largest population of active fishermen with many traditional fishing boats of all sizes anchored in the port. The Malta fishing village is a very quiet location compared to others, with few cars passing through. But at the same time it has become a very touristic location with many fish restaurants and cafes lined along the promenade. Street hawkers set up their daily stalls here selling souvenirs, clothing and all kinds of things. You will also notice there are stalls selling fresh fish. Marsaxlokk is busiest on Sunday when many people flock to the Sunday market. Many locals come on this day to buy their weekly supply of fish and vegetables.

You will still see the usual souvenir stalls and the Maltese lace table-cloths with crochet finishing many of them depicting the cross of the Knights of Malta. For those with a sweet tooth, one will find many locally baked sweets to savour and purchase.

The most popular fish in Malta are the Swordfish and blue fin tuna. During spring and autumn dolphin fish or Dorado, known locally as ‘lampuki’ is caught in abundance and is very popular with the locals. If you are lucky enough you might see the fishermen tending to their nets before they go out to sea for their next catch.

It is a village where you can relax and gently stroll around. Despite having become very commercialized, the beauty is in its old houses laden with character and typical Maltese church with the large square at the front.

OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE

Main Role:

The Operations Executive has a role of key importance as a team member of Colours of Malta. The main duties consist of direct contact with the client and with the main suppliers. The objective is direct communication with both suppliers and clients and to guarantee the best services and prices available to complete the Event according to the client’s specifications.

Responsibilities:

Receive and respond to group requests. 

Sales duties and responsibilities. The sales duties are related to the requests from the clients and to selling all the services available. This is done through the suppliers and to optimize the sales by convincing the clients to purchase more and upgraded services on a confirmed event,

Operations duties and responsibilities: this consists of assisting the client when they are on-site and guaranteeing that all services are provided as requested and specified in our proposals. The responsibilities are to communicate with the suppliers and always provide the best solutions to the client.

Coordinate and organize conference and incentive groups from the confirmation stage to completion. Working closely with team members during the organization, and actual operation of the event.

Requirements:

Fluent in English, Italian, and/or French – any other languages are also an asset

Proficient in Microsoft PowerPoint, excel etc.

Please send cv to [email protected]

Malta’s very own The Phoenicia has placed amongst the Top 3 Hotels in Southern & Central Europe on prestigious travel platform Condé Nast Traveler.

The globally-renowned travel platform put one of Malta’s premier hotels in third place, with a score of 96.57, placing after Vienna’s Hotel Sacher and Park Hyatt, which placed in second and first respectively. Additionally, it was also named one of the Top 12 Hotels in the Rest of Europe by the publications Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2023.

This magnificent feat not only served as a first for the hotel and Maltese Islands, but was also called “the result of years of investment, not only in the property, but a substantial investment in The Phoenicia Malta team.”

In a recent statement, The Phoenicia Malta owner Mark Shaw stated the following: “We are deeply honoured to be included on this prestigious list, especially as it reflects the votes and feedback of our guests. At The Phoenicia Malta, we take great pride in providing warm, personalised hospitality, and it’s truly a source of pride to see valued guests returning year after year.”

The ranking comes after more than 520,000 readers submitted responses of their travel experiences across the globe, resulting in the results of The Readers’ Choice Awards.

InterContinental Malta announced that it has been recognised as a winner at the 30th Annual World Travel Awards. The iconic hotel was voted as Malta’s Leading Hotel Suite 2023: Highline Suites @ InterContinental Malta.

On 29th  September, the finest travel brands from across Europe were unveiled at World Travel Awards (WTA) Europe Gala Ceremony 2023 in Batumi, Georgia. The event took place at Sheraton Batumi Hotel, where industry elites from across the region attended the red-carpet evening.

Graham Cooke, Founder and President, World Travel Awards handed over the award to Marika Caruana Smith, Cluster Director of Sales – Luxury and Entertainment, InterContinental Malta, who commented:

“We are extremely privileged and honoured to have won another World Travel Award, winning such an accolade is a great source of pride for us. Thank you to the voice of the public, and the voice of our clients, we are very proud that our guests and partners hold us in such high esteem. To our owners who are extremely supportive, and our associates thank you for your loyalty and commitment in ensuring we constantly strive to deliver the IHG Promise to our valued guests”.

The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the WTA brand is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.

The “new” airline which will replace Air Malta has officially been announced… and it’s bringing with it a number of changes.

The new airline will operate 17 routes instead of 37 and use eight planes instead of 10, but this time round, it’s all about the company actually registering a profit.

Three of the airline’s Airbus 320NEOs aircrafts will be brand new, bought directly from Airbus and owned by the new company.

Total employees within the company, meanwhile, went from just under 1,400 in 2010 to less than 400 this year.

As part of the revamped structure within the new airline, a series of cost cutting (also down to a smaller workforce) will see the airline’s wage costs go from a spend of €48 million to less than half of that, €22 million.

With Brussels turning down the Maltese government’s request for a €290-million State aid injection into the struggling Air Malta, the islands instead opted for a model which was used by neighbouring Italy, who recently replaced Alitalia with ITA. In fact, the European Commission gave Malta three years to run this… after which time a business partner needs to be allowed in so that it’s not state-funded.

Everything from aircraft maintenance to direct flying costs will be reduced, with a substantial change in the airline’s business model aimed at registering that long-sought-after profit margin.

Designing “the most commercially efficient network”, the new airline has also increased frequencies to existing routes like Rome, Munich, Paris (CDG), Zurich and Vienna… but other routes are now not on the roster.

Palermo, Naples, Nice, Geneva, Lisbon and Tel Aviv are the six routes which have been cancelled.

The remaining routes are now Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Catania, Dusseldorf, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris CDG, Paris Orly, Prague, Rome, Vienna and Zurich.

With a workforce of 375 employees, the airline’s new €350 million investment (and €90 million for staff and pilots) also includes the acquisition of the London Heathrow and Gatwick slots from Med-Air.

By the third year of operations (2026/7), Copenhagen will also be added as a route.

Air Malta’s final flight will be on 30th March 2024, with the new airline’s first flights leaving the following day.

As of November 2023, Air Malta customers can apply for refund of tickets post 30th March 2024, with a recruitment process of the new airline kicking off in December.

On 1st December 2023, the new airline will start receiving bookings.

As for Air Malta’s current pilots, these will have four years to decide if they want to leave and not be a part of the new airline… but if they do, they won’t be able to ever join again.

As part of a clause in their contracts, the pilots will be given these four years to decide if they want a sum payment as part of their departure. If they do choose this, they won’t be able to work as pilots with the new airline, or Med-Air, ever again. A six-year “ban” from working within the public sector will also apply.

Read the full article: https://lovinmalta.com/news/air-maltas-final-flight-will-be-on-30th-march-2024-as-new-downsized-national-airline-announced/

Last night we spent an enchanting evening at Phoenicia Malta – the ideal setting for unforgettable moments. A big thanks to the exceptional team for their warm hospitality! Here’s to cherished conversations about business, current affairs, and building stronger connections.

970,636 passengers travelled with Air Malta between the start of April and the end of last August, Executive Chairman David Curmi confirmed on Thursday.

The figure represents a 26 per cent increase from the performance of the same period last year, with the highest number of passengers being carried last month with 213,963.

“As we move into the sixth month of our summer 2023 programme, we continue to see a strong demand for travel with our airline,” Mr Curmi stated.

He added that during the reporting period, Air Malta operated to 23 destinations and performed a total of 3,238 rotations with a monthly average of 637 and a weekly average of 154 rotations. The total rotations came out at 28 per cent higher than in 2022, with the highest number of rotations being performed for routes including London Heathrow, Rome Fiumicino, and Catania.

Italy remains the top destination when it comes to passenger loads with 249,730 passengers, followed by France, the United Kingdom and Germany. The airline’s most frequented airport remains London Heathrow, followed by Munich and Rome Fiumicino.

Mr Curmi noted that it gives him “great pleasure” that despite the addition of five new routes, Air Malta still achieved an average seat load factor of 88 per cent during the five months reported. The airline recorded a high average seat load of 92 per cent during August.

“14 out of 23 routes achieved a seat load factor of over 90 per cent. The highest seat load factors were achieved on the Lisbon, Amsterdam, and London Heathrow routes at 99 per cent, 96 per cent, and 95 per cent, respectively,” he continued.

“I attribute this successful performance to the hard work, dedication, and commitment of our people across the company,” Mr Curmi concluded.

Despite the positive results, Air Malta’s future remains uncertain, with it awaiting a verdict from the European Commission on whether Government’s request to inject state aid into the airline will be approved. Back in April, Mr Curmi had said that the airline is set to wind down operations by the end of the year, with a new flag-carrier set to take its place.

Article credits: https://whoswho.mt/en/air-malta-carried-970-636-passengers-between-april-and-august-2023