Air Malta, Business Class – A 319: Malta to Zürich

Introduction

After a somewhat mild and rather pleasant start to winter, the beginning of February 2012 saw temperatures across Europe go way below the freezing point, with icy cold winds blowing in all the way from Siberia. Here in Switzerland the temperature went as low as -15 Celsius on some nights. To me, that’s really where it stops being funny, no matter how pretty everything looks covered in snow. So it was around the same time the cold set in that I decided it was time to head for the warmer climes of my native country for the weekend. This trip review is of the return flight back to Switzerland.

Date: 03. February 2012
Flight: KM4901
From: Malta
To: Zürich
Aircraft: A 319
Cabin: Business Class
Seat: 1F

Check-in

About two minutes after I enter the terminal building, check-in for the flight to Zürich begins. I find my check-in counter and immediately spot something interesting:

As my luck would have it, they are offering the Zürich route for a EUR99 upgrade to Business Class, an offer I simply cannot refuse. The offer is valid irrespective of the original fare you purchased. Which is a good thing as I’m travelling on a rock-bottom promotion fare for CHF225. For the EUR99 upgrade you get lounge access, the full Business Class treatment on board, priority for your luggage, which does not apply in my case, and full Business Class bonus points with Air Malta’s FFP Flypass. Not bad me thinks. Since I first tried out the scheme last summer they seem to have streamlined the process. The passenger is no longer required to queue separately at the Air Malta ticketing office and everything is done at the check-in counter. The friendly check-in agent assigns me seat 1F, hands me my boarding pass and lounge invitation and sends me on my way.

To reach the lounge you first have to go through security and then from there through the rather huge Duty Free shop.

Allow me to introduce you to Twistees. I think they’re Maltese but to be honest, I’m not even sure. Twistees are a Maltese snack. Apparently they’re not too bad for you because they’re made of backed rice. They taste of cheese and they come covered in this strange powder that cakes around your fingers as you eat the Twistees. They sound revolting, I know. And they probably really are too. But they remind me of when I was a child, sitting on the beach with a bottle of Kinnie.

The Lounge

The lounge is quite full. Apart from the Emirates flight which leaves at the same time as my flight, there is also a delayed Alitalia flight and the 07h50 departure to Heathrow, which is delayed to 14h25 due to the weather in London.

Boarding

As soon as the flight shows up as ‘BOARDING’ on the screen, I leave the lounge and make my way to gate 4. When I arrive most passengers have already boarded so I needn’t queue and can take my time taking pictures.

The Crew

Once on board, the purser comes round with a copy of the two English language newspapers. A female FA offers me a glass of orange juice as a welcome drink. There are two others sitting in Business Class on the flight.

Departure is to the northwest, from runway 31. Today’s load is fairly light, and with the temperature not too high either, we do not taxi all the way back to the beginning of the runway and instead make our departure from an access taxiway about half way down the runway.

The Valletta Peninsula, with Marsamxett Harbour on the left and the Grand Harbour to the right of the Peninsula.

The Cabin

Sitting on the first row, leg room is obviously very good. If perhaps you’re wondering if the EUR99 are worth it for an upgrade, the answer is a very clear ‘yes’. Back in Economy the seat pitch on Air Malta is tight for an average sized person. I’m 184 cm tall.

On the bulkhead Air Malta has these framed pictures of Maltese sceneries. I like them and I think they’re a nice touch for somebody visiting the islands for the first time.

Like most European carriers, Air Malta has a convertible seat in Business Class. Meaning it’s the standard set of three Economy Class seats. In a Business Class layout however, the back of the middle seat folds down to provide some extra space.

Once the seat belt sign is turned off, the crew closes the cabin divider. I like the red curtains, they go well with the dark blue seats.

The Meal

After take-off, the meal service starts with the distribution of the hot and rather soapy towels. This is followed by the table cloth and the tray with the meal. The tray contains a side plate with two different types a cheese, the blue one is particularly strong. There are also two bread rolls and an antipasto dish with rocket salad, hummus, slices of chicken breast, Kapunata (a Maltese dish made with eggplant, tomatoes and cheese), shrimps, zucchini and a parsley salad with lemon. And last but not least there are profiteroles filled with vanilla cream and smothered in chocolate for dessert. Divine!

This contraption is to stabilise the table.

Throughout the flight the crew takes good care of me and the other passengers and makes sure we have everything, frequently refilling empty glasses.

Arrival

The best part of the flight comes as we start our descent into Zurich. It is a lovely, clear day and the Alps look simply stunning, just beautiful!

The route for the approach is rather surprising, as they bring us in right above the airport on a northerly track. This means doing a rather steep right hand turn to line up for an approach to runway 14.

Conclusion

All in all this has been an enjoyable flight with Air Malta. The staff were professional and friendly. I guess it helped that the flight was not full up front, which gave the crew more time for a more personalised service.

In December I’m heading to Malta for a short visit before Christmas. I’ve requested a miles upgrade on the way down but so far it has not been confirmed. I’m not so much alarmed about having to sit in Economy if the upgrade doesn’t come through, but I am slightly worried it may not materialise because Air Malta may decide to abolish Business Class by then. Please don’t!