Introduction

This visit to Malta has been so nice and relaxing, and the weather’s been perfect – hot, but not yet sweltering unpleasantly. Give it a month, and the heat will hit with full force.

Getting to the Airport

I exit The Phoenicia at 11h45 and walk the short distance to St. James’ ditch, at the foot of St. James’ Cavalier, which is where the B designated bus stops are. If you’re going to the airport, you can take the 71, 72, 73, and 74 busses, which take about thirty minutes. Then there’s the 88, which takes 42 minutes because it runs via Marsa, Tarxien (where they found the figurine of the sleeping goddess), Bir id-Deheb, and Gudja. It’s a scenic but circuitous route. Or, you can take the TD4, which is the express that takes 15 minutes and only stops at the Valletta waterfront and Porte des Bombes. Only the TD4 departs from the B stands.

Check-In

The weather is seriously not making it easy to leave. I mean, have you seen that pristine sky? In any case, I’ve already checked in on the app. So, once I arrive at the airport, I head straight for security. KM Malta Airlines has four different Business Class fares in addition to the full fare. With the first two, fast track, lounge access and advanced seat reservation are not included. However, fast track access is available for EUR8 and lounge access can be purchased for EUR40. Both additional services are bookable at check-in. I don’t bother. At least, not fully. The fast track security is not worth it. Mainly, because there are four lines open. The 3D scanners ensure that the queues move quickly.

The Malta Airport La Vallette Lounge

The biggest challenge for departing passengers isn’t security at Malta Airport – it’s finding a place to sit. It’s great that they’ve expanded the apron area, but the terminal is really way, way too small airside. Eventually, I give up and buy access to the La Vallette Lounge after all, simply because there’s nowhere else to go.

The La Vallette Lounge is busy too, but not near as hopeless as the main airside area. More importantly, the views from the lounge are great and there’s a nice, steady trickle of traffic.

The lounge has a good mix of hot and cold dishes that showcase Maltese food – including the pastizzi tal-piselli u tal-irkotta. Healthy? No. Greasy? Yes. Tasty? Very. With that, I have one last Kinnie.

Incidentally, the lounge has a nice open air terrace which doubles as the smokers’ area. Although you can sit there unbothered by the smoke, depending on where you sit. What is a tad more difficult to deal with, is the crazy midday heat outside.

Boarding

At 13h40, the flight shows up on the screen assigned to boarding gate 06. We’re being bussed to the aircraft, so I decide to stay back until the last bus arrives. That’ll give me more time for photos.

Our aircraft is a former Air Malta bird that still retains most of its previous owner’s livery. Frankly, I think this livery is much better and far more intricate than the one KM Malta Airlines adopted for its newer aircraft – which is red in red. In total, the airline’s fleet comprises of eight A 320 NEOs.

The Cabin & Seat

There are three rows of Businesses Class on this flight, for a total of 12 seats. However, only five seats are occupied on this flight. I’m on 2F, and the rest of my row remains empty. The seat pitch on row 2 is comfortable, and not having anybody else on my whole row means I can spread out. In theory, there are electric sockets at every seat. However, the crew make an announcement to inform passengers that the power sockets are not active.

What you see below, by the way, is the Loretu Chapel, which Ryanair wanted to have demolished to build a taxiway all the way to the end of runway 31. The authorities not so politely declined.

We take off and are treated to a gorgeous view of the islands. We keep on flying on the runway heading until we hit the northern tip of Gozo, from where we turn exactly north to point us in the direction of Palermo in Sicily.

The Service & Crew

The crew on this flight are professional. There’s been a mix-up with the meals and one of the special meals does not appear to have been loaded onto the flight. However, I think the crew handle the issue rather well.

There is no service on the ground. Once we’re airborne, though, the crew first hand out hot towels, followed by the menus for the flight. The flight time is two hours and twenty minutes.

The Meal – Light Lunch

The presentation of the meal is really nice. The whole meal is served on one tray that is covered in a small table cloth. The octopus in the main course is a bit unexpected and rather unusual for a Business Class meal. Other than that, the bread is served warm with both olive oil and butter. The dessert is nice, but awfully sweet.

To drink with the meal, I have sparkling water with lemon. When the crew comes to remove my tray, he asks me if I’d like anything else, and I request a coffee, which is served on a saucer that is intended to resemble a Maltese tile.

Arrival in Zürich

I briefly nod off after the meal. When I open my eyes again, we’re already descending over the Alps. We approach Zürich from the south, before turning off to the east to join the downwind for the approach for runway 28. We land at 17h00 exactly and taxi to our stand on the B pier.

Conclusion

This was my first time on the new KM Malta Airlines. All in all, they’re not that different to the old Air Malta. The aircraft still look the same both inside and out and even the service on board was pretty much like the old Air Malta. The biggest difference, I guess, are the fares. While I generally like the idea of being able to purchase services to tailor each passenger’s individual needs, I do find it a bit strange to book a Business Class fare and still have to pay for fast track security and lounge access. All things considered, though, the service on KM Malta Airlines is no better or worse than that on most of the European carriers in short-haul Business Class. I wouldn’t go out of my way to fly with them, but I wouldn’t intentionally avoid them either. What I find more of an issue, and that has nothing to do with the airline, is the capacity of the terminal at Malta Airport, which is clearly too small for the amount of traffic the airport handles.