VALLETTA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Air Malta has started selling some of routes through the Ryanair website as part of a joint venture between the two airlines.
The agreement, which came into effect on Tuesday, will see Malta's national carrier market 21 of its routes on the Irish low-cost airline's website, in a bid to improve both airlines' connectivity. Ryanair will also be receiving a commission on flights sold through its website.
The Air Malta destinations on the Ryanair website include cities in Austria, Czechia, Israel, Morocco, Russia, Switzerland, Tunisia and Ukraine. None of the routes is currently serviced by Ryanair.
Speaking at a press conference announcing the new arrangement, Air Malta chief commercial officer Paul Sies said it would allow Air Malta to access new markets and revenue streams while offering Ryanair's customers more options when choosing their flight itinerary.
Ryanair chief commercial officer David O'Brien noted that the airline's website was the largest in Europe, with over 50 million unique visitors per month. Moreover, he added that it was available in 17 languages, including Chinese.
O'Brien said the agreement fit into Rynair's strategy of turning its website into a comprehensive travel platform.
Malta's Tourism minister Konrad Mizzi said the joint venture would not have been possible a year ago as Air Malta did not have the right fare structure for the market. He said that since then however, the airline had introduced its Go Light fare, which is more similar to the low-cost prices offered by Ryanair.
"We will be looking at options that will see Air Malta being a link for Ryanair passengers to African airports as we strive to become the airline of the Mediterranean," Mizzi said.
Air Malta chairperson Charles Mangion said the partnership with Ryanair became possible after the airline invested heavily in IT. He said the agreement helped address Air Malta's online weakness.
