Malta Air’s first Boeing 737-8200 “Gamechanger” arrived in Malta today, 27^th July. The aircraft, proudly flying Maltese colours (see below), was welcomed to Malta by Transport Minister Ian Borg, Malta Air CEO David O’Brien, and Civil Aviation D.G., Captain Charles Pace, who flew in on the first 737-8200 flight to Malta.

The brand-new Boeing 737-8200 “Gamechanger” will further enhance Malta Air and the Ryanair Group’s environmental leadership. These new aircraft carry 4% more passengers than the 737-800s, and reduce fuel consumption by 16% per seat, lower CO2 emissions by a similar amount, and cut noise emissions by 40%. They will enable the Ryanair Group to develop its environmentally friendly, great service, flights direct to Malta as its leads European aviation recovery.

Ian Borg, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, said today,

“I welcome this new Malta Air B737-8200 aircraft; the first, we hope, of many to Malta. This new aircraft addition to the Malta register is a strong endorsement of the excellence and professionalism of Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate. Direct air connections are vital to Malta and I am delighted that these new aircraft can deliver more connections and visitors to Malta, but at the same time reduce fuel, CO₂ and noise emissions. Our mission is to build on the strong aviation platform we have developed, and we look forward to working with Malta Air and other airlines to further develop Malta as a leader in aviation and environmental excellence.”

Malta Air CEO, David O’Brien said, “Malta Air is proud to fly the Maltese Flag on our new “Gamechanger” aircraft. We wish to thank the Transport Malta – Civil Aviation Directorate for their professional and rigorous oversight of the introduction of the “Gamechanger” aircraft to our fleet. Our team of over 3,500 Aviation professionals at Malta Air will continue to work hard to secure as many of the Ryanair Group’s 210 “Gamechanger” aircraft order as possible for Malta Air. We look forward also to growing our current 6 aircraft base at Malta substantially over the coming years and adding to the 57 direct Malta routes currently served by the Ryanair Group.

I am therefore pleased to announce nine new direct Malta routes today; starting this Winter to Eindhoven, Bucharest, Kiev, Lourdes, Milan Malpensa, Paphos, Tallin, Warsaw and Zagreb. To celebrate, Ryanair have launched a seat sale with fares available for just €19.99, which must be booked by midnight 29^th July on the Ryanair.com website.”