Air Malta halves operating loss, increases revenue, passenger figures

Between April and June this year Air Malta halved its operating loss, increased revenue and passenger figures and maintained a steady seat load factor when compared to the same period last year. The airline announced its results for this quarter in a statement today. It said it reduced the operating loss for the quarter to €3.3 million (€6.1 million loss during the same period last year). The net result after restructuring costs (largely one-time charges) and interest costs was a loss of €4.9 million (€10.6), as anticipated in the Restructuring Plan approved by the European Commission. Air Malta said these figures continued to build on the progress registered during the financial year ended in March. The audited financial statements will be presented at the annual general meeting and published in October. Air Malta said the results were driven by constant improvements in the airline's revenue of €5.7million and by the increases in passenger numbers to 498,692 passengers (+28,908 passengers. The airline registered a seat load factor of 74 per cent over this period. Performance on scheduled flights for the first quarter met expectations and was significantly better than last...