Air Malta forks out €4.5m for pilots

Air Malta has agreed to give pilots a raise worth about €4.5 million as part of a collective agreement that was signed away from the cameras and kept tightly under wraps until today. The Times can reveal the contents of the collective agreement covering the four-year period between January 2012 and 2015, which was kept secret by both Air Malta and the pilots’ association. Pilots will see their salaries go up cumulatively by more than three per cent every year, apart from the cost-of-living allowance increase, resulting in a total increase of about €17,000 each over the period. This amounts to a third of what they currently receive. For example, a pilot who was previously earning €54,600 would end up earning €72,400 after four years as opposed to €59,200, as the old agreement would have stipulated. Similar increases were given to first officers. Through a revised scaled system, pilots and first officers will have their salaries upgraded each year but these will be capped at €90,800 for pilots and €58,200 for first officers. The collective agreement also enhances the points-based system called “weighted units” which sees pilots and first officers get additional payment when they are...