Universal Air, a Maltese airline headquartered at Malta International Airport in Luqa, is getting ready for a big summer in 2025 with new destinations to travel to, the airline’s CEO Simon Cook said.
Speaking to The Malta Business Weekly, Cook spoke about the small airline, which aims to open new routes connecting people who, in the past, had to take connecting flights or other routes to get to their destination.
Universal Air started its operations from Malta on 26 March 2024, and Cook said that the response across the network has been “amazing,” and it has demonstrated that there certainly is a market for higher quality flights connecting smaller cities, which is attracting customers who want to fly better, more comfortably and with less airport hassle.
“Passengers don’t want to have to pay extra to take a bag or select a seat and so we give everyone a 15kg baggage allowance and all our flights have seats that can be reserved free of charge,” Cook said, explaining the response since the airline’s conception.
“We have listened to the market and aim to open new routes connecting people who in the past had to take connecting flights – or in some cases, like Pécs, no flights at all,” Cook said.
He said that the experience has been amazing, and as the airline continues to launch more routes across the Mediterranean.
Cook said that Universal Air has allowed people to travel more easily for both work and pleasure.
“We recently carried our 10,000th passenger – our first milestone of many! – and again this tells us that people really like what we are doing,” he said.
Asked about the company’s experience with dealing with the Maltese government, Cook said that Malta has a “great reputation for aviation throughout the world,” and the nation’s aviation regulator, Transport Malta, is very supportive of Universal Air.
Cook said that he has had very useful discussions with a range of government officials, including the Transport Minister, where he felt that the company’s needs were understood, as well as how it can help support the wider economic growth of Malta.
“We’re very much part of Team Malta – we have a policy of contributing to the society in which we are based,” Cook said.
He said that Universal Air very strongly believes in developing local young talent. Cook spoke of the company’s pilot sponsorship scheme, where it takes talented young people from Malta who dream of a future in the clouds, and make those dreams a reality.
“We have a number of similar opportunities for young people who want a career in aviation on the ground, and we are proud to support local people and suppliers,” Cook said.
Asked about the airline’s route strategies, and its winter schedules, Cook said that Universal Air has set a goal of connecting people who have traditionally been less well connected.
Cook said that Universal Air’s aircrafts are smaller, with unique capabilities, including being able to operate from shorter runways, typical of smaller, regional airports.
“We focus on presence at these smaller airports which don’t have the large numbers of passengers needed to make the economics of bigger aircrafts work,” Cook said.
He said that carriers with larger aircrafts – A320s and Boeing 737s – have to fly between larger airports, and then passengers need to travel by road or rail to get to their end destination.
“We’ve seen in Hungary how many passengers love our Pécs service because they don’t have to drive a long way to Budapest with its expensive parking and crowded terminals,” Cook said.
He spoke of the new Salerno route, which Cook said was another example of the airline’s flexibility and drive to give passengers new options.
“Salerno and the Amalfi Coast is undisputedly one of the most beautiful places in the world, with so much culture and history close by. On top of the incredible natural beauty of the area, Pompeii and Herculaneum are really close, both globally renowned historical sites,” Cook said.
He said that the airport only opened on 11 July in Salerno, and Universal Air will be one of the first airlines to use it.
“Not only is it just 15 minutes from the stunning coast, it’s close to Naples – but being a small airport, unlike Naples, check in time is just 45 minutes, with no hassle,” Cook said.
He continued that after one lands, they can be out of the terminal and into a taxi or a car within minutes.
“That’s a huge plus for both business and leisure travellers, minimising their time at the airport so their time for meetings or being on holiday is maximised,” he said.
Cook said that the airline has planned this as an all-year-round route, as it are confident that a weekend break to Amalfi, a quicker route to a meeting in Naples, or a better place to jump into a hire car and explore the most beautiful of regions will be very popular with everyone.
Asked about the future of Universal Air, Cook said that the airline is growing, more aircrafts are on order, and it is getting ready for “an even bigger summer in 2025 with new destinations.”
He encouraged people to follow Universal Air social media channels to be amongst the first to learn about where the airline can take them next year.
“We’re also investing in new technologies and innovation which will enhance the superb personal experience that we want all our passengers to have. So many airlines have used technology to take people out of the loop – asking passengers to deal with bots to resolve issues. We believe that travel is a human experience, and we want to keep humans at the centre of it,” Cook said.
He continued that Universal Air will also maintain its focus on efficiency at all levels of the operation: cutting waste, cutting cost, but “never cutting quality,” to ensure it can maintain its competitive pricing.