Greetings to everyone!
I continue to gradually share here individual reviews from my website AirNative, where I now publish basic materials about flights, airports and aviation products. The full version of this and other reviews is available on the site, and I also regularly publish notifications of new reviews in my TG channel. I will be glad to see readers there too, comments and discussions are welcome.
This time we will talk about a relatively new airline, which I tested just a week after its launch - KM Malta Airlines. The carrier began flying in the spring of 2024, effectively becoming the successor to Air Malta, but retaining some of the visual and operational continuity - the two-digit KM code, livery. Although this airline, like its predecessor Air Malta, which existed for almost 50 years, is not a member of the Star Alliance, it is a partner of Lufthansa - it was on its letterhead that the ticket was issued along with the first flight on A319 of the now discontinued Lufthansa CityLine Vienna.
cooperation partner status allows KM Malta Airlines to use terminal 2 at Munich Airport, owned by Lufthansa (interestingly, in Vienna they fly from T1, not T3, where Austrian is based, despite the code share with them). It is in connection with the share in the terminal that Lufthansa decides who is allowed or not allowed there - for example, Turkish Airlines was kicked out of there 12 years ago, despite membership in the Star Alliance. In addition to the Maltese, Luxair and Air Baltic enjoy the same benefits (although Lufthansa now owns 10% of their shares). At one time, Lufthansa had similar partnerships with Etihad Airways and Oman Air (before the latter joined the rival Oneworld alliance), which also allowed them to fly from T2.
How did the rebirth of Air Malta into KM Malta Airlines happen? Here, the Maltese decided to take advantage of the experience of neighboring Italy with its national carrier, when in 2021 the 75-year history of the Alitalia brand came to an end, and the new airline radically changed its brand and name, becoming ITA Airways. This step was prompted by the airline's long-term losses, and at the end of 2023 the Maltese government announced the creation of a new airline, which inherited Air Malta's assets - fleet, routes (their number was significantly optimized). The two-digit KM code was also inherited, which is reflected in the name of the airline.
Initially, the fleet consisted of 1 A320 (by the way, it was the one that operated the direct flight from Vienna that day, which I did not get on - so in terms of board I ended up in the black) and 6 A320neo, but last year the only A320 was withdrawn and replaced by two A320neo, so at present time KM Malta Airlines has a monofleet of 8 A320neo.
Previous reviews in the series:
1. Moscow – Istanbul on Turkish Airlines B777-300ER
2. Istanbul – Vienna on Turkish Airlines A330-200
3. Vienna - Munich on the A319 Lufthansa CityLine
Review content:
1. KM Malta Airlines pre-departure services
2. Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport, terminal 2
3. Flight Munich – Malta
4. Malta Airport
Tourist bonus. Freising
To begin with, I would like to share a small bonus in the form of atmospheric shots from Freising, located not far from Munich airport (only 15 minutes by bus). In this town you truly immerse yourself in the Bavarian flavor, enjoying fairy-tale houses and local cuisine in legendary beer gardens - I chose to have lunch at Augustiner. In total, I spent about a couple of hours there before returning to the airport.
1. KM Malta Airlines pre-departure services
As the ticket was issued by Lufthansa, there were no additional services available for this flight. In addition, to be able to view the reservation, I had to contact the airline’s hotline so that they could provide their own reservation code, consisting only of letters. The KM Malta Airlines website did not accept the mixed alphanumeric code from Lufthansa.
I managed to register online within 24 hours - however, for some reason, in the end the check-in system sent me and my travel companion to different places. As a result, we managed to change seats at Munich airport with a very successful outcome, which I will tell you about later.
2. Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport, terminal 2
Munich Airport consists of two runways and two terminals - T1 (serves all airlines that are not members of the Star Alliance, except Turkish Airlines, as well as Eurowings from the Lufthansa Group) and T2 (Lufthansa Group (except Eurowings), Star Alliance (except Turkish Airlines), as well as Air Baltic, KM Malta Airlines and Luxair).
Terminal 1 appeared with the opening of the airport in 1992 and is much inferior in terms of comfort to Terminal 2. However, in April of this year its expansion opened, where most international flights moved - so Turkish Airlines passengers are no longer so upset. Architecturally, it is made in the same style as T2.
Near T2 there is also terminal 1F, which is intended for departures of flights to Israel due to their enhanced security requirements.
Terminal 2 consists of a main building, opened in 2003, and a satellite, opened in 2016 and connected to the main terminal by an underground people mover, which arrives in just a couple of minutes. Both the main terminal and the satellite terminal consist of three levels - for intra-Schengen flights (gates G and K), for international flights (H, L) and for arriving flights from countries that require re-screening. Awarded 5 stars SkyTrax (previously the only one in Europe, now shares the palm with Rome's Fiumicino and Istanbul Airport).
In just over 2 hours I arrive at the airport by bus from Freising, which I mentioned in the previous one review:
The bus arrives at the same stop near T2 and Munich Airport Center:
From there on I take the escalator down to MAC and go to terminal 2:
At the entrance to the terminal, the list of airlines flying from there - apparently not entirely up-to-date - instead of KM Malta Airlines, Air Malta is still listed. And in general, the list has changed since then - a year ago SAS moved from Star Alliance to SkyTeam (accordingly, they lost access to T2 instantly), and the Italian ITA Airways, on the contrary, joined the Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance and since the spring of last year has been flying from T2 Munich (as well as T1 Frankfurt):
First, passengers enter the arrival hall on the lower level, where there are also separate check-in counters - judging by the sign in the first frame, the Greek Aegean:
From here I go up to the bright and spacious check-in hall, where the airport's awards are proudly displayed in the most prominent place, and above the scoreboard you can see the passage to the observation deck - I was there once 10 years ago.
The check-in counters are quite uncrowded - yet there are a lot of transit passengers at the airport:
Before going to security check, I decide to walk to the Lufthansa passenger service counter and find out if an upgrade is possible on my flight, and if so, at what price. It turned out that the price was as much as 250 euros - an extortionate tariff, however. For comparison, at Turkish Airlines, an upgrade on flights within Europe currently costs 240 euros, and at the same time passengers receive a full business class - at a minimum, with recliner seats in the A321/B737 and, at a maximum, long-haul business in a 1-2-1 layout in the A350/B787.
On the way I notice the Lufthansa WorldShop, where they sell souvenirs, as well as products in collaboration with famous brands - for example, Rimowa suitcases with their logo.
Now you can go through security:
Despite the fact that it didn't look very crowded, and the screen above the entrance promised a waiting time of up to 3 minutes, in fact the passage took another 10 minutes. After security, passengers on international flights are directed upstairs to passport control:
We remain at this level, since the flight is within Schengen. In addition to gates G and K, the signs also indicate gates J - they are located on the ground floor of the satellite and are intended for boarding by bus. In fact, they are not used in principle, so I deliberately omitted them from my diagram at the beginning of the review. In addition, they are not marked on every sign.
At the beginning we meet the cafe of the most famous German coffee brand Dallmayr, founded in 1700 just in Munich:
So As we are in Munich, then, of course, the new BMW model – i5 – is displayed in the most prominent place. In general, an electric train. But in my opinion, the design of the new BMW models, in principle, has become very unsightly compared to the previous generation.
On both sides there is also a large Duty Free zone, but I didn’t linger there, since I was flying out of a satellite, and there the choice is no less, and in some ways better:
The transition to the people mover in the satellite is located slightly to the right of the center of the terminal:
Here you can see that the “phantom” gates J are unnecessary not marked everywhere. Buses transport everyone from the main terminal. In general, it is logical - there is no point in going to the satellite and then taking a bus to the plane. At least, the operating capacity of the main terminal (two separate nooks with bus gates for intra-Schengen flights, plus every odd gate in both the international and intra-Schengen zones) is sufficient in abundance.
On the way there is a panoramic view of the platform - however, some of the parking lots were under renovation. Apparently, that’s why, upon arrival from Vienna, many aircraft (even a sufficient number of A321) were in distant parking lots:
Here is the people mover station itself. As you can see, there are two of them walking at once. Passengers on international flights descend and ascend behind the glass in the middle:
Some carriages are also allocated for international flights, so there is no boarding on our side, as stated on the signs:
Inside the people mover looks very stylish:
Exactly two minutes later I find myself in the satellite and go up to the terminal building:
On the intermediate platform there is not very logical navigation - both trains lead to the same place, but here it’s as if these are different directions:
The first plane that catches my eye is an old familiar A320, on which I once flew from Milan to Frankfurt - back in 2016, when it was still completely new:
Following the signs I find myself in the intra-Schengen satellite zone - gates K. As I mentioned earlier, the Duty Free area here is slightly larger than in the main terminal, and with a more generous selection - here I will stay for a while.
To bypass Duty Free from the very beginning, I first decided to go to the middle of the satellite:
There is a large food court designed in a very colorful style. I was here once when the satellite was open for only six months. This time, after a hearty traditional lunch, I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t linger here:
Well, so that passengers don’t forget, there is a board above the entrance with flights scheduled for the next few hours:
After shopping at Duty Free, I head towards my gate K25, which is on the south side of the satellite - so I go back:
On the way I come across the Lufthansa Service Center, where I decide to once again check the details of my reservation, and at the same time whether there are any free seats ahead. And, lo and behold, I hit the jackpot - seats in the 2nd row! Based on this seating arrangement, it became clear that no one took business on this flight at such an inflated price tag. At the same time, on the Vienna flight, the surcharge for business versus economy was very reasonable - no more than 40 euros.
The boarding pass, however, was issued on a thin piece of paper, not a Lufthansa branded one:
Next we came across an interesting stand dedicated to the environmental friendliness of Lufthansa’s A350 compared to its predecessor the A340. And still, the lamp atmosphere of the latter will be missed...
It was also possible to watch videos on this topic while sitting in the chairs of the A350 Lufthansa:
The seats turned out to be not quite standard, and from the former Philippine A350 Lufthansa - apparently freed up after a slight rearrangement of these sides. These seats are noticeably wider (18" (46 cm) versus 17" (43 cm) compared to the original Lufthansa seats on the earlier sides, which in the new A350 with the vaunted new Allegris cabin (which has an advantage only for premium classes) were replaced by the no less flawed Recaro CL3710, distinguished by its small width and light weight, which is why they are like an infection. spread across many airlines around the world.
You could also walk on an elliptical and see how much energy you generate:
In general, this part of the satellite was not very crowded:
Among the interesting things on the apron were A320neo Aegean and A380 Lufthansa - the latter, apparently, had a day of rest between flights:
On the other side you could just see the apron repairs taking place at the central gates:
The designer furniture brand Vitra presented a small corner for passengers to relax - an old feature of the Munich port, which I met many years ago:
Boarding time was approaching, so it was time to move towards my gate:
The flight information has already been loaded on the gate board:
There is just under an hour left before departure, and now my plane has arrived - an A320neo with onboard 9H-NED in the old Air Malta livery:
The new livery looks like this - the aircraft that immediately arrived at KM Malta Airlines retained it, that is, no rebranding of the airline occurred when the legal entity changed (photo taken from planespotters.net):
Onboard maintenance begins immediately. The only drawback of the Terminal 2 satellite is the lack of direct access to the windows - the boarding galleries are in the way, which is why the photos come out with glare:
In the background, the A320neo Lufthansa CityLine is preparing for departure, now transferred to a new division - Lufthansa City:
Final preparations were underway for boarding, and then 25 minutes before departure it was announced, having previously made an announcement that passengers with large hand luggage could voluntarily check it in as baggage without additional payment.
Since this gate is intended primarily for wide-body sides, today we have a jet bridge for wealthy gentlemen:
3. Flight Munich – Malta
Flight information:
Type: Airbus A320-251N
Tail number: 9H-NED
First flight: 21.07.2020
Date of delivery: 31.03.2024
Test registration – F-WWIV
Until the end of March 2024 was in the Air fleet Malta.
Flight information:
The flight took place over Austria (Tirol) and Italy (Padua, Ravenna, Rome and Palermo). The actual distance was 1465 km.
I'm getting on board. The salon is equipped with Recaro BL3530 seats in the signature red color. The first 6 rows out of 30 are equipped with adjustable headrests - apparently, it is implied that this is the number of rows that business class can occupy as much as possible. The exact same model with adjustable headrests is installed on Aeroflot A320/321 produced in 2016-2018.
I didn’t have to go far, I took a seat in the 2nd row on the right. We’re lucky with the location of the window, you won’t have to turn your head:
The distance between the seats at the beginning of the cabin is more than decent:
The first row remained unoccupied - after all, no one purchased a business class ticket for this flight:
The headrest has a slightly unusual design - it is more adjustable on the right side, that is, it provides more of a one-sided support for the neck:
Belt buckle with marks operation:
Each chair is equipped with a holder for electronic devices (especially convenient for tablets) and a hook for coats:
Overhead panels and overhead bins have been standard across the A320 family since 2007. It is noteworthy that the updated, more spacious luggage racks Airspace L Bins are an additional option for 2020. Therefore, airlines wishing to save money (including Air Malta > KM Malta Airlines) remained on the traditional option:
Meanwhile, baggage was being loaded overboard - KM Malta Airlines also does not use containers, despite the technical possibility:
Maltese-German friendship close up - thanks to it the Maltese are in a privileged position:
About 20 minutes later than scheduled, the towing begins. We pass the arriving A319 Lufthansa CityLine, previously flying to Austrian:
Near the main terminal building we meet A350 and A321neo Lufthansa:
And another A321neo, but this time from the Portuguese TAP - pleasant memories of them pop up in my head, however, also from the pre-Covid era:
We will take off from the same runway on which we arrived, only in the opposite direction - therefore, when taxiing, we have a panoramic view of the main building T2, and to the satellite:
I took this road on my way back to the airport from Freising:
The new pier of terminal 1 under construction - currently it is already launched:
At this time, T1 had only two aircraft standing alone - Condor and British Airways:
B737-800 El Al arrives, according to Israeli security requirements, accompanied by a police armored personnel carrier:
The following are the parking lots of numerous private aircraft:
Lufthansa has a fairly large technical base here, inside the hangar of which one of their many A350s was sitting for maintenance:
A rare A340-600, which was recently taken out of service:
Previously managed to fly with Air Berlin and Eurowings A319 Lufthansa City. There were still a couple of months left before their launch. A very controversial decision from the point of view of Star Alliance privileges that they began to fly under their own code instead of VL. On the other hand, the issue has been resolved, and recently Lufthansa City is also part of the Star Alliance.
With a delay of just over half an hour we taxi to Runway 08R for the executive start:
CFM LEAP engines switch to almost silent take-off mode, and we begin a rapid takeoff...
After which we take off, leaving local fields and villages under the wing:
We head south, looking around the departure airport:
At dusk you can see the Ismaning reservoir, which is on the outskirts Munich. The city itself, alas, disappeared into the haze:
At the end of the climb, I take a “twilight” shot of the interior:
I also decided to look at what was in the pocket of the seat in front. Firstly, safety instructions:
Secondly, a huge Buy on board menu. Unfortunately, like the Lufthansa Group, KM Malta Airlines no longer provides free service:
There were also menu and business class bar card from the previous flight. The names of the dishes sounded appetizing:
Overboard, meanwhile, were the Tyrolean Alps with the Inn River valley[/B] in Austria (the local capital, Innsbruck, was hidden somewhere behind the mountains):
Countless number of local mountain peaks. I dream of visiting Tyrol one day.
There were also more secluded valleys:
The crew walked around the cabin and took orders for food and drinks from the paid menu. I took lasagna for 8 euros, a branded Kinnie Maltese soda for 3.20 euros and a bottle of water for 2.60 euros. Drinks were given immediately, food had to wait.
Meanwhile, we had already advanced significantly over the territory of Italy. The famous town of Ferrara appeared in the north of the Emilia-Romagna region, standing on the Po River:
The capital of this region is Bologna. A very authentic city with which I have many pleasant memories. As the Italians themselves call it - la Dotta, la Rossa, la Grassa - “scholarly, red, fat” - for the famous university, the predominant color of the buildings and the delicious local cuisine.
Forli is also one of the large cities in the region:
The entire Apennine peninsula is visible in full view - before we had time to fly away from the Adriatic Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea became visible on the horizon - and in front of it is Tuscany with its mountains and valleys, in one of which the legendary Florence is hidden:
Here comes lasagna arrived in time. The taste is so-so - it feels like a defrosted product. In general, it’s not worth the money, it would be better to take some kind of sandwich.
The further south we moved, the darker it became over Italy:
Lake Trasimeno in Umbria and its capital - Perugia. I visited those parts 12 years ago.
Catching the last rays of the sun, almost hidden on the horizon:
Perhaps the highlight of the outboard views of this flight was evening Rome – wonderful memories from the Eternal City came flooding back. I can undoubtedly call this flight the most “viewable” of the last year:
Over the town of Anzio in Lazio we leave the mainland of Italy and plunge into complete darkness for the next half hour:
At the end of the service the crew dimmed the lights in the cabin. By the way, the restrooms located in the tail are very cramped - you can barely turn around in them. Alas, this is now a common practice in the A320neo - I call it “coffin toilets”, a claustrophobic nightmare.
Finally we approach the coast of Sicily. The Palermo airport appeared, and on the horizon Trapani - one of the largest cities on the island:
And Palermo itself with its almost ideal straight-perpendicular layout:
A few minutes later we were already flying over the southern coast of Sicily. Lost among these towns is Agrigento, famous for the ruins of ancient Greek temples:
At about this moment we began to descend, and after less than 20 minutes of flight over the open sea, Malta appeared - a little to the right of the center of the frame, just the busiest part of it northeast coast, including the capital - Valletta, Sliema and St Julian's. To the right in the distance are the neighboring islands of Comino and Gozo:
We will approach from the southeast, from the side of Marsaxlokk Bay:
The Freeport is also located here, the largest port and logistics hub of all of Malta. Above it we enter the glide path:
The outskirts of the airport are already visible:
With a delay of 10 minutes we smoothly touch runway 31 and brake quite sharply:
A view of the small terminal of the local airport opened up. As you can see, there are no telescopic bridges at all:
We begin a short taxiing to our parking lot:
Just 3 minutes after landing we find ourselves in the parking lot on the edge terminal:
Almost immediately the unloading of luggage begins - interestingly, the luggage was not in containers:
Less than 5 minutes later, the unloading began. Having thanked the crew for a pleasant flight, I am among the first to leave the board:
On the way to the bus I take the final shot of the board:
4. Malta Airport
As I noted earlier, the plane arrived close to the terminal. Well, I think the bus ride will be quite short. But I didn’t take into account that in Malta the traffic is on the left, so I had to make a short three-minute lap of honor to the entrance to the terminal:
The airport is small, so the path along the short corridor to the baggage claim hall took only a couple of minutes:
The Maltese language is, of course, wonderful - being Semitic, it is similar to Arabic, but with an abundance of Italian borrowings (affected by the proximity of Sicily). Welcome to Malta!
I go down to the baggage claim area. I didn’t have to go far to the baggage belt, it was very close:
Waiting for the luggage took about 10 minutes, and through (like almost everywhere in Europe, nominal) customs I went out to the arrival hall:
At the same time, I called a taxi via Uber, and a few minutes later I left the airport in the direction of my hotel in Gzira (a town neighboring Sliema). However, given the tiny size of Malta, that we have a quarter, they already have a separate city.
This marks the end of a rather long but eventful journey from the center of Europe to its southern edge, almost to the African coast. It's time to sum up the flight:
Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport, terminal 2 – 5. It was very nice to return to this beautiful terminal operating at full capacity (and not empty and with most of the establishments closed, as in covid era in November 2021). Maybe it doesn’t have the same pomp as, say, Istanbul, but the atmosphere is very cozy, and I would even say homely. Everything is calm, without unnecessary fuss.
KM Malta Airlines – 5 for the excellent condition of the board and the comfort of the seats (however, the seat in the front row greatly contributed to this). The service is a B, the price tag on the on-board menu is not to say that it is more expensive than the airport, but the quality is not very good. But in general, for a regional carrier it’s very worthy.
Malta Airport – 5. The airport itself is compact, luggage was issued promptly and without delays.
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