#75 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
52 reviews
Hi everyone, and welcome to installment 2 of my new series, chronicling a recent trip I took around Europe! When last we saw each other, I had just arrived in Malta after my lovely first flight with Air Malta: KM515 from Vienna. After a very short layover, it was time to continue my journey, and head back north to Zurich. Would Air Malta be able to impress me again on this flight? Keep reading to find out!
Once again, merħba to this new report, and I hope you enjoy it!
As I mentioned in the previous report, I'll be announcing this routing as it progresses. Here's where we stand with 3 reports published:
For this part of the trip, I need to get from Vienna to Zurich. Initially, I didn't think of flying any way other than nonstop, but once I saw Air Malta's very competitive price of $120 on Orbitz, I knew I had to take it. A nonstop on SWISS would have cost $140, which was still fine, though I hate nonstops and love trying new airlines, so choosing Air Malta for the journey was a no-brainer!
After deplaning the A320 that had flown me from Vienna, I found myself in the arrivals' corridor. As much as I would have loved to spend some time in Malta, I unfortunately had to follow the signs for connecting flights.
Initially, I was slightly concerned that my connection would be a bit tight. With our slightly delayed arrival from Vienna, by the time I was in the terminal, I only had about 65 minutes until my next flight's departure time.
Fortunately, my fears were completely unjustified, as transiting at Malta Airport is super easy. There was one transit security checkpoint I had to clear, then I was in the departure's lounge. I totally forgot to take any pictures of the terminal, but I had enough time to sit down and get a sandwich from Costa Coffee, in case the next flight would also be without catering.
My stay at the airport was short and sweet, and soon enough it was time to board my second Air Malta flight of the day.
Boarding commenced exactly on time at 1:50 PM, and I made my way to the aircraft on foot - one of my favorite things about Malta Airport!
My ride to Zurich, 9H-AEP, was virtually an identical twin to the A320 that I had flown from Vienna. 9H-AEP was built in February 2007 and delivered to Air Malta the following month. She had flown her first flight just one day before 9H-AEQ, my previous A320.
I had hoped that one of my two flights would be operated by Air Malta's new A320neos so that I could try out their newer product as well, but unfortunately that wouldn't be the case. Oh well, at least it wasn't a repeated registration ?
Welcome sign by the door.
I was once again greeted warmly by 2 crew members, and quickly found my seat, 4F. Unsurprisingly, the same comfy cabin I had on my previous flight was also fitted on to this aircraft. Sweet!
Legroom was good, just like before.
Cabin during a lull in the boarding process.
A look towards the terminal.
With another fairly light load, the captain welcomed us aboard and announced a flight time of 2 hours. The window on this aircraft was notably a lot cleaner than the previous one.
As a Ryanair/Malta Air 737 from Budapest pulled in to the stand next to us, we fired up our CFM56 engines and began our journey.
Taxiing to Runway 13 for departure.
Lining up.
Rolling.
Airborne…
…and fully in clouds seconds after becoming lift off.
Cabin after departure.
Takeoff video:
Once we had cleared the cloud layer, the seatbelt sign was switched off and the crew got to work with the service.
As you may recall, my previous flight wasn't catered, so I was unable to review Air Malta's Buy on Board menu. Fortunately, this flight was indeed catered, so I took a look through the menu to see what would pique my appetite.
There were 6 meal choices to choose from.
Lots of drinks available for purchase, too.
The menu also included some other goodies that could be purchased.
I decided on ordering the pizza, and about 5 minutes later it was served.
While it tasted a lot better than it looked, I still think that €7 was a bit much. I'd rate it with a 6.5/10, given that the value for money wasn't great.
After eating, I took a walk around the cabin. Note that this time around, the crew didn't play the airshow, which was slightly disappointing.
The view from the rear of the aircraft.
Piacenza, Italy down below.
We commenced our descent into Zurich shortly after passing Milan, and a few minutes later the captain came back on the PA to announce our estimated arrival time of 4:25 PM, reported a beautiful day was awaiting in Zurich, and thanked us for flying Air Malta.
My first views of the Alps since leaving Innsbruck… I had missed them!! ?️
Vectoring our approach sequence.
Lined up on final.
Over the airport…
…and a smooth touchdown on Runway 28 at 4:25 PM, 20 minutes early, after a flight time of 1h59m.
Vacating the runway.
Landing video:
Looking towards Terminal A. It's always nice to be back in Zurich!
One final look at my seat.
After bidding the crew farewell at the door, I was off into the terminal building. Thanks for the ride, 9H-AEP!
Arriving in Zurich is always a breeze, and within an hour of touchdown I was at my hotel, one S-Bahn stop away from the airport. After less than 48 hours in Zurich, my adventure really started to get fun, and we'll pick up the next installment, covering my April 10th flight from ___ to ___, in a few days. Stay tuned!
This was another very enjoyable flight with Air Malta.
+ Old but gold cabin: very comfortable seats
+ Wonderful, laid-back crew
+ Inflight magazine for entertainment
± Tasty but expensive pizza
- No airshow this time
Since Air Malta usually prices very well, I certainly wouldn't mind flying with them again, even if it means going way out of my way, like on this trip!
2 Comments
Very cool to get to discover Air Malta in these two reports. Seems like a a very solid experience overall. Malta is also becoming quite a hot destination so I'll have to check it out before it's overrun by mass tourism hah
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by!
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