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THE GOZO TIMES - The Times of Malta - 14th February 2005
Helicopter vs. fixed-wing aircraft
Accompanied by big fanfare, we are finally given back “our” coveted helicopter service. We ought to be grateful! Whether the existence or otherwise of this service will make any difference to its non-existence remains to be seen. At the rate of Lm 50 for a return ticket Gozo will become exorbitantly more expensive to visit than the main island.
Those who speak up in defence of the new helicopter prices are quick to point out that these are not that far off the cost of regular taxi/ferry transfers. Admittedly, this is actually true for one person travelling alone: he/she would pay ca. Lm 34 for land transfers (return), ferry ticket included. Of course single persons, although said to be on the rise, are a tiny minority. However, in the case of four people travelling in a group (a much more common occurrence) the same calculations show a rather drastic difference in price between helicopter and land transfers: Lm 200 versus Lm 40. (These examples are based on rates that a person normally pays when booking directly, not through an agent.)
Gozo has one specific marketing problem: when it comes to selling it, tour operators have been pinching every penny off the costs involved, always claiming that in order to be competitive, prices must be kept low. Handling and transfer prices often provide a bone of contention. The rates some tour operators offer are so ridiculously low that only large volumes – which more often than not don’t materialise – would guarantee that petrol expenses are covered, not to mention other vehicle running costs and wages.
Another example to illustrate this price war further: There are actually a number of operators, who refuse to offer a food starter pack for their clients, the cost of which would have to be calculated into the package price. Here, we are talking about two or three Liri per booking!
Cutting corners is the motto of the day, and the threat of not including Gozo in their programme at all gives the tour operator an edge over local accommodation and service providers. That is precisely why it is difficult to see the new helicopter service taking off in a big way. Not more than a handful of better-off people will afford the extravagance of the flight – not enough to bring the required revenue to make this a profitable venture. And come October, we will probably be back to square one: another winter will be spent without a reliable connection between the two islands, and a hasty alternative will be looked for once again.
The more viable alternative of a fixed-wing aircraft seems to have been put on ice, without even having been discussed in a proper manner. There are local as well as foreign entrepreneurs, who are keen to invest in this means of transportation between the two islands, apart from the added bonus of foreign aircraft being able to land directly in Gozo. If the airstrip were to be extended by a mere couple of hundred metres, both helicopters and small planes could land. Both alternatives could co-exist and there would be no need to commit to one particular option.
Unfortunately, the government appears to have opted for the easy way out by avoiding confrontation with whoever argues against an extended airstrip. It is almost comical that, while nobody cries out about virtually all of our villages bursting out of their frontiers continually, some 300 metres of tarmac in an area that is presently used as a dumping site manage to stir up a major uprising by environmental groups. The most prominent fear seems to be that it won’t stop at this extension, but one fine day we would have jumbo jets frequenting our little island. Please, don’t get carried away thinking at we could attract such volumes of visitors that would warrant the use of jumbos!
Gozo simply – and urgently – needs a reliable alternative to the existing ferry service, which at the same time must be reasonably priced. The use of fixed-wing aircraft promises just that, while the environmental impact is in fact minimal. So why do we drag our feet?