Air Malta 

Air Malta

In October 2023, I was supposed to fly from Malta to Tel Aviv, but the airline cancelled the flight due to the Israel-Hamas war. Consequently, I had to extend my stay in the hotel by two nights, book a different and more expensive flight with Air Malta to Larnaca, Cyprus, and take another flight back to Israel from there with a different airline. The two additional nights in the hotel, the fare difference between the original and new flight and the additional flight back to Israel cost me nearly EUR 1,000.

Not only that, when I booked the new flight to Larnaca, I requested 2 additional check-in bags similar to the original flight that was cancelled. I was told each bag would be EUR 40 each. Only after booking the new flight, I was told that in fact the ticket they sold me was operated by a different airline (Emirates), and that I can only pay for the additional baggage at the airport before the flight. Imagine my shock when checking in at the airport, Emirates charged me EUR 237 per additional bag!! I was told the EUR 40 per bag was not correct. I was left with no alternative but to pay the outrageous extra cost or leave my luggage behind. You can read other reviews here who faced the same issue.

I contacted Air Malta several times via email, they never responded.

Avoid this airline at all cost!

Got an error on the site and now i have paid for luggage i dont need. They dont cancel it for me even though i did not buy it.

Extra baggage charge is fraudulent. Flight from Malta to Cyprus booked through Air Malta website and paid 40€ on website for 1 extra bag.

The check in agent advised me it was a codeshare flight flown by Emirates. They refused the Air Malta extra bag payment receipt and charged me 284€ ! Explaing this was a daily problem with Air Malta who refused to rectify the problem,

I complained at the Air Malta desk who couldnt care less. I warned the agent I would complain to the customer service. He retorted "You can try, but they wont refund , they never do!"

The Emirates supervisor - an excellent professional experience about a hundred times better than the crappy Air Malta. She was understanding but wearily repeated the same Air Malta agennts tale. Re confirming this same baggage issue was a daily problem they had complained to Air Malta for maybe a year but they refused to rectify the problem. She said she's sick and tired of explaing the same tale almost every day

Its obvious that pathetic Air Malta deliberately set out to defraud its customers of extra bag fees.

Months ago I complained to Air Malta - now 4 times. Their customer service respond, but asked for the same payment receipt now 3 times! A delaying tactic.

I ll update this report with the next stage of this saga.

Meanwhile I dont recommend flying with them----although the actual flight experience was perfect.

It is obvious Emirates have a deep problem with Air Malta who they connsider a junk airline, although I was actually in Malta.

Worst flight experience ever! On the Website or app, the online check-in has never worked. We called the callcenter and they told us that we have to check in at the airport and that they cannot help us. So we had to be super early at the airport but because of the check in issue, but nothing worked out and we missed our flight. We immediatly called the callcenter and they said that they would try to find a different flight but everything was booked out in this month, so we went to a different travel agency to get a flight somehow. When we wanted to fly back from Malta, the same issue appeared again - check-in was not possibe. So we called the callcenter again and they said that they canceled our flight back also because we did not inform them that we missed our flight. Well, we did! They did not want to help us, the money was gone, they just repeated themself that we did not call, which we actually did. After calling again, like a lot of times, she finally talked to the supervisor and said that we never called - which is a lie. Then she meant she will look for the call again and that she will call me back, which never happened! Now we lost a lot of money, did not get informed that our flight back was just taken away from us and the service was horrible! We were stuck in Malta, but that was not their problem. Worst service ever.

We had a problem but this woman Marthese Spiteri helped us and sorted it all out.She was very polite and nice with us. Thanks again.

This airline is horrific
Reading many stories of people on here being owed money by this lot.

I have news for you.
You won’t get a Cent off them as they are going bust at the end of this year

Our flight was delayed by 6 hrs in June , Milan to Malta
250eur compensation agreed and surprise surprise no refund
They agree your compensation as it prevents you going to ADR

OPEN LETTER to AIR Malta

I am writing on behalf of my son regarding his recent Malta Airlines flight booked under reference 00999354

I paid for my Son Malta Airlines EUR 140 in advance online to purchase two extra suitcases 32kg each for the flight from Larnaca to Malta . However, when he arrived at the airport, Emirates charged him an additional EUR 478 for the same extra suitcases. This is despite having proof of his online payment to Malta Airlines for this extra baggage allowance.

I made a complaint to your customer service and requested a full refund of the EUR 478 incorrectly charged to him at the airport. However, you have only offer to refund the EUR 140 which i paid online, and yyou are refusing to refund additional airport fees.

I purchased for my son and paid for the extra baggage allowance directly through Malta Airlines, you are responsible for ensuring he was not double charged, regardless of the operating airline. By outsourcing the flight to Emirates, you did not absolve yourself of the obligation to honor the fees paid in advance to Malta Airlines.

Your company’s refusal to refund the full EUR 478 is against Article 14(1) of the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU, which states that a consumer is entitled to a full refund when the purchased service is not provided as agreed.

Furthermore, your actions violate Articles 19 and 22 of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, which require the operating air carrier to honor fees paid to the contracting carrier and provide compensation for incorrectly applied double charges.

If you do not process a refund of the outstanding EUR 478 within 14 days, I will support my son in pursuing legal action against Malta Airlines in small claims court in order to recover the incorrectly charged fees. We have retained all receipts and records of this improper double charge.

Please advise me in writing how and when you will be providing the full refund to my son. I look forward to a prompt resolution of this matter.

Regards,

The response from AirMalta
Good Morning.

Thank you for your email. Apologies for the delay in our response.

Kindly be advised that we can only authorize EUR 140.00 as reimbursement since payment was made through Air Malta. However, we cannot authorize EUR 478 . 00 as this was charged by Emirates.

We remain available for further assistance.

In the meantime, we appreciate your patience and understanding.

Dear Air Malta Customer Service,

Thank you for your response.

I would like to emphasize that the excess luggage charge, which I am disputing, was initially paid to Malta Airlines in advance. I understand your clarification that Emirates charged me for the same service at the airport. However, as a consumer, my primary transaction was with Malta Airlines, and I expect the full refund to be processed through them, in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 clearly states that if a service is not provided as agreed, consumers are entitled to a full refund. In this case, the service was not provided as agreed, as I paid Malta Airlines in advance for the excess luggage allowance. Therefore, I must insist that you process the refund for the entire amount of EUR 478, as it is my right under the Consumer Rights Act.

I have retained all receipts and records as evidence of this improper double charge, and I am prepared to pursue legal action if necessary to recover the incorrectly charged fees.

Kindly confirm in writing that Air Malta will process the full refund of EUR 478, as per my legal entitlement under the Consumer Rights Act. I expect a prompt resolution of this matter.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

Update: Still no Refund

Update: Full amount owed by Air Malta will be refunded.

Dear Sabine Hennig,

Good afternoon.

Thank you for contacting Air Malta customer care team. Pardon us for the delay in response.

We kindly write to inform that total amount of EUR 478.00 paid at the airport will be reimbursed.

Please find the payment form and letter of authority attached for your perusal. Do send them through at your earliest convenience with a copy of ID or passport of the beneficiary and the passenger in question.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused, and kindly await your response.
Please do not send any Credit Card or CVV information by email, as this goes against PCI-DSS compliance. Air Malta assumes no liability for receiving emails that do not conform to this requirement.

Kind regards,

Wais

My seat was changed last minute whilst on the plane because they double booked my seat. The airline was not very friendly and were impolite.

Poor overall, not a good experience I travelled to London Gatwick from Italy. They were only concerned about their money and not my well-being, so I stated that my hotel was far away and there was no way to get to the airport.  I requested if I could return at a later time.

If I wanted to come back, they wanted additional money from me. I asked if they could offer me a partial refund because I had paid for my friend's trip as well but she was unable to travel, but this request was turned down. I've basically had bad experiences overall.

I had to leave my check-in on the day of my trip because the check-in process online was so awful and kept asking me to pay for luggage even though I didn't even need it.

Worst company !! Do not book !!
Pire compagnie !! Ne réservez pas !!

J'ai eu l'occasion de pas mal voyager avec plusieurs compagnies. Airmalta est une très mauvaise expérience, à fuir.

Voyage retardé, réclamation et service client inexistant.

En tout cas si vous souhaitez aller à Malte, ne prenez pas cette compagnie.

Very bad customer care service.. I've booked Go Flex tickets with the option to cancel the flights and get a full refund (except some extra costs and taxes). I've cancelled the booking last week and was promised to get a refund. Still haven't seen any money yet. Called again, they can't give me a confirmation of my cancelled flights and they can't give an update about the status of my refund too. Was told to send an email to their customer care, but they never reply.

Booking number: JUQFUR

Airmalta I sent you the following details for a refund and its been over a year that you cancelled flights and have not refunded.

REFUND MY MONEY I HAVE SENT YOU MY BANK DETAILS AND NO RESPONSE AFTER SEVERAL EMAILS

On 4 Jul 2023, at 5:22 pm, Customer Service wrote:

Ticket Number 00899341 - Fwd: [Ticket #5707595] booking ID 21402525.
Dear Ms. Jakimovski,

Good Morning.

Thank you for your email. Apologies for the delay in response.

Upon further discussion with the relevant department, we can confirm that we are able to apply for a refund from our end regarding the reservation in question.

In view of the above remark, we kindly request you to fill in the attached bank form and return it to us via this email.

Awaiting your kind response.

Please do not send any Credit Card or CVV information by email as this goes against PCI-DSS compliance. Air Malta assumes no liability for receiving emails that do not conform to this requirement.
Kind regards,
Ruci

On 3 Feb 2023, at 7:49 pm, Customer Service wrote:

Re: Ticket Number 00865182 - Refund
Good morning Ms.Jakimovski,

Thank you for your reply.

We confirm that there was a schedule change on the flight from Amsterdam to Malta on the 11th of July 2022.

Please do let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

Thank you and Best regards,
Yan.

All in all we were really happy with our flights with Air Malta (Munich to Malta and back). Our flight to Malta was delayed, our flight to Munich was on time. The staff on the airport and plane was nice and attentive. The airplanes were clean and space was also sufficient. We would fly with Air Malta again.

01-Sep-2023 flight from UK to Malta delayed 2 hours. Impact got to accommodation 2am.

02-Sep-2023 flight from UK to Malta delayed 3 hours. Impact missed seeing family in Malta before connecting flight departed.

02-Sep-2023 flight from Malta to Palermo delayed 4 hours. Impact car rental closed. Arrived at accommodation 3am. Having to pay 40 EUR for taxis. Claiming under EU 261.

10-Sep-2023 flight from Malta to UK. They have removed my wife from the booking because she flew a day early on 01-Sep-2023 and claimed she was a no show on the original flight on 02–Sep-2023. We requested her to be re-added to the flight. We were promised a call back within 1 hour. We never got a call back and have been unable to get through on the phone all day. Impact we had to book a new flight with EasyJet costing 550 EUR. The flight is departing at 2:30am so we won’t get any sleep.

We cancelled 2x flights in June for future trips and we are eligible for 50% refund. After months of chasing we still don’t have the refund.

We are questioning Air Malta’s solvency at the moment and we won’t be booking any future flights for fear of Air Malta going bankrupt along with the incredibly poor, stressful and expensive experience.

Ticket Number 00950400 - Delay Baggage Claim - AHLMLAKM14197

It's been approximately 3 months and these people promised to give compensation for the delay Baggage claim, Unfortunately can't attach SS here so will post with SS on another social platform. Anyways!! There is no doubt its 1 start here because they aren't providing any customer support. You can't contact them by call, and if you are lucky enough to connect the call then they will tell you it's not our department and suggest to go somewhere else. already sent 100+ emails but still, there is no response from their side. Air Malta has the worst customer support I have ever seen. they are not even responding here. very shameless!!!

Amazing airlines. Was very easy to book and had no issues travelling to Malta.

What a CRAP company.
We flew to Malta from Denmark, via Amsterdam, and had no problems, except an extremely lousy service. A flight lasting nearly 3 hours, and no coffee/tea!
Going back again, today, was a nightmare! Someone from the CRAP company called us on Tuesday afternoon and asked if we would change our reservation. My daughter, answering the phone, wasn’t sure of the consequences and asked them to call again, at 4 PM when I could be available. We never heard from them again, but turning up this morning in the airport, the farce started.
First we all(5 persons) were scattered all over the cabin.
Secondly we could only be checked-in to Amsterdam, and the boarding cards for the Denmark flight wasn’t “in the system” (they were the day before we left). The caller on Tuesday obviously changed something and now we where left with:
- a flight that was delayed (allegedly because someone from the crew overslept!!!
- our baggage only checked in to Amsterdam, and the CRAP company blamed the traveling agent!!!
- us being scattered all over the cabin, and ABSOLUTELY NO SERVICE AT ALL.

DON’T GO THERE!!!

Latest update:
Now we have been home for 3 days, and our baggage haven’t arrived yet!!!
Those numb nuts have no idea what impact their (#@§€$) actions have on our experience!!!

They cancelled our flight, kept us in the airport for total 12 hours until they found us a hotel to stay for the 2 nights. Communication was very poor and unprofessional. Finally we were promised to get paid 400 Euros as part of an EU law. Since January 3rd, Air Malta hasn't paid. They respond to my emails and say you are approved and expect payment in 5 days, and then disappear for 2 months. Then we start all over again. Bunch of thieves. Biggest scam and trashiest airline ever.

My daughter's baggage was lost on the way from Rome to Malta and we were informed we would receive up to 30 Euros compensation per day for items needed, so we went ahead and purchased what was necessary. It was six days before we got the bag, only after dozens of phone calls and much stress. We have emailed Air Malta with the receipts and have followed up numerous times and never get a response. No one ever emails back. We have only claimed for several days, not to the limit, so we aren't asking much, just what is owed. In our experience, and looking at the myriad of comments on here, it seems that Air Malta take no responsibility when things go wrong. I would not fly with them again, and will be informing others I know who are heading to Malta to avoid at all costs if this is not resolved. Judging from the sheer volume of posts on here I feel the gross incompetence shown by Air Malta in these matters borders on the illegal, actually.

PIR - MLAKM15058
22 July 2023
Flight KM613

Customer service only via phone, communicating in english with the staff is a pain. Tried to get a refund for a flight, they told me it will be processed but may take a while. It's been more than a year, I never got my money or heard from them again.