The Ministry of Tourism will renew in a period of approximately three months the information office at Malaga airport, which will become a space for a pilot promotion.

According to the responsible of the area, the new unit will be renovated dramatically with the premise of innovation, present in the image and the way how the centre will operate.

The office will be equipped with technological tools and will focus on the brand Andalusia. Its aim is to become an area close to the concept of leisure and adapted to the needs of every tourist.

The offices, located in the new terminal, will be served by specialized staff. In addition, points will enable immediate download of material and maps to meet the demand of travelers who have less time.

The room will be equipped with computers, touch screens and resources to provide quickly and conveniently all the details likely to interest the tourist, including the program of entertainment and the list of establishments.

The idea is that travelers who are increasingly likely to organize their holidays through the internet, can access the full range of destination services including reservations for restaurants and accommodation.

According to Aena (Spanish Airports) sources, there was no major incident, nor in the T-3 or in the rest of the facilities.
So far, “operational normality reigns not only in the new terminal, but throughout the airport.” To keep things like this “we continue to work daily, with the aim that the first or last image that has the visitor retains on his retina of this splendid destination is one of satisfying and unforgettable memories.”

Between the 1st and the 4th of July, the first major holiday output operation, passed through Malaga Airport 239.850 passengers on 1.434 flights operated in this period, representing a 11.76% more landings and takeoffs that in the same period of last year, and a increase of 12% in the number of users, according to forecasts by the airlines.

Not surprisingly, the airport Malaga this summer will offer direct connections to 24 more destinations than last season and airlines have announced a 10.6% increase in the number of seats.

Iberia, which accumulated thirteen years with benefits, something unprecedented in the airline industry worldwide, has succumbed to the crisis. So much that it has moved from a profit of 32 million Euros in 2008 to a loss of 273 million Euros last year, a hole of more than 700,000 Euros each day.

The decline in the market, regarding especially the executive passengers who are leaving money and the enormous price competition have affected the airline. In order to try to stop the deficit, the company has accelerated its plans to launch a new ‘low cost’ to gather customers in Spain and Europe. This company of cheap tickets will begin flying on November 1^st 2010.

According to the president and CEO of Iberia, Antonio Vazquez and Rafael Sánchez Lozano, respectively, who have worked in recent months to try to close the merger with British Airways, this ‘low cost’ company will have the undertaking  to supply Barajas for long-haul flights.

The new company does not draw on planes or personal from Iberia and, in principle, does not interfere in the operations of Vueling and Air Nostrum. The two leaders stressed that the project will meet very unprofitable routes with are nowadays unfeasible due to the current structure.

Compete in low cost

With this step, Iberia wants to compete with companies like Easy Jet and Ryanair, which in the last year have ‘stolen’ thousands of passengers; not only customers who look for cheap offers, but also many executives who, forced by the austerity imposed by their companies, have abandoned the spacious seats near the cabin for tourist travel.

The market assumes that the airline is doomed to continue cutting its frequency with regard to a business that continues to decline. The company, which now also has to compete with the high-speed train AVE, lost market share in important areas. In the domestic segment it yielded 2.5% and in the Madrid-Europe routes, 2.3%.

The summer season has already started at Málaga International Airport, and with it the opportunity for citizens to fly directly to the Costa del Sol from 137 cities, mostly European but also American or African. So there is the possibility of having direct links to and from many cities throughout the day, providing the opportunity to pack
and take a trip, especially given the proliferation of low cost airlines.

The airline Ryanair has opened a base at the airport Malaga from where it launches 44 routes at mostly cheap prices.

The countries that are better connected with Malaga, are the main markets of tourists to the Costa del Sol. In fact, the companies open routes more in order to bring travelers to Malaga rather than vice versa, something that benefits the province. The largest number of destinations is Spain itself, for obvious reasons, since it is necessary to improve the connection between the main cities. From Pablo Ruiz Picasso airport in Malaga you can fly to 22 Spanish cities, including very appealing tourist destinations such as Mallorca, Tenerife, Lanzarote or Madrid and Barcelona, which as big cities always have a lot of travelers, even in summer.

The next country with 19 connections is Britain, being London – you can fly to Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted – the preferred destination. However, there are gaining strength other cities like Liverpool and Edinburgh, which was European Cultural Capital in 1991.
Germany is the third country where there are more opportunities to travel as you can access 13 cities, among which are also Berlin, Munich or Cologne.

The airlines, despite the international downturn, have relied on the possibilities of Malaga airport to the point that the lines have increased for this summer season – which ends in October – in 9.5% the number of flights and 10.6% the number of seats.

Proof of this is that the U.S. airline Delta Airlines has decided to recover the connection between Malaga and New York; from Malaga you also can fly through the Air Transat, to Montreal and Toronto.

One of the advantages of having an international airport is that you can travel to multiple destinations without having to make stops. There remains yet the Asian market to be developed, although the opening of the new terminal, T3, opens new horizons. In the meantime, there are available 137 cities, the most of them at very affordable prices.

The low cost airline which moves most passengers in Europe will open on Tuesday a base of operations in the terminal T2 of Malaga airport with an investment of 200 million Euros. It is the largest landing of a company ‘low cost’ in the capital, which will provide 44 direct routes and will give a strong momentum in the city’s direct connections with national and international destinations.

It was in 2003 when in Malaga landed for the first time a Ryanair plane, at the time when the phenomenon ‘low cost’ was exploding and when few could have imagined the evolution of these companies and the force attained over the years despite competing with the giants of commercial aviation, the flag carriers.
From now on, this company will operate in the capital of the Costa del Sol 360 flights a week.

Of these 44 connections, seven will improve air communications from the capital of the Costa del Sol to other Spanish destinations, specifically to seven domestic airports: Santiago, Santander, Valladolid, Zaragoza, Valencia, Gerona and Barcelona.

New flights to international airports include Aarhus, Berlin, Billund, Bratislava, Krakow, Eindhoven, Stockholm Skavsta, Goteborg, Haugesund, Maastricht, Memmingen (Munich West), Oslo Torp, Paris Beauvais, Pisa, Tampere, Venice-Treviso and Wroclaw.

The company said: “Ryanair becomes the most economical option for travel in Spain not only for tourism and recreation, but also for work and business travel. The company offers a rapid means of transport, economic and secure way to strengthen and open up new work and professional relationships between Malaga and the rest of the peninsula.”