The traditional Maltese balcony, or gallarija, will feature prominently on at least one Air Malta aircraft after the airline chose a winning design from a Facebook competition. 

American designer Mitchell Dill won two business class tickets for his winning entry, but the design will now be refined to suit the airline’s needs better. 

“It’s been a tough decision but in the end we chose – the overall winner of the competition is Mitchell Dill from the United States who wowed us with his interpretation of an Air Malta aircraft dressed in traditional and colourful Maltese balconies over the aircraft windows, in the four Air Malta colours. In the next weeks our engineers will be working closely with Mitchell to simplify the design and install the Maltese balconies on the aircraft in the form of decals,” the airline said.

The competition was held after the struggling national airline leased two new planes, nicknamed Romeo and Juliet, which did not include the elaborate Air Malta branding. Due to cost considerations and the short-term lease, it was not considered feasible to paint the aircraft in the usual branding. 

A total of 69 designs were submitted from various countries and the winner was chosen by a panel, which also took into consideration the public’s vote. 

This design won the public vote

And these are some of the other entries

There was even this cute entry from a child!

What do you make of the winning design? Have your say in the comments below or on Facebook. 

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Chris Peregin

Christian is an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur who founded Lovin Malta, a new media company dedicated to creating positive impact in society. He is passionate about justice, public finances and finding ways to build a better future.