Prime Minister Edi Rama at interaction with young boys and girls selected as flight attendants of new national carrier “Air Albania”:

Thank you very much for your presence!

I am so very pleased to have the privilege of being the first one to see young boys and girls coming together to form the Albanian aircrew in its fullest sense of the word. I believe each of you is inspired by this life adventure to attend hundreds of thousands and millions of both Albanian and foreign passengers aboard commercial flights each year, representing the beauty and charm, all colours of this country and being this country’s image aboard the national Air Albania carrier.

I have been told you have been picked after passing a not so easy yet exciting test. I have been also informed that you will attend the Turkish Airline’s excellence training course to take all the necessary lessons before going aboard. I am confident that with the flight attendants’ costumes and uniforms which are being provided, your team will form one of the most beautiful and charming crews in the world.

“Air Albania” is a project of special importance as it is the first national flag carrier and the first government-owned air carrier established through collaboration with one of the most excellent companies of today’s aviation “Turkish Airlines”. A project that has a good start in part also thanks to you and of course thanks to the airplanes due to be made available and which will be of the latest commercial aircraft models unmatched in every aspect here in the region at least.

It is an important project in many aspects which will be established and grow step by step to become another mechanism of our economy’s engine and deliver highest contemporary standards of the commercial flights, our tourism industry and will help to reduce the current extremely high ticket prices for already well-known reasons I am not going to comment on.

This project will certainly provide fresh opportunities in the future, with us not being content solely with this flight attendants crew of beauty and elegance, but, as we have already discussed, we will benefit from cooperation with the partner company to train and qualify the pilots, our technicians and to ensure a totally Albanian crew in the medium term, not only an Albanian crew of flight attendants, but also the aircrew in the cockpit and at the same time an Albanian support technical team on the ground to maintain at any time and for to make Air Albania aircraft ready for flight.

I am also very pleased to share with you the conviction that this project will also contribute significantly to our country’s image in Europe and the world because our ambition is that “Air Albania” flies not only to Europe, but it also carries trans-oceanic flights in a not so distant future to send and bring back Albanians and not just them, but also American visitors to this country.

This is definitely a challenge! We lack experience in this area. The “Turkish Airlines” presence is of course a great guarantee, but it does not exclude us from our responsibility as public partners in the company’s shares, our responsibility as a team and your daily and first-hand role in the company and it is you are the one to make people love Air Albania with your smile, courtesy, elegance, speed and service readiness, without necessary being Albanian passengers only, because the company will certainly a reference point for the Albanian travellers, because it is an Albanian flag carrier, but also friends of this country, the visitors who will choose “Air Albania”.

This is a new and definitely historic chapter of the Albanian aviation, which is not the only one in terms of what we want to do in order to enhance the capabilities and increase the opportunities so that more and more Albanians, tourists and other visitors can land in Albania.

We will soon kick off the construction of Vlora international airport, which will of course be another airport for Air Albania. The Kukes airport will also become operational soon though, unlike the Vlora airport – designed to be an international terminal with capacities similar to Rinas airport – Kukes will be a low cost carrier terminal and will provide opportunities to a category of passengers mainly for the Albanian nationals living and working in England, Switzerland, Germany, to fly back home at much cheaper tickets to see their parents and relatives.

The airport will also provide opportunities to many other passengers, since Kukes is near to both Pristina and Tirana and many young boys and girls will choose this airport as it will offer much cheaper prices.

We are speaking about not merely a national carrier, but also a new Albanian brand, a brand that will accompany the country in an era when the growth of travel flows, tourism growth is exponential all over the world and the number of tourists in the world is expected to double in the next 10 years. These are mindboggling numbers as a result of many people and many other countries that add to the flows of tourism around the world.

After saying all these, I would like to hear each and every one of you, telling about your own experience to date and the future expectations.

–Hello everyone! My name is Joleza and I have joined the big family Air Albania crew. First, on behalf of my colleagues and on behalf of all Albanians, I would like to express gratitude for this opportunity, for establishment of a new national carrier and pledge that we will really represent and serve with professionalism. We will represent with dignity our Albanian nation, kindness and hospitality, just like we are characterized as a people. Just like the expression holds it “eagles are born to fly high.” Thank you for setting these eagles free to decently represent the Albanian nation and visit as many nations as possible and invite them to visit our country. I and my colleagues personally honour your work and everything else due to become a reality through you. Thank you!

-Hello everyone! My name is Françesko and I come from Malësi e Madhe. First, I would like to personally appreciate you for the opportunity you have provided to young people from all over Albania to participate in this competition and become part of the large family of “Air Albania”. Second, I would like to appreciate the “Alb Control” staff members, who have supported us throughout this week and the procedures we have gone through. On behalf of this staff, I pledge that we will be best image of this company and whole Albania around the world by serving in the best possible way.

-Hello Mr. Prime Minister! I just saw the Air Albania announcement on Facebook. As soon as I saw it, I found very interesting the idea of creating ​​an Albanian air company with an Albanian logo. I come from Fier and I filled an online application. Later I received a call and I showed up to attend the test and we all tried to show ourselves more worthily. We are here today with a very strong motive, to do our job as best as possible and to come with the greatest desire to fly and work with Albanians.

 

PM Edi Rama: You speak both Albanian and English, if necessary?

-Of course, other languages too.

PM Edi Rama: Albanian and English first, then it is not a problem with Italians who do not speak English, because we speak Italian.

-Hello to everyone! I come from Kruja, and a I am a Tirana resident for many years now. It was a beautiful job application experience because within a very short time I had to organize everything; interview and I had to face a considerable staff in number, applying a set of very strict criteria. However, as you said, each of us has something that assured the selection staff that these were the right people. It is a very nice experience I am sure it will serve us all and will absolutely advance the name of the company, considering that we also represent the company’s image.

-Hello! I am Klea. I have a previous experience in aviation. I hesitated not a second to apply at “Air Albania” and I am very happy to have the opportunity to fly for the first Albanian company in partnership with Turkish Airline, which has been proclaimed the best company in Europe. It’s a great pride. I also have a question for you. Which do you think will be the most preferred destination from Tirana?

PM Edi Rama: Before providing an answer, I would advise you not take it for granted since it is an improvisation, because the project managers are the ones who explore the potential destinations.

I don’t really know which will be the destination, but I am confident that Air Albania will become the most important reference point to all Albanian air passengers in a very near future and it will certainly become the first choice in the industry in a medium term.

This is a major challenge because the company will be established and grow step by step. It will commence with several destinations and it will greatly depend on your work and the management skills to strengthen the company and increasingly generate more and more revenue to invest and expand and add flights to destinations on the route map.

I believe Italy is naturally the most frequented destination and given that the company will have Italy one of its first flight destinations, it will definitely attract a lot of passengers, but I also have got the impression that London will also become a major destination. Maybe, I do not know for sure. I’m not sure whether things I’m saying are correct, but since I was asked, I am providing some answers.

-Hello! I am Malvina. I come from Mirdita, but now a Tirana resident. On behalf of my colleagues and all Albanians I am also grateful for the new national carrier. I have no personal experience in aviation. I am graduated in business administration.

PM Edi Rama: How did you find out about this job opportunity?

PM Edi Rama: I don’t know whether you know and if you don’t then I’m telling you a secret that thanks to friendly personal relations with one of the world’s greatest designers, I have managed to make sure that your uniforms – the girls’ uniforms are extraordinary in particular – are designed by the Italian fashion house Ermanno Scervino. So you will be dressed up by Ermanno Scervino. Ermanno Scervino has also designed the jersey of the Italy’s national soccer team and he is not to blame why they did not qualify for the World Cup finals, but they actually wore his uniforms during the European championship tournament.

The label is founded by two partners and when I asked them to design the Air Albania uniforms, they welcomed my request. And I was more pleased when they agreed to design the uniforms for free. I don’t know whether you have seen the uniforms, but I’m sure you will feel great when you put them on, just like the passengers on board will feel.

-Hello! I am Eda and I come from Tirana.Just like everyone else here, I came across the Air Albania vacancies announcement via Facebook, I filled in the application and successfully passed the interview and physical tests, although encountering a small problem because I weigh three kilograms below the normal required weight, but I have vowed to gain in a near future. Rules are rules and should be respected.

PM Edi Rama: I thought the overweight would be the problem, but I just found that underweight is a problem too. How long it should take to gain the required three kilograms?

-One week…

PM Edi Rama: While others were telling where they come from, I was told that girls sitting next by me is from Tropoja.

-Hello to everyone. My name is Sonila and I come from Tropoja. Just like everyone else, I read the job announcement on your Facebook page. I applied for the vacancy and I felt quite comfortable during the interview process. We also successfully passed the psychological and physical test. I felt great, I am very happy that Albanians are given this opportunity and I truly feel great responsibility and highly motivated to advance this very wonderful thing for all Albanians.

PM Edi Rama: Thank you very much! Honestly, I’m very glad to meet you, I’m very glad that the project is moving forward. The objective is a very ambitious to make the first Air Albania commercial plane take off as soon as possible and we are working hard on that. Everyone involved in this project is working hard, because it requires greater inter-institutional cooperation between us too. I have already seen office projects and I believe that the welcoming “Air Albania” headquarters will be perfect.

The Air Albania planes will definitely have the best commercial aircraft models we could have ever dreamed, but the company’s crew and people are the added value who can make the project go forward faster and beyond our projections in terms of fulfilling our objectives.

However, seeing each and every one of you, I frankly think there is no risk for the project to fail therefore I will deal with a lot of attention, very carefully for every detail, together with the cabinet members and the technical teams that they are not the potential cause.

After two days you will depart for Istanbul to gain and develop the necessary skills before joining the flight attendant service. You will spend three weeks in Istanbul, one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Lucky you! I wish you then a safe flight and we will welcome you upon arrival after receiving due training. I am confident it will be a fantastic day when we all together celebrate the first Air Albania flight.

Thank you very much!