Sri Lanka Aviation

[ecureilx]

This latest pact made Sri Lanka the second country after Malaysia to benefit from the “pocket open skies” policy adopted by the Aquino administration last March.

A policy that only helps make solid the position of the dominant carriers, and keep competition to bare minimum ..

Ever taken a walk from T1 - where international airlines land, to T2, T3 or Domestic ? PITA till you decide not to fly any airline other than the dominant ones ..

Mr. Arcilla said both parties agreed to double entitlements to four flights a week on the Manila-Colombo route.

Wonder how Sri Lankans can fly, considering there is so much strict control on Arrival, and Sri Lankans still need to get visa in advance .. Of course, the hordes of Filipinos working in Sri Lanka will benefit and the number is bound to increase ..

Sri Lankan carriers can also land in the Philippines, en route to Bangkok, Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur before returning to their home country, Mr. Arcilla said.

I need brain surgery to figure out how Manila is en-route to KL, BKK or JKT/CGK

[Kflyer]

ecurelix, I think its just a misinterpretation by the author. Sri Lankan carriers will have fifth freedom rights ex KUL and BKK for a MNL flight. I do not see any flights between CMB and MNL in the horizon though. But never say never and nobody knows what the new CEO has in his plans.

[Serendib]

SriLankan Airlines picks Bangkok as hub. The airline hopes to see its passengers reach 3 million this year before doubling by 2015. It will also optimise the operating cost and maximise revenue.

Thailand is a hub for four routes for potential markets _ Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in China, and Tokyo in Japan. It plans to open a new route to Seoul in South Korea in 2012 and is considering a new route connecting the Philippines and Dubai, where a lot of Filipinos work.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/aviation/248037/srilankan-airlines-picks-bangkok-as-hub

[lordvader]

Looks like the new CEO has some ambitious plans indeed! Good luck to him! The fact that they are commissioning some 26 new planes by 2015 means that they must be ordering some widebodies soon (unless the reporter misquoted him). Max could be right about the projected number of aircraft after all!
And is UL flying to MNL instead of Mihin? IMHO Mihin should be a JV partnership between UL and a foreign LCC (eg AK or JQ holding 49% shares) but this would never happen.

[LukeSkywalker]

Looks like the new CEO has some ambitious plans indeed! Good luck to him! The fact that they are commissioning some 26 new planes by 2015 means that they must be ordering some widebodies soon (unless the reporter misquoted him). Max could be right about the projected number of aircraft after all!
And is UL flying to MNL instead of Mihin? IMHO Mihin should be a JV partnership between UL and a foreign LCC (eg AK or JQ holding 49% shares) but this would never happen.

I don't think all 26 planes are going to be additional planes to the fleet. Most are likely coming in as replacements for ones being retired or being returned to the lessor.

[Serendib]

Sri Lanka to develop six domestic airports. Sri Lanka Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that six domestic airports will be developed in the island to facilitate air travel, especially targeting tourism.

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_11A/Jul21_1311228082KA.php

[Serendib]

Sri Lanka Air Force to launch civilian flights to former rebel capital

http://www.colombopage.com/archive_11A/Jul21_1311266945KA.php

[lordvader]

Found this written on the Srilankan.aero Facebook Page. Not sure what it means though:

It's not all thanks to Emirates we've got A340's to our fleet . we'll be getting 5 more sooner !

http://www.facebook.com/SriLankan.aero?sk=wall

[Kflyer]

Am I the only one feeling that the things are insane ? Why add five very used 343s ? Go for 333s. Why cancel the red-eyes ? ( I take my words back. If it's only for MXP/FCO, that's fine. And is a good move.) And BKK-NRT? You gotta be kidding. BKK-ICN will work though.

[Kflyer]

UL new schedules to Italy and Russia http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/th...-and-rome.html

[lordvader]

Why add five very used 343s ? Go for 333s.

Are they actually adding 5 A343s? Or did the UL representative merely state that they have an existing fleet of 5 A343s? I wasnt sure, hence why I posted up the message so that someone could clarify it. But yes I do agree with getting A333s instead of A343s or A345s.

[banuthev]

As far as i have heard from the staff who works at SriLankan, SriLankan indeed has plans to lease five A340s to the fleet, but the lessor is still being unknown. It may be a rumour so can somebody here be able to confirm it. I think its about time to retire our ageing ADA/B/C. Does anybody know when the lease-period is coming to an end for MSN 32,33,34 , which were sold and leased-back with Veling Ltd in 2003.

[Kflyer]

Banuthev, they were acquired by UL in early nineties. Only that they were sold and leased back by EK management. Nevertheless, their asset value must be quite low by now. All the 343s EK has are older than ADE and onwards. I've not been able to get any response from UL on this so can't tell. If it's confidential, they won't reveal it anyway. No idea whether EK has plans to retire five 343s either.

[lordvader]

Maybe ask them on Facebook to confirm whether it is fact or fiction (since it was written up on their FB account anyway). Note that it only mention A340s, so I wouldnt be surprised to see some A345s or A346s enter the fleet (if its actually true).

[Serendib]

Air Taxis target islandwide destinations

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/110724/BusinessTimes/bt16.html