Yeah, Frequencies of Mihin Lanka flights to SEZ and IXM have been updated in AIS as per 10.2.2014. New frequencies are now showing as two weekly flights to SEZ. But due to the AIS system glitch, it's showing the frequencies of IXM flights as four weekly on routing CMB-IXM and five weekly on IXM-CMB. Perhaps it will be corrected in few days.

On the 20-Jan-14, Transaero announced they have plans to launch the Colombo flights - http://transaero.ru/en/company/press...60114_press_en. Anybody know more about this news.

Wow!! good news!!

transaero already flies to cmb.............theres a pic on instagram of it in BIA

is it viewable...........the transaero pic in bia

Is it schedule or charter flight? I can not see the Colombo flight information in Transaero website.

i thnk its the seasonal kind just to cater to tourists

SriLankan Engineering performs 100th C-check on IndiGo aircraft © CAPA

SriLankan Engineering stated it performed the 100th C-check on an IndiGo aircraft (dailynews.lk, 12-Feb-2014). SriLankan Airlines' MRO organisation has been performing C-checks on IndiGo aircraft since 2009 and its 100th aircraft completed its C-check with a wide range of additional work to refurbish the cabin (painting, re-trimming and cleaning) and enhance the exterior paint condition (re-painting faded or damaged areas, chemical cleaning and polishing).

AirAsia X Confirms The Suspension Of Services To Male, Maldives CAPA

AirAsia X, the long-haul, low fare affiliate of the AirAsia Group, today confirms the suspension of its services to Male, Maldives due to challenging business conditions effective 1 March, 2014. The airline will continue to sustain the Colombo, Sri Lanka sector in light of this cancellation and will operate 4 direct weekly flights into Colombo, Sri Lanka from Kuala Lumpur beginning 2 March 2014.

The suspension of Male, Maldives is a move made to improve operating cost efficiencies and concentrate capacity in AirAsia X key markets of Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

AirAsia X will offer guests who hold bookings after these dates an option of a full refund, a reroute to another AirAsia X destination, or a rebook of a return flight prior to 28 February, 2014. All changes will be made at no additional cost to mitigate the inconvenience caused as a result of the withdrawal. All affected guests will receive an e-mail stating the available options.

Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X said, “The decision to withdraw from Male was a difficult one, but was made taking into account our business imperative to build sustainable and profitable routes. Despite our efforts, external factors such as the depreciation of Asian currencies against the US dollar and the chronic lack of hotel room supply in Maldives resulted in cancellation of thousands of bookings by travel operators.”

"As part of our strategy to operate more efficiently, the airline will deploy our aircraft to routes with the right level of demand to be financially viable."

“We have been very grateful for the huge support rendered by Male Airport, Maldives Tourism and relevant authorities and would like to put on record our appreciation for all the cooperation that has been given to us,” concluded Azran.

We should upgrade our MRO capabilities to be able to perform "D" checks. That is where the real money is.

Space should not be a problem in HRI.

SriLankan Airlines sets sights on growth with new technology from Amadeus
12-Feb-2014

Amadeus and SriLankan Airlines celebrate successful migration to the Amadeus Altéa Suite as part of their project to join oneworld. The flag carrier of Sri Lanka also adopts Amadeus Market Information Data (MIDT) from the Amadeus Travel Intelligence portfolio

Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the global travel industry and SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, today celebrate the airline’s successful migration to the Amadeus Altéa Suite. Together with sister airline Mihin Lanka, Sri Lankan Airlines becomes the first airline group in the Indian subcontinent to adopt Amadeus’s passenger service system.

The first phase of SriLankan Airline’s migration, covering the airline’s mission-critical reservations, inventory and ticketing was completed in December 2013. The final stage of implementation to the Altéa departure control system is planned for completion by mid-2014.

Completed in less than 12 months, the migration is one of the fastest and smoothest to date for Amadeus, with over 250,000 Passenger Name Records (PNRs) and 960,000 eTickets migrated onto the Amadeus system.

Kapila Chandrasena, Chief Executive Officer, SriLankan Airlinessaid, “The Amadeus Altéa implementation is a critical achievement for us and we are pleased with how it has been carried out. The synergy and collaboration between the SriLankan Airlines’ and Amadeus teams delivered a truly seamless transition.”

“With our upcoming entry to the oneworld global alliance and our continued investment in new aircraft and expansion of our network, having trusted and reliable technology is key for our future success,” added Chandrasena.

Amadeus is currently the leading IT provider for the oneworld alliance members, with more than half of the members of oneworld adopting the Amadeus Altéa suite. Amadeus’s technology will ensure that SriLankan Airlines is fully compliant and prepared for its entry into oneworld, which is scheduled to take place in the first half of 2014.

SriLankan Airlines’ also acquired Amadeus Market Information (MIDT), from the Amadeus Travel Intelligence portfolio. MIDT provides the airline with detailed reservation data on air bookings on Amadeus globally. SriLankan Airlines can conduct extensive analysis to ensure their route plan is aligned with market demand, to drive revenue growth. SriLankan Airlines can also use MIDT to review how to best connect routes and schedules with their soon-to-be oneworld alliance partners.

Chandrasena added, “As we get closer to our induction into the oneworld alliance, it is critical that we base our network planning and marketing decisions on comprehensive, reliable data. We could not have chosen a better partner to enable our transformation and help us stay competitive with other world-class airlines in the region.”

Hazem Hussein, Executive Vice President, Airline Commercial, Amadeus Asia Pacific said, “SriLankan Airlines is an ambitious carrier and we are proud to be its chosen technology partner. The booming Asian travel sector presents many opportunities for airlines in the region, but also a number of challenges, as travellers become increasingly discerning and demanding. We share SriLankan Airlines’ commitment to put the passenger first, and look forward to working closely with them to deliver technology solutions that meet their needs today and for the future.”

I think the glitch is rectified and the system shows only 4x on both leg of IXM. Only operation days changed from Friday to Thursday.

Banuthev sir,

Can you confirm this?

There is an article in CAPA about Transaero service to Colombo. Wish I can read it but I don't have a membership in CAPA , unfortunately Does anybody have the flight information of Transaero's Colombo flights.

Recently India announced that they are carrying out massive relaxation of their border protection rules allowing on-arrival visas (or electronic visas) for nationalities from 180 countries, which did not include Sri Lanka. Basically, they are opening up their borders to pretty much anyone except Sri Lankans along with seven other countries in conflict zones including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However twisted, this is a serious snub on Sri Lanka as there is no real reason for Sri Lankans to be ill-treated in this manner, especially by India, when scores of their nationals over stay their tourist visas to perform odd jobs in Sri Lanka.

Consequently, there is a strong chance that Sri Lanka will reciprocate the 'favor' and make it difficult for Indians to get visas for Sri Lanka. In fact, the head of immigration control in SL said that he is awaiting the reciprocal arrangements to be approved by the Ministry of foreign affairs.

Taking all of this in to consideration the air traffic between the two countries is expected to reduce significantly. At least the number of Sri Lankans visiting India would reduce as India has also apparently refused to provide concessions for the religious pilgrims who visit the Buddhist holy sights (something which even KSA does for Haj pilgrims, despite their very strict visa regime!).

I suppose you are referring to this article posted last November
Transaero Airlines to operate Moscow Domodedovo-Colombo charters in winter 2013/2014

Transaero Airlines will reportedly operate Moscow Domodedovo-Colombo charters in winter 2013/2014, with the service commission by Russian tour operator Biblio Globus (Interfax, 26-Nov-2013). 10 services will reportedly be operated from 28-Dec-2013 with Boeing 767 aircraft.