SriLankan Airlines CEO Says A330 Fleet Renewal Hinges On Financing

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SINGAPORE—The CEO of SriLankan Airlines is looking at refinancing options to restructure its debt before the flag carrier can pursue long-term fleet renewal. Speaking in Singapore on Feb. 18, SriLankan Airlines CEO Richard Nuttall said the carrier’s business plan was to double its fleet to around 50...

SriLankan Airlines CEO Says A330 Fleet Renewal Hinges On Financing | Aviation Week Network

SriLankan Air’s Growth Ambitions Curbed by Debt, CEO Says

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Bloomberg - SriLankan Airlines should ideally double its fleet over the next five years, but is constrained by debt issues and the government’s poor financial situation, according to Chief Executive Officer Richard Nuttall.

The carrier operates an all-Airbus SE fleet of 24 jets, split evenly between long-haul and short-haul routes.

“Ideally our fleet should be double what it is in five years,” Nuttall said in an interview with Bloomberg Television at Aviation Festival Asia 2025 in Singapore on Tuesday. “We still have an awful lot of legacy debt and we need to find solutions to that before we go out and do big aircraft orders.”

While Sri Lanka’s government has decided not to privatize the carrier, it “knows how important the airline is to the economy,” he said. “The government is going through an IMF process and is not hugely wealthy.”

Sri Lanka’s president Anura Kumara Dissanayake said during his 2025 budget speech to parliament Monday that the government proposed to allocate 20 billion rupees ($68 million) toward repaying the national carrier’s loan capital and interest payments.

Any new jets would mostly be used to increase the frequency of flights to existing destinations, Nuttall said. The airline flies mostly to India and South Asia, as well as domestic routes.

Nuttall said that while the airline would look at both Airbus and Boeing Co. when ordering new planes, choosing the US manufacturer would require a “wholesale fleet change” so would have to a longer-term consideration.

SriLankan Air’s Growth Ambitions Curbed by Debt, CEO Says - Adaderana Biz English | Sri Lanka Business News​

SriLankan Engineering has announced new long-term line maintenance agreements in Colombo with two national flag carriers: Malaysia Airlines and Gulf Air.

The contract with Malaysia Airlines marks a new partnership, while the agreement with Gulf Air, the national airline of Bahrain, is a renewal.
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Announcing the Malaysia Airlines deal on LinkedIn, SriLankan Engineering stated: “This marks the continuation and expansion of scope of a strong and successful partnership, and we are thrilled to provide our trusted maintenance support to include their Boeing 737 MAX fleet as well.

Malaysia Airlines and Gulf Air choose SriLankan Engineering for long-term maintenance

Colombo-bound flight halted on runway after technical glitch at Chennai airport

The aircraft, carrying 168 passengers and 8 crew members, was set to depart from Chennai airport at 9.40 am
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