Sri Lanka Aviation

Hi All,

Any info on recently mentioned 2 RFPs of UL for 2 narrowbody Jets? and the status of 4R-ANE and 4R-ANF ?

Usual Statement😒

Domestic flights from BIA to Palali soon: Civil Aviation Minister

Domestic flights from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Palali Airport will begin once the expansion of the latter is completed, Minister of Ports and Aviation Anura Karunathilaka said recently. “Those who reside in the North are compelled to travel by road when they arrive at BIA from abroad currently. However, it will be a thing of the past once the expansion of Palali Airport is completed. There will be a domestic airline service connecting Palali Airport and BIA,” the Minister told media.

He said Palali Airport will be able to handle large aircraft once the expansion is fully completed. “International flights will be operational from Palali once the runway is expanded,” he added. He said first phase of the expansion of the Palali Airport will be completed by July this year.

SriLankan Airlines struggles to secure 7 needed jets

SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo International) requires at least seven additional aircraft to rationalise its network and open new routes, though global supply shortages are hampering efforts to secure these units, according to deputy minister of ports and civil aviation Janitha Ruwan Kodituwakku.

Speaking to local outlet Daily Mirror, Kodituwakku stated that the state-owned carrier needs "at least one or two [aircraft] immediately" but noted that securing dry leases remains difficult due to high market demand. In the coming weeks, the government plans to launch a "special procurement process" to resolve the availability issue.

Chairman Sarath Ganegoda said, given SriLankan Airlines' current fleet size, that diversifying into manufacturers other than Airbus would not be feasible. Currently, the entire fleet of the airline is dry-leased.

ch-aviation fleets data shows that the carrier operates a 23-strong, all-Airbus fleet, comprising seven A320-200s, two A320-200Ns, four A321-200Ns, three A330-200s, and seven A330-300s. It has a standing commitment for four A350-900s, but has long been open about plans to cancel this order and is not expected to take deliveries of the aircraft.

Ganegoda told The Sunday Morning newspaper that the airline aims to introduce new routes and increase frequencies on existing services where it does not currently operate daily.

Separately, Kodituwakku confirmed that the government is currently shortlisting applications for the airline's chief executive position.

Hi Banu,

Sorry to come to in-between to your conversation :
BA operated and terminated their CMB service twice due to the commercial viability of the sector since BA targets high-end tourists and Corporate and VFR, but UL relies on Sri Lankana Diaspora , VFR and low to mid level tourists due to its lower operating costs.
QF will not operate to CMB anytime soon but JQ will be a direct competitor for UL (As we know MLE, SYD are UL's highest profitable routes) leading dilution of yield of the sector and making more options to choose for cutomers.
As far as my knowledge and some intel from UL, UL is looking for double daily frequency to MEL and Daily to SYD, but only the constraint is Aircraft availability.

I saw a post on social media, that British Airways considering potential return to CMB. Whats your thought on this?

Good morning and Greetings from CMB!
8D will not deploy 3rd aircraft for Wet lease/ACMI operations anymore, all 3 jets will be used for 8D/EXV Revenue service. After 2nd week of March all 3 jets will be operational (4R-EXR is under C check in UL 320 Hangar).
I am not 100% sure that 8D will use 4R-EXT as the 4th aircraft, but as per the sequence it should be 4R-EXT and it will be a high capacity aircraft 😉

Any update on Saudia, Vietnam and Ethiopian are starting flights to CMB?

How are the pax traffic between Sri Lanka and Mauritius? Any possibility for direct flights in the future?

Nice! Currently below 8D flights are being deployed by two 8D aircraft while the 3rd aircraft is mainly being used for wet-lease ops.

DXB - 7 weekly
DAC - 7 weekly
MLE - 6+3 weekly
KUL - 3 weekly

By the looks 3rd A320 is going to be fully deployed for 8D revenue flights and to help expanding the 8D network to grow with LHE, BKK, & AMD in coming months.

Any chance 4th A320 (probably 4R-EXT?) will be used for wet-lease ops after joining the fleet? or does 8D have plans to use 4R-EXT for its own revenue flights expansion?

But time can be beginning of next year or end of this year. For now, take it as V2500 powered A320/A321 jet.

Nice to hear 8D Fleet will be expanded to 4 Jets ! Which aircraft type is going to join the fleet?

Small Addition :
4R-EXS is back in 8D/EXV revenue service.
4R-EXR will be under C check in UL 320 Hangar within 25 Feb to 10 March.
8D Fleet will be expanded to 4 Jets within this Year.

Yes, That is what I said, Even though UL has a good network connecting plenty of destinations, plenty of fleet and service, Bookloads depends on Sales, Distribution and GSA performence.
And also, there are many more factors.

There's 25+ connections to/from CMB while Air Seychelle has just 2 connections at SEZ but still seems to get better loads.