Sri Lanka Aviation

Last year in Dec23, UL was down with nine aircraft. Was told due to shortage of engineers.

I wonder why issues are affecting the UL fleet during the peak season.

I see below are out of service as of today

AND
ANE
ANF
ALH
ALL
ALM
ALN (from 13-Nov)

Screenshot_20241223_201041_Chrome.jpg

4R-ALT is plain white I believe.

that means the only active A321N is 4R-ANC. wonder what's down with ALN and ALM

got it. why isn't UL collecting it yet?

UL is probably waiting after the general election is over so they can collect it I believe. The government plans to restructure UL as soon as the general election is over. Will have to wait and see what happens.

4R-ALL did an engine ground round(EGR005) at around 21:45(+5.30)

will hope that restructure happens soon. I really want to see UL having A350s

4R-ALL's first flight to CDG after inactivity.

when did UL start flights to CDG?

UL began CMB-CDG flights back in the 1980s and they discontinued it back in 2015, they again resumed flights to CDG back in November of 2021.

UL wants to make A330 family the flagship, they will most likely be sticking to A339s and A338s to replace the aging A333s and A332s, even though the A338 is kinda not really ideal because it has the same range as the A350 but carriers less passengers, so it's better that UL replaces their A333s with A350s and A332s with A339s, this is just my opinion though.

What do you think??

if UL plans on upgauging their fleet then A359 replaces the A332 and the A35X and a339 replaces the A333(maybe)
or..
they could go the way you said, A339 for the A332 and A350 for the A333.
one thing to consider here is the cost per seat and how much seats actually gets booked on the plane as an %
the A359 is only 3m longer than the A339
**edit- if anyone's concerned about the new type affecting the pilots, it requires a short period of 'difference training'-- most often taking less than a month(I think)

Let me step in, This is my opinion, Currently UL has a huge debt accumulated because of mismanagement of previous governments and politicians (As everyone knows.........) but last few years, UL was experiencing less political interference.

Three major points : Inconsistent Hard product across the fleet (Example : cabins/seats across the A320 fleet), Fleet shortage (Repairs and maintenance of current fleet is slow due to lower hangar space and staff shortage, need few more planes), lack of better management practices (Crisis response, Customer care, Lounge facilities)

UL management and some part of operations need to be re-structured (example : There was no any plan for passengers who affected due to sudden flight cancellations last few week, Just like crisis response, there were no any management team within the commercial team) (example : in Last 2 - 3 years UL had a operational Net Profit and because of Financial Cost, final figure is a loss)
Regarding the fleet, If UL goes with New aircraft model (A350), UL needs to adopt all new engineering and crew training, which is a considerably huge cost for UL. UL should adopt both Short term Fleet upgrade/expansion and a long term fleet renewal. (Focusing on consistent hard product across the fleet)

For the short term fleet : UL needs to get A330-300s (-343 RR772B powered, less than 12 years old, on 6 year lease) for long and medium haul operations and also with a cabin overhaul (Lie flat seats 1-2-1 for business, 2-4-2 reclining for Economy), and A320-200s(either -214WL or -232WL powered, less than 12 years old, in 6 years lease) with good cabins.

For the long term fleet : UL needs to get (at least 12 jets) A330-900s (-941, with the same cabins, Lie flat seats 1-2-1 for business, 2-4-2 reclining for Economy in total 297pax) and (at least 10 jets) A321neo (s) instead of A320neos ( -251N/NX 12 lie flat business and good seats with Economy). These aircrafts should join with UL by at least 2028.

that would make sense, since A333s were produced until 2020 and that new aircraft deliveries would take years considering the high demand for these new aircraft(A320/1Ns and A339s)
could UL make out by retrofitting the cabins in existing aircraft to spec?(regarding inconsistent hard product)
but really, UL is in the problems it is in because of the stupidity and greediness of the previous managements(they worked for their benefit, not UL's benefit)

Hi MAW,

Thing is, UL has a very good soft product, everyone is talking about it, especially airline reviewers like Josh Cahill, Noel Phillips, Sam Chui, etc. but they all complain about one thing and that is UL's hard product, which is what you have been talking about in this reply. A333s business class differs from the A332s, different seat configurations and higher density seat configurations are present on 4R-ALS. Some A320s have newer cabins, some have old cabins which have not been refurbished at all! take 4R-MRE and 4R-ABL, both of these jets are almost nearing two decades of service and have the same issues which i have stated, old, outdated and flimsy cabins.

Look at 4R-ABT and 4R-ABS, both of them have Royal Brunei cabins (I think, correct me if I am wrong), this is why UL's hard product is very very inconsistent across the fleet, doesn't help that SL tourism basically relies on UL to transport tourists from here and there to the country.

Wasn't UL interested (or still is) in a fleet diversifications strategy? I heard they would be taking Boeing jets as a result of this, which could be very hard considering both UL and 8D have Airbus only aircraft so having a boeing enter ULs fleet would be quite a mess, since they have to invest in new technicians, engineers and etc to maintain planes.

A321 Neo (s) and A320 Neos (s) will benefit UL in the long run, especially on short haul/medium haul or even some long haul routes, UL can use these jets to expand it's capacity to Australia (Perth), South East Asia (Manila, Hanoi etc.), Africa (Nairobi, Addis Abba, Port Louis), Middle East (Amman, Tel Aviv and etc)..

This is my opinion though, it may not be feasible but still this is how I believe that UL could use its A321 Neos and A320 Neos. To also accommodate these aircrafts, UL and CMB must build additional hangers and must expand the airport, thankfully this is slowly happening with T2s construction, which could mean that UL could serve more passengers and could have more jets as a result of that construction.

However, I want to say that I 100% agree with your opinion, But we have to wait and see how this restructure goes, I am hopeful that this will go well and that UL could be a profitable airline once again..