Sri Lanka Aviation

But the DXB Runway Expansion is from May 1st to End of July 2014. Do you think that this is the reason for the aircraft change, because they start already in January to use a widebody? I hope so much that the 777 is not only temporarily....

ILFC & SriLankan Airlines Sign 12-Year Lease Agreement for Three A350-900s

International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc., announced today it has signed a 12-year lease agreement with SriLankan Airlines (SriLankan), the national carrier of Sri Lanka, for three A350-900 aircraft. The aircraft will support the airline's long-haul fleet renewal.

"ILFC values our strong and important relationship with SriLankan," said ILFC Chief Executive Officer Henri Courpron. "We look forward to contributing to SriLankan's fleet renewal and its continued success. We believe these aircraft will provide valuable flexibility and efficient performance for the airline's long-haul operations."

"This would be the first time the A350 family aircraft will enter our fleet, and it marks a significant step towards the growth of the airline," said SriLankan Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena. "SriLankan has placed direct orders for four additional A350-900 aircraft with Airbus, and we believe that this new generation, fuel-efficient aircraft will play a leading role in the airline's long-haul operations in time to come. We are indeed pleased that ILFC will be providing us with the first three aircraft, and look forward to building on the strong ties we have established with ILFC."

The A350-900s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 and are part of an operating lease agreement, which has an anticipated delivery timeline between July and September 2016.

wow good news Watson

Great !

Excellent news to hear QR's upgrade of equipment to CMB...XD

Good news to hear QR is planning to increase the seats capacity between the proposed Oneworld hubs Doha and Colombo.

Flight Schedule (effec 2 Jan 2014)

DOH-CMB - QR658 - 00:45 - 07:40 - B777 - Daily - CMB-DOH - QR659 - 09:10 - 11:30
DOH-CMB - QR660 - 12:25 - 19:40 - A321 - Daily - CMB-DOH - QR661 - 20:40 - 23:20
DOH-CMB - QR662 - 20:00 - 03:15 - A321 - Daily - CMB-DOH - QR663 - 04:15 - 06:55

slaviator, It's interesting three of the A359s are going to be delivered to SriLankan in Jul-Sep 2016 instead of mid-2017. Below News reported in Apr 2013.

Maybe they said 2017 to account for delays? (given all the problems the 787 had!). But its good news for UL if their aircraft turns up in 2016. Thats less than 3 years till the first aircraft!

Any update about Jetstar Sri Lanka ?

Hope this will come up some how.

At least to kill useless Mihinlanka.

personally i think jetstar sri lanka if it happens, should operate out of mattala, in order to give that useless waste of money airport some life, and since jetstar sri lanka is a private company, they mite know how to make money out of nothing. again these are my thoughts and doesn't really mean i'm correct, may be i'm wrong...

Could work considering the government is giving huge discounts (or even removing fees) for airlines flying from Mattala. So it could save Jetstar a lot of money in airport fees. Plus Jetstar targets leisure travellers who would like to go to the south and east coast beaches. The case would be even stronger if the Southern Expressway is eventually extended to Mattala and Arugam Bay (as I remember a government official once discussing).

exactly, since BIA is already crowded, HRI which is a NATIONAL WASTE as of now, should be given some life. hence if Jetstar Sri Lanka was to operate out of HRI, UL need not operate flights out of HRI too, and hence UL can continue to focus on operating out of only BIA. plus useless MJ can completely shut down. plus Jetstar Sri lanka will know how to make money out of operating at HRI since its a private company.

Hey Guys heard some rumors that.. UL logo is going to change...??? Not sure... if this is part of the One-Wold connection?? Also i heard that -ALA is on a serious paint job.. Please confirm...

i hope the logo won't become a lotus flower :/