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SriLankan Airlines

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SriLankan Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
UL ALK SRILANKAN
Founded1947 (as Air Ceylon)
Commenced operationsJuly 1979
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programFlySmiLes
AllianceOneworld (joining in early 2014)
SubsidiariesMihin Lanka
Fleet size23[1][2][3][4][5]
Destinations61 (+13 planned)[4][6]
HeadquartersAirline Centre,
Bandaranaike International Airport,
Katunayake, Sri Lanka[7]
Key peopleNishantha Wickramasinghe (Chairman)[8]
Kapila Chandrasena (CEO)[8] Supun Vithanachchi (Fleet Captain)
Websitewww.srilankan.com

SriLankan Airlines Limited (Sinhala:ශ්‍රී ලංකන් ගුවන් සේවය, Tamil: ஸ்ரீலங்கன் ஏர்லைன்ஸ்) (previously known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka. It operates to destinations in Asia and Europe from its base and hub at Bandaranaike International Airport in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. The airline's head office is in the Airline Centre, on the grounds of Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka.[9]

History

Air Lanka's initial fleet consisted of two Boeing 707, leased from Singapore Airlines. One Boeing 737 was leased from Maersk Air and Maintained by Air Tara. On 24 April 1980 the lease ended Air Lanka received replacement Boeing 737 leased from Royal Brunei.

On 1 November 1980 Air Lanka commenced wide body operations with a lease Lockheed L1011-1 Tristar from Air Canada. On 15 April 1982 Air Lanka received its own L1011 purchased from All Nippon Airways. With introduction of Tristar aircraft B707s were phased out and sold. Then another L1011 was leased from Air Canada and another L1011 was purchased from All Nippon. On 1 May 1982 HAECO took over the maintenance of two Air Lanka owned Tristars, while Air Canada maintained two leased Tristars.

On 28 March 1980 Air Lanka signed to purchase two brand new Lockheed L1011-500 Tristars, most advanced wide body aircraft in the world at that time. First 500 was accepted on 26 August 1982, at Palmdale, California. It was flown to Amsterdam as UL flight 566P. On 28 August 4R-ULA "City Of Colombo' left for its inaugural flight from Amsterdam to Colombo as UL566. It reached Colombo on 29 August. This was followed by second -500 4R-ULB, "City Of Jayawardanapura".

On June 8 1985 the airline received its first Boeing 747-200B "King Vijaya" and the second joined later. The aircraft were used on flights to Europe and a few flights to Southeast Asia.

A Boeing 707-312B at Gatwick Airport (1981)
Airlanka's first Airbus A320 4R-ABA. This aircraft was written-off in 2001


Air Lanka, which was state-owned, was part-privatized to the Dubai-based Emirates Group in 1998, when Emirates and the Sri Lankan Government signed an agreement for a ten-year strategic partnership. This agreement included exclusive rights for all aircraft ground handling and airline catering at Colombo-Bandaranaike airport for a ten-year period. Emirates bought a 40% stake worth US$70 million (which it later increased to 43.6%) in Air Lanka, and sought to refurbish the airline's image and fleet. The Government retained a majority stake in the airline, but gave full control to Emirates for investment and management decisions. In 1998, the Air Lanka rebranded to SriLankan Airlines.[10]

SriLankan acquired 6 Airbus A330-200s to complement its fleet of Airbus A340-300 and A320-200 aircraft. The A330-200 aircraft joined the airline between October 1999 and July 2000. The company’s fourth A340-300 arrived at Colombo painted in the airline’s new corporate livery. SriLankan upgraded its existing A340 fleet into a two-class configuration (business and economy class) whilst overhauling the interior to reflect the new corporate image.

SriLankan Airlines has been affected by environmental problems and acts of terrorism. This has included the SARS outbreak, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the Sri Lankan Civil War, and a Bandaranaike Airport attack, which destroyed 4 aircraft and damaged 2, writing off half of the airline's fleet. SriLankan took the decision to position Colombo as a hub for flights to Asia. This is evident in its expansion into regional markets, notably India and the Middle East.

Whilst continuing expansion in the region, SriLankan commenced flying to Jeddah, its third destination in Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh and Dammam. Jeddah was the airline's 51st destination in 28 countries, thus increasing the number of destinations in the Middle East to nine.

On 19 December 2007, the then-CEO Peter Hill's work permit cancelled by the Sri Lankan Government. Sri Lankan Airlines lost in because of some hedging deals. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/100314/BusinessTimes/bt02.html

In 2008 Emirates notified the Sri Lankan Government that it would not renew its management contract,[11] which then expired on 31 March 2008. It claimed that the Sri Lankan Government was seeking greater control over the day-to-day business of the airline, "which was not acceptable to us".[12]

The flight attendant uniform remained unchanged from the days of Air Lanka until February 2010, when a new uniform was introduced [citation needed]. The first destination announced for their expansion plans was Shanghai, China the route to which began on 1 July 2010.[13] The airline commenced flights to Guangzhou, China on 28 January 2011.[14] The airline also plans to start flying to Seoul, Sydney and Johannesburg in 2013. Also Copenhagen,[15] Ho Chi Minh City and Manila is on the table.[16]

Emirates sold its 43.63% stake in the airline to the Government of Sri Lanka in a deal that was finalised in 2010, thus ending any affiliations the two airlines had with each other.[17]

SriLankan Airlines is a holder of the Imperial Mark, which is valid until May 2014.[18]

The airline is set to join the Oneworld alliance in 2013.[19]

Destinations

Main article: SriLankan Airlines destinations

As of September 2012, SriLankan Airlines serves 58 destinations in 33 countries,[6] and remains the largest foreign carrier into the Maldives, with at least 38 weekly flights between Male and Colombo. The airline is also considering Gan as a destination. As of September 2012, the airline no longer runs it's service to Switzerland. However, there are plans to resurrect the Sydney to Colombo service which was terminated over 10 years ago. [20]

Hubs and focus cities

Hubs

Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo is the airline's main base

Focus cities


Codeshare agreements

SriLankan has codeshare agreements with the following airlines, as of June 2012.

SriLankan also codeshare with French Railways SNCF.[26]

Fleet

An Airbus A340-300 landing at London Heathrow Airport
An Airbus A330-200 taxiing in Kuala Lumpur International Airport
An Airbus A320 at Tiruchirappalli Airport)
The Tristars were retired by 2000
Air Lanka Boeing 747–200 at Basle Airport in 1984, they were retired by 1987
File:Ul350lk.JPG
An artist's illustration of the recently ordered A350, the airline will become the first airline in the subcontinent to operate them.

Airbus Era

The airline received its first Airbus aircraft in 1992, the Airbus A320-200 (reg:4R-ABA) began flying to the airline's regional routes in Maldives, Pakistan and South India. The Airbus A340-300 aircraft were ordered during the time of President Premadasa, the first A340 was delivered in 1994. The airlines was the first in Asia to use the A340, they aircraft are used in high density flights to Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe. The Airbus A330-200 aircraft were delivered during the rule of President Chandrika, the aircraft are used in flights to Europe and Southeast Asia.

Fleet Development Plans

SriLankan Airlines aims to boost its fleet to 30 aircraft over the next four years, and is currently in talks with both Airbus and Boeing regarding a deal that may consist of up to nine long-haul aircraft.[27] It has also leased four additional Airbus A320 aircraft.[28] SriLankan's CEO Kapila Chandrasena stated that the carrier wants to add either Airbus A330-300 or Boeing 777 aircraft to its fleet to replace its Airbus A340-300s, with deliveries beginning in 2013–2014.[29] Selected aircraft have also been refurbished to incorporate flat bed seating in business class and an enhanced Inflight Entertainment system.

In April 2013, it was announced that SriLankan Airlines had won government approval to acquire four Airbus A350-900 and six A330-300 aircraft, with deliveries starting from October 2014.[30] A further three Airbus A350-900s will be leased, with deliveries of these aircraft starting in 2017.[30]


Current fleet

As of February 2013, the SriLankan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 9.3 years:[31][32][33]

SriLankan airlines fleet[34]
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Airbus A320-200 4 0 20 120 140 1
4 12 138 150 4R-MRE of Mihin Lanka is to be transferred
Airbus A330-200 1 0 18 236 254
1 18 256 274
4 12 275 287
1 18 279 297
Airbus A330-300 0 6 TBA TBA TBA First Delivery Scheduled October 2014 to December 2015
Airbus A340-300 3 0 18 296 314 all the aircraft to be phased out by end of 2015 & replaced by Airbus A330-300
2 18 299 317
1 20 223 243
Airbus A350-900 0 7 TBA TBA TBA First Delivery Scheduled between 2019 to 2023. The leased three A350-900s will come in between 2017 and 2019.
DHC-6-100 2 0 0 15 15 operated by SriLankan AirTaxi
Total 23 10

Retired

SriLankan Airlines Retired Fleet
Aircraft Total
Operated 		Introduced Retired
Airbus A300 1 2000 2000
Boeing 707 2 1976 1990
Boeing 737–200 7 1979 1995
Boeing 737–300 6 1990 1995
Boeing 747–200 2 1984 1987
Boeing 767-300ER 1 2010 2010
Antonov An-12F 2
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 6 1983 2000

Cargo

Sri Lankan Airlines operates several cargo flights to Male, the Middle East, and India, using a Douglas DC-8-63F of Expo Air and a Boeing 727-200F of Lankan Cargo.

SriLankan AirTaxi

Main article: SriLankan AirTaxi

SriLankan Airlines began domestic air taxi service using two Canadian-built DHC-6-100 aircraft to increase tourism in the southern and central cities of Sri Lanka. It currently flies to Ampara, Bentota, Castlereagh, Dandugama, Dikwella, Hambantota, Kandy, Koggala, Nuwara Eliya, Tissamaharama, and Trincomalee, all from Colombo.[35] With the increasing number of passengers, more aircraft are expected to join the fleet for the air taxi service [citation needed].

Livery

The initial livery consisted of red stripes on a white fuselage, the tail being a solid red and sporting the corporate logo, a stylised peacock. This was the sole livery of the airline for nearly two decades, from 1979 to 1998. After SriLankan Airlines began a decade-long partnership with Emirates, the livery was changed into a much simpler one, with an all-white fuselage, covered by blue 'SriLankan' titles, and the tail adorned with the corporate logo. Some aircraft have tourism advertisements on the rear part.

Cabin

First Class

The First Class seats will be installed in the upcoming Airbus A330-300 and Airbus A350 XWB aircraft.

Business Class

The Business Class seats come in either cream or dark blue depending on the aircraft. Business Class customers receive this and over 30 movie titles in a variety of languages and Business Class passengers can pre-order any of the special meals available From 2011, full flatbed seats will be offered in Business Class, on selected Airbus A330 aircraft. [citation needed]

Economy Class

The Economy seats are light blue in color. SriLankan provides an individual video player with 18 movies and 22 radio channels for Economy Class. Both classes are given the option of a "Satcom" satellite phone. Satcom allows a passenger to call anyone in another seat free of charge. SriLankan is capable of preparing meals for those with dietary restrictions. On some flights, like Singapore to Colombo, SriLankan prepares hot meals (such as chicken and rice or seafood with vegetables) for Economy Class, as the flight is long.

Entertainment

New movies from Hollywood, old classics, and some films from India are available. Included are comedies, dramas, arts, sports, and children's TV.

CTV is SriLankan's channel for children with programmes such as comedies and cartoons. SriLankan has 22 radio channels to provide music from around the world. SriLankan's radio channels cover the European charts, Golden Era, classical, jazz, and popular music selections from Sri Lanka, Arabia, India, and Japan. New games have been added, including puzzles, playing cards, and classic board games.[36] In 2011, SriLankan will install AVOD systems, provided by IMS of the United States, on selected Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. [citation needed]

SriLankan Catering

SriLankan Catering, although a 100%-owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, is a standalone operation responsible for its own economic infrastructure, management and profitability. Under the guidance of its chief executive officer, the company’s prime responsibility is the preparation of in-flight meals for SriLankan Airlines. It also caters for foreign airlines, among which are Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Emirates. SriLankan Catering recently opened a laundry facility and took over the management of the Serenediva Transit Hotel, at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport.[citation needed]

Frequent Flyer Programme

SriLankan's first frequent-flyer programme was called Serendib Miles and was abandoned in early 2000. It then became a partner of Emirates' Skywards frequent-flyer program. However, this agreement ceased to exist when the partnership between the two airlines concluded on 31 March 2008.[37] SriLankan subsequently launched FlySmiLes, which has since added a variety of new reward partners to its program.[38][39]

Awards and achievements

  • Airline of the Year 2008 and 2009 – Sri Lanka Presidential Travel & Tourism Awards
  • Airline of the Year 2010 (third year)
  • Best Airline in South Asia (three consecutive times) from Travel Trade Gazette
  • Best Airline in Central Asia (four consecutive times) – Skytrax
  • Best Overall In-flight Entertainment (small fleet), twice – World Airline Entertainment Association
  • Best Airline Turnaround of the Year 2004 – Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation
  • Best Print Media Presentation in Travel & Tourism
  • Best in Region APEX Award
  • Destination Loyal Partner / Tour Operator Award for SriLankan Holidays
  • First Runner-up for World’s Best Cabin Staff – Skytrax
  • Foreign Carrier of the Year (South Asia sector) – Kuala Lumpur International Airport Awards
  • Galileo Indian Express Award for Best Eastbound International Airline
  • Hall of Fame award for winning Airline of the year for three consecutive years
  • Imperial Mark in recognition of exceptional levels of service, luxury and quality
  • KLIA Award
  • PATA Gold Award 2007 for Best Airline Marketing Campaign
  • Runner-up for Best Asian Airline in survey by UK's Daily Telegraph
  • HRM Silver award in the Government-Owned Business 2012
  • World’s Best Airline in a survey of Economy Class passengers
  • World’s Friendliest Cabin Staff – Skytrax
  • World’s Most Reliable Operator of Airbus A330s (small fleet) – Airbus Industrie
  • World’s Most Reliable Operator of Airbus A340s (small fleet) – Airbus Industrie
  • World class standard for SriLankan Airlines' IT systems

Incidents and accidents

Five of the six aircraft that lost their lives and all of the reported deaths of SriLankan Airlines passengers and employees have been a result of the civil conflict in Sri Lanka. During the 23 years of conflict have pågåtts has only an attack directed against the civilian air traffic, and the safety of SriLankan Airlines flights are rigorous

1980s

Main article: Air Lanka Flight UL512
  • On 3 May 1986, a bomb planted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam exploded on board Flight UL512 prior to takeoff at Bandaranaike International Airport. The bomb, which had been timed to explode in-flight, went off while the aircraft, a Lockheed L-1011 'Tristar' was on the ground killing 14 of 128 passengers. Officials believe the bomb may have been concealed in crates of meat and vegetables that were being freighted to the Maldives. Other reports believe that the bomb was hidden in the aircraft's 'Fly Away Kit'.


1990s

  • in 1992, At a landing with a Boeing 737-200 AirLanka 4R-ULL at the airport outside of Madras (now Chennai International Airport) in India went right main landing gear and the right engine came in contact with the runway. The aircraft pulled to the right and finally came to stop on the grass to the right of the landing runway. The right engine caught fire, which was extinguished, and the 104 passengers and 12 crew could evacuate the aircraft on the left side. Accident was probably due to corrosion which weakened the structure coupled with a high load on the landing gear at the time of the accident


2000s

Main article: Bandaranaike Airport attack

On 24 July 2001, Tamil Tiger rebels launched a major pre-dawn suicide attack on Colombo-Bandaranayake International Airport. The raid left at least 19 people dead, including 14 Tamil rebels, two army commandos and three air force personnel. Two of SriLankan Airlines' Airbus A330 planes (4R-ALE and 4R-ALF) were destroyed, one A320 (4R-ABA) and one of their A340 planes (4R-ADD). Two other planes were damaged (A340 4R-ADC and A320 4R-ABB). A number of military planes were also damaged and destroyed.[40][41]

  • Airbus A320 4R-ABA (totally destroyed)
  • Airbus A320 4R-ABB (damaged)
  • Airbus A330 4R-ALE (totally destroyed)
  • Airbus A330 4R-ALF (totally destroyed)
  • Airbus A340 4R-ADD (totally destroyed)
  • Airbus A340 4R-ADC (damaged)

Subsidiaries

  • SriLankan Cargo
  • SriLankan Catering
  • SriLankan Engineering
  • SriLankan Ground Handling[42]
  • SriLankan Holidays[43]
  • SriLankan IT Systems

References

  1. ^ "Airplanes flying for SriLankan Airlines". Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  2. ^ Fleet – About SriLankan – SriLankan Airlines
  3. ^ Sri Lankan Airlines to expand fleet to 30 aircraft adding six Boeing 777 Rise of Lanka, 21 August 2011
  4. ^ a b Sri Lanka national carrier boosts fleet Lanka Business Online, 4 May 2011 Cite error: The named reference "fleet3" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ Sri Lankan Airlines’ fleet is now largest in history The Island, 4 May 2011
  6. ^ a b SriLankan Airlines – Travel Planner / Route Map
  7. ^ "Airline Membership". IATA.
  8. ^ a b SriLankan Airlines – SriLankan Today – About SriLankan – SriLankan Airlines
  9. ^ "SriLankan Airlines – Contact Us / SriLankan Airlines Offices." SriLankan Airlines. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  10. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 14–20 March 1990 "Airlift International" 57.
  11. ^ Emirates walking away from SriLankan Nicholas Ionides, 2008-01-22, Flight International
  12. ^ Management contract terminated January 2008, OAG, News briefing
  13. ^ Sri Lankan Airlines to fly to Shanghai, LBO, 10 May 2010
  14. ^ SriLankan Airlines expands fleet, plans new destinations LBO, 20 July 2010
  15. ^ "Google Oversæt" (in Template:Da icon). Translate.google.dk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  16. ^ "Sri Lanka Business News | Online edition of Daily News – Lakehouse Newspapers". Dailynews.lk. 9 November 2011.
  17. ^ Sri Lanka Buys Emirates’ Stake in SriLankan Airlines Anusha Ondaatjie and Asantha Sirimanne, BusinessWeek, 7 July 2010.
  18. ^ "Imperial Mark honours SriLankan, Daily News, 12 July 2010". Dailynews.lk. 12 July 2010.
  19. ^ "SriLankan Airlines to join oneworld alliance". Oneworld.com. 11 June 2012.
  20. ^ "Research underway to begin direct flights between Gan and Colombo". Haveeru.com.mv. 22 April 2012.
  21. ^ "AC-UL code share". Digitaljournal.com. 20 October 2011.
  22. ^ SriLankan extends network to New York and four other cities through Etihad partnership The Island, 28 February 2010
  23. ^ SriLankan and Etihad Airways Announce New Codeshare Partnership PRZOOM – Newswire, 10 October 2008
  24. ^ Codeshare partnership expanded between Malaysia Airlines and SriLankan Airlines eTurboNews, 23 June 2009|.
  25. ^ http://www.menafn.com/menafn/1093549072/Royal-Jordanian-codeshares-with-SriLankan-%7CAirlines?src=RSS
  26. ^ Worldwide codeshare list Aug 2011
  27. ^ SriLankan and Mihin Lanka to acquire 9 more aircraft
  28. ^ Sri Lanka national carrier boosts fleet Lanka Business Online, 4 May 2011.
  29. ^ "ROUTES: SriLankan in talks to add six 777s or A330s". Flight International. 3 October 2011.
  30. ^ a b SriLankan Airlines to get 13 Airbus aircraft with 7 A350s - Corrected
  31. ^ "SriLankan Airlines Fleet Details and History – Planespotters.net Just Aviation". Planespotters.net.
  32. ^ "New Airbus A320 added to SriLankan from May 19". Colombo Page. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  33. ^ "SriLankan Airlines largest in nation's history". 12 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  34. ^ [1]
  35. ^ "SriLankan AirTaxi". SriLankan Airlines. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  36. ^ SriLankan Entertainment
  37. ^ Sri Lankan Airlines launches FFP Business Traveller, 26 March 2008.
  38. ^ ‘FlySmiles’ announces exciting rewards Sunday Times, 25 January 2009.
  39. ^ "http". //www.flysmiles.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ "Intelligence failures exposed by Tamil Tiger airport attack". Jane's Intelligence Review. 2001. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2008.
  41. ^ "SriLankan Airlines (Aviation Safety Network)". Aviation-safety.net. 4 March 2012.
  42. ^ SriLankan Ground Handling
  43. ^ "SriLankan Holidays". SriLankan Holidays.
  • Birch, Doug. "SriLankan Airlines". Air International, February 2003, Vol 64 No 2. pp. 26–30.
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