SriLankan finalizes A321neo leases with AerCap, ALC

SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) hopes to find a joint venture partner by the end of 2018 and subsequently resume flights to continental Europe, EconomyNext has reported.

"Before the end of the year, the cabinet is determined to go ahead with a joint venture with a world leading airline and get back to [continental] European destinations," Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said.

According to the ch-aviation capacity module, the Sri Lankan flag carrier's European network is currently limited to a 7x weekly service to London Heathrow. In terms of its long-haul flights, SriLankan also serves Melbourne Tullamarine, Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou, Hong Kong Int'l, Tokyo Narita, Mahé, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta, and destinations in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.

The airline does not currently have any joint ventures, although it is a member of Oneworld alliance.

Amaratunga also added that the government, which owns the airline, would also be looking at increasing its fleet. SriLankan currently operates twenty-eight aircraft, including five A320-200s, two A320neo, three...

SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) paid LKR18.8 billion rupees (USD116 million) for cancelling an order for four A350-900s between 2015 and 2017, Head of Financial Management Yasantha Dissanayake told a Sri Lankan Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

The sum includes forfeited deposits and penalties for cancellation.

The Island reported that the flag carrier took out two loans with domestic banks to cover the penalty, including a USD32.5 million loan from Bank of Ceylon and uSD35 million loan from Peoples Bank. SriLankan has not yet repaid either of the credit facilities.

The penalty accounted for roughly one-third of SriLankan's total losses in financial years 2014/15, 2015/16, and 2016/17. In these three years, the carrier lost a total of LKR57 billion rupees (USD351.6 million).

The then management of SriLankan Airlines placed an order for eight Airbus widebody twinjets in 2013. In 2016, its new management decided to cancel orders for four of these aircraft. The remaining four are still on order with Airbus, although the carrier has been reported to be looking at delaying and...

The Sri Lankan Government is set to revive plans to privatize SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) following a failed attempt last year.

According to Xinhua, Adviser to the Finance Ministry Mano Tittawella told a media conference on Tuesday, August 21, that Ranil Wickremesinghe's administration would renew its search for a strategic investor within the next three months.

Tittawella said the department within the Treasury tasked with Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) would call for Expressions Of Interest in September or October. Thereafter, the state expects to start talks with at least two serious investors by the first quarter of 2019.

"The new board at SriLankan Airlines has now activated a strategic business plan and are confident that by the end of the financial year 2018/2019, the airline can record a significantly lesser loss than what was recorded when the new board took office in April 2018," he said.

The adviser added that there had already been “fairly serious” interest in the sale.

US-based investment firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG) was in talks to acquire a...