22.09.2020 - 14:46 UTC
SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) sees the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to accelerate and/or launch cost-cutting initiatives that would otherwise have been impossible, Chairman Ashok Pathirage told Bloomberg Markets Asia.
Pathirage said that despite the current problems, the carrier would likely emerge from the crisis stronger than before the pandemic.
"We have negotiated with our lessors, reduced salaries of our employees, and we are planning to have a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS)... This is also a good opportunity for SriLankan Airlines to cut a lot of costs, particularly in leases. We have managed to reduce leasing cost by 18%, we have saved almost USD100 million per annum," he said.
He underlined ae point made earlier by Chief Executive Vipula Gunatilleka in an interview with ch-aviation that the crisis provided an opportunity to implement a lot of changes that had been stalled earlier.
The airline has not sacked any of its workers but has trimmed many of the outsourced and contracted positions. Through voluntary measures, SriLankan has reduced its headcount by over 25%...
15.09.2020 - 23:20 UTC
Sri Lanka's Minister of Tourism, Prasanna Ranatunga, decreed on September 8, 2020, that all landing and parking charges at Hambantota and Colombo Ratmalana airports have been waived for one year in a bid to attract foreign airlines.
The Ministry of Finance is separately working on enacting the waiver of airport tax at Hambantota airport, having already received the go-ahead from the prime minister. The government has also resolved to subsidise fuel for foreign airlines serving the airport. Tamil-language daily Virakesari reported that negotiations with state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation are ongoing.
Ranatunga said that the government hoped to secure sustained international traffic to Hambantota within the next six months. The Director of Operations at Airport and Aviation Services Ltd (AASL), Shehan Sumanasekara, told the Business Times that the focus would be on cargo services, although passenger flights were also targeted. AASL has reportedly held "serious-level discussions with IndiGo Airlines, Air India, flydubai, and MAI - Myanmar Airways International", as well as with Emirates.
Sumanasekra added that AASL would look at options...
10.09.2020 - 23:55 UTC
Fly Lankan Asia (Colombo Int'l) has filed an application for an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) and an Airline Licence (AL) in Sri Lanka, seeking to operate both domestic and international scheduled flights.
According to a brief public notice published by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL), the start-up's accountable director is Air Vice Marshal PDJ Kumarasiri while its four directors are Sivanathan Sivarasa (formerly with the now-defunct cargo specialist AeroLanka), KMDSN Ranaweera, DJGS Edirisinghe (a former director of the state-owned Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka), and NJ Weerakoon. The airline plans to trade as Fly Lankan.
The CAASL did not reveal any further details regarding the content of the carrier's application, including its proposed fleet or business model.
If certified, Fly Lankan would become Sri Lanka's third carrier authorised to operate scheduled international routes after SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) and FitsAir (8D, Colombo Int'l).
30.06.2020 - 01:04 UTC
SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) is negotiating a fresh loan of USD75 million from two state-owned banks, Bank of Ceylon and the Peoples Bank, to which it already collectively owes USD407 million, Chairman Ashok Pathirage said during a media briefing.
The Government of Sri Lanka has already approved a new loan to the state-owned carrier but talks about terms have yet to conclude. The airline will also restructure its existing debt to the two banks, of which USD220 million is owed to the Bank of Ceylon and USD187 million to the Peoples Bank. The carrier underlined that while it suspended the payments of the principal, it has not paused repayments of interest on its existing loans.
SriLankan Airlines is going to seek to extend the terms of the existing loans and secure a grace period in the short-term. Pathirage added that the airline would also seek to restructure its USD275 million debt to state-owned fuel supplier Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
Besides approving the new loan, the government has also agreed to suspend withholding tax, effectively...
