I stand by my statement - this was published in the Sri Lankan newspapers around the time Boeing sent a sales team to Sri Lanka. I have not been able to find this article - not really a surprise.

My comment about $$$ refers to certain individuals being the only beneficiaries when a deal is made. I know how "business" is done in Sri Lanka.

There is a long history of corruption when it comes to aircraft orders in Sri Lanka.

Of course there is corruption everywhere - I have not claimed otherwise.

However in my country people are arrested, charged and sent to prison when they get caught. There is accountability. Politicians in my country are not immune from prosecution.

The country where I live was recently voted joint first (with 2 other countries) for freedom of the press.

again you say there is a long history of corruption and there was a published article, the problem there is alot of articles published in sri lanka that are just bunch of theories as it's more gossip column than investigative media and they can get away with it because of weak libel laws!

i agree there was corruption with military aircraft but civil im not so sure! at the end of the day you usually buy it direct from the manufacturer or lessor! there is no need to go via a conduit and you can't sign agreements through 3rd parties.

corruption is wrong and it can't be justified, that I agree with!

but again freedom of the press doesn't mean you just publish what you like with no consequences! I too live in a top 5 country in the 2014 index.....

@srilankan1 - well moves are a foot to displace the government and it may happen, if so Mihin will disappear or be absorbed by SriLankan or we may not have a national carrier because of advise from MIT! after all JR from the UNP only ruled for 12 years and built the executive presidency to ensure absolute rule!

In the West or even on the East (Japan, Korea, UAE, Singapore etc) airlines are properly managed and politician or governments do not get involved in the daily running of an airlines . Governments facilitates trade in the airline industry with a paying customer in focus; not focusing in protecting "national airline"...protecting nation airline concept is old and dead.

As you can see when UL joined one world there were few politicians involved in the ceremony...that tells a story...

I am waiting for the day when UL moves its MRO from Colombo to HRI...UL Engineering is one of the profitable arm of the group including UL catering service...I like to see how many aircraft license engineers will survive the transfer...

By the way here is a article to read



remove the fluff and look at the numbers; it tell the current state of the airline...I am waiting for the 2013/14 to be published

Sri Lanka is a mess; and UL is an another mess. it is like some one has flushed the toilet bowl...some people will not agree and some people are really delusional (living cuckoo land) but time will tell...

There are some very unscrupulous people out there. The biggest criminals,thieves,frauds and liars I have encountered have all been in the Airline Industry.

In the civilian world it works like this:-

-Aircraft is bought for more than it's worth.
-Payment is made to the owner/agent. All legal at this point.
-Excess money is funneled back via third parties/offshore companies etc.

You can do the same with leases. A lot of leasing companies are registered in tax havens so you have no way to find out who the real owners are.

(There are metal plates on the aft cockpit bulkheads of UL aircraft that state who owns the aircraft and who the leasing company is. Makes for some interesting reading and raises plenty of questions...)

Airlines are great for money laundering as well - huge amounts of money go through an Airline. Unless you have a good accounting set up it can be very hard to track this cash.


What is needed at UL is an independent financial audit - not that I expect it will ever happen.


The 2013/2014 financial results will show the costs of operating wide bodied aircraft in and out of HRI.

yes it would, if only ordinary humans like us could see it! maybe you should get us some pictures or more evidence about this things of interest you mention! clearly you seem to know a lot more about this corruption than any of us because all Ive seen so far is your claims! there should be plenty of articles mentioning elements of whats here!

Can somebody answer this?

@ejanson65 no need for a pissing competition with a skunk if it published then it is theory if it is not then it is just a claim. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, huh? Most of the forum users know the definition of "commissions" (and how the commissioned are made) and where does SL stand in the world http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/...ntry=sri_lanka oh I forgot that report is from INGO they conspire against SL. What the heck. Once upon time agent for Airbus was Maharaja Group. I wonder who would be the agent for Boeing...hmm Susantha Rathnayake is a board director of UL. lets ask him? I definitely know he would know since JKH represented them in the early 90s.

@speedbird how dare you call me a skunk! to me you seem like a intolerant know-it-all bigot!

People like you don't see both sides of the story...always pulling onto a side.....to hold an impartial view to things is a sign of immaturity...where you can't ever see someone else's point of view or anything else other that what you believe in!

regarding Sri Lanka:

as a whole, yes there is a lot of wrong happening, i don't disagree but there is an effort amid the wrong to get some things right, I hope you visit SL often or have lived there for a considerable length of time to know that or recognise it and you've lived in other countries other that developed countries to recognize that, I've been lucky enough to live in several parts and I'm glad I can see that. It's very easy to forget what actually went down at different times in the last 30 years. as for the NGO's if you don't think they have an agenda, you've got wool over your eyes!

regarding aviation in SriLanka:
airports - expansion of bia is a must and should have happened ages ago. HIA should have been gradually built with basic facilities, as a domestic/emergency/cargo airport, because yes one will be needed down south in time to come and with the remaining money maybe build an airport in the north. To discount it completely is not recognising that in time people in Sri Lanka will be able to afford domestic travel perhaps on turboprops not jet planes!

airlines - SriLankan should absorb Mihin (as a low cost subsidary - ThaiSmile for example) & ideally the airline on the whole or different parts of it should be listed, that will bring some sense of accountability and also necessary funding.

To compare it to airlines the stature of Singapore, Emirates, Qatar, Etihad, JAL etc., would not be smart. The middle east airlines regardless of what anyone says have significant government backing even though it maybe run quasi-independently and have much cheaper access to fuel. JAL already went though a bankcruptcy along with a host of American carriers, which have effectively just merged to prevent collapse. As for Singapore/Cathay yes they are legacy carriers that are very well run but they have been suffering much more than they used to. And Qantas is just going from bad to worse.

Anyway more that almost all of this is the fact that we don't have the traffic (transit, tourists or affluent population) and the resources (fuel or even substantial backing) to sustain a huge airline industry. it's sad but true so to constantly harp on the subject is pointless. all this will take time and not mushroom up over night!

This FORUM as i mentioned before should ideally be about posting information (evidence & fact) and maybe a quick discussion on it but not an endless rant (like this has become, I do apologise) of skunks and bigots. Maybe we should stick to posting info, a quick headline and then move on! because for every point you bring regarding a positive on the other side of the world, I'm sure if I look hard enough then I can easily find a negative
!

some ppl r nt satisfied with wat they get,,, they go on comparing with the standards of EK, QR, SQ.............. at least u retards should appreciate the fact that UL is in a far better condition compared to its neighbours: PIA, Air India, Biman, DrukAir, etc

Very well said. Even India's Jet Airways has lost its charm, it is not up to the mark anymore according to latest reviews of them in Skytrax and their Facebook fan page. You all should take a look at 9W's facebook fan page - its miserable. Believe me UL is far better.

And guys, even a better airline like Oman Air has been posting nothing but losses for the past 3 to 4 years.
Last fiscal year they too posted a massive loss of 294 million USD and recently the Omani govt had made another capital infusion of over 500 million USD.

CAPA has also stated that Indian carriers (Air India, Jet airways and Spice Jet) are expected to post another set of losses this yr except indigo.

Most of the airlines are running at losses except EK, SQ and CX.

QR CEO has not even posted their financials, when European authorities questioned QR CEO about his airlines financials he responded by saying "mind your own business".

Air Canada themselves have made another huge loss for 2014, so has most of European and other Asian airlines. Qantas losses are still growing, MH losses are widening.
Please read articles about airlines financials online - most airlines are not making money and are just backed by the govt. So UL is no exception and they still are far better than most regional airlines and still has a world class feature.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...A4E0AA20140515

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/oman-...ow-544470.html

http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviat...226-33i4c.html

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...63590602212818

http://www.facebook.com/jetairways - read their pax complaints

http://centreforaviation.com/analysi...dead-end-67992

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...0O50KC20140519

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...19440882179944

have a look at these articles and see how the aviation world is. its nothing sweet and rosy.

And most users in here really should address people with respect. Please guys.

Why shouldn't people be comparing UL against SQ and QR. These airlines set the benchmark for regional aviation. Your logic of comparing it to AI or Biman is just crazy and you really need to stop defending UL so much (on the other hand people need to back their accusations against UL with facts). UL needs to set themselves a high target and institute a culture of innovation or make hard decisions as necessary. Only then will they make a profit.

I'm not really bothered by the fact we are making losses considering a lot of major airlines around the world are facing losses etc.

The major problem I have is that unlike other major airlines there is so much politics involved.We have incapable people in charge who are appointed due to political reasons. UL has just become a foreign policy tool for the present regime e.g. flying to the Seychelles makes no sense from a country like SL.

I don't think UL should benchmark it self against major airlines like EK, SQ right now but it should definitely be bench marking against the smaller major airlines which are more similar to UL. As it grows in capacity then it can look to compare with the major players of the aviation industry.

@lordvader,, when airlines like: Qantas, Lufthansa, MH are making big losses,,, how on earth do u expect UL to fly high with profits?????

Stop just talking like a parrot without any facts. LH group is making profit and declared dividend. So as per your theory GOSL should be receiving dividend for the year 2013/14??? right