I heard 4R-MRD at the C-check and it's coming back to service within two weeks time.

There are rumours, Airbus is in the process of removing the VIP kit from the brand new Airbus A333/4R-ALN which is going to be ferried to Colombo by the end of March 2015.

Sri Lanka's Mihin Lanka Airlines to launch direct flights to Kolkota Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU) starting from 17th June 2015. Kolkota Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport is the biggest airport of West Bengal and it's stands as a fifth busiest airport in India by passenger traffic. Mihin Lanka will be operating Colombo-Kolkota every Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays and with a flying hours from 2:55hrs to 3:00hrs.

With the introduction of fourth narrowbody Airbus aircraft in the fleet, Mihin Lanka is boosting the capacity to existing destinations in Madurai (up to daily), Dhaka (up to daily) and Lahore (up to fourth weekly) from April/June 2015. Mihin Lanka currently serving Ten destinations including Jakarta, Gaya, Varanasi, Medan, Sharjah, Seychelles, Madurai, Dhaka, Lahore and Bahrain by utilising one A320, couple of A321s, recently added one A319 and planning to lease couple of A320NEOs in the 2016/2017. Mihin Lanka is studying possibilities to add Kathmandu, Chittagong and Hochi minh city to it's network in the near future.

Colombo - Kolkota Flight Schedule

CMB-CCU - MJ331 - 07:05 - 10:00 - 1 5
CMB-CCU - MJ331 - 11:20 - 14:15 - 3
CCU-CMB - MJ332 - 11:00 - 14:00 - 1 5
CCU-CMB - MJ332 - 15:00 - 18:00 - 3

Do you think CMB-CCU route will become successful for Mihin Lanka? and any update of merging Mihin with SriLankan?

Do they really need 16 J class seats?

The total amount of money spent exceeds U$1 billion! All public funds.

No investigation and no accountability. To the best of my knowledge not a single individual has been fired or investigated.

What is needed is an independant financial audit - followed by prosecution of those responsible.

I hope the report into abuse of power by the Airline management is made public - but I have my doubts.

Sri Lankan A350 is due in 2016 ?

I think the new 319 had some technical issue at IXM yesterday. The technical team went on a separate plane MRE today to rectify the issue.

SriLankan expects to take delivery of three A350-941s between July 2016 and September 2016, via the lessor ILFC. It appears that the brand news birds will be replacing three A332s and they will be in the fleet for 12 years period. Don’t you think these A350-941s are the best models for serving European Destinations, Tokyo and Australia?

Here are the details of the upcoming A350-941s to SriLankan. It seems that the assembly of these birds will be starting in Toulouse, in early 2016. We will keep you informed on this forum.

@Skyliner - Do you know what's the seat configuration of SriLankan A350-941s?

4R-A?? - A350-941 - MSN052 - Delivery in July 2016
4R-A?? - A350-941 - MSN055 - Delivery in August 2016
4R-A?? - A350-941 - MSN063 - Delivery in September 2016

These days some of the LCC carriers do have J seats. i.e. FlyDubai. Since Mihin Lanka codeshare with SriLankan, Mihin Lanka better to have business class seats in the aircraft.

How did you findout 4R-MRF was AOG in IXM on the 19/3/2015? I heard that its now flying back to Madurai. Wondering why MJ is using smaller aircraft to IXM. I thought MJ has a good load on the IXM route.

Cabin Pictures of 4R-MRF




source : damie

I'm not questioning the J seats. But questioning the number of seats. Their 320 and 321 itself have only 12 seats as J. (Never mind, its a Eco Plus, not a J though). But why would they have 16 seats for a smaller plane than 320 and 321?

I tracked though FR24. There was no return flight on Thursday. On Friday, there was a flight numbered MJ 1 / MJ 2 did CMB-IXM-CMB. When I checked flight status on Srilankan website, it showed two flights in IXM-MAA leg (MJ 2 and MJ 306) on Friday. FYI, there is no flights to IXM on Fridays. So I assumed there must be some tech problem in the a/c.

It seems Fly Dubai are leaving Mattala, their bookings show no flights after March, and wikipedia shows them as the last remaining airline there.

Yeah, according to amadeus, last international flight to mattala operates on 31/3/2015 as flydubai cancelling Mattala service. I heard that Flydubai's Mattala PLF was terribly bad. Wondering how Mattala Airport going to be utilised by the Sirisena's government. Do they still operate Helitours domestic flights to Mattala?

Lost opportunity to Mattala Airport !!!!

DHL Express to build S$140m express hub facility

The South Asia Hub is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2016, the logistics company says.

Logistics firm DHL Express on Thursday unveiled plans to build a 24-hour express hub facility in Singapore at a cost of S$140 million.

DHL said shipment volume is expected to grow over the next few years and the expansion will bolster Singapore's position in the trade and logistics market.

DHL's South Asia Hub will be located at Changi Airport. About the size of 60 basketball courts, the facility will have a fully automated express parcel sorting and processing system to support regional businesses.

DHL said once the hub is completed by the first quarter of 2016, it will be able to support up to five times more flights. The facility will be able to handle more than 628 tonnes of cargo a day and process up to 14,000 shipments per hour.

The logistics firm added that the facility aims to deliver "top-notch productivity and operational efficiency to benefit customers with improved speed, reliability and flexibility".

Mr Herbert Vongpusanachai, senior vice president and managing director of DHL Express, said: "The new facility is designed for the ability for us to get shipments in and out of the hub as fast as possible, so that we can unload from a plane, and get it into to a third country.

"It is designed to have the highest speed, increased flexibility and the ability for us to become a lot more versatile in terms of providing new types of services."

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...696662.htmlpes of services."

Merger of Mihin Lanka & SriLankan would be released on March 31

Emir of Qatar to arrive in Sri Lanka today. During his short visit, King Tamimi bin Hamad Al Thani is scheduled to hold discussions with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on upgrading bilateral ties between the two countries.

Is Qatar interested in buying SriLankan Airlines?

Doubt is he coming for a deal to buy srilankan