I think given the circumstances the A333 was the right aircraft and I remember reading somewhere that the last 3 will have a centre fuel tank, hence the delay of their deliveries till the second half of this year (could be wrong though).

In any case what do you think of the old UL management? I remember you were one of the few defending their actions. This is a genuine question as I've heard mixed reports about their performance.

Mihin-lanka-flight-returns

That's why they shouldn't buy these small aircrafts which can't even take much people. Waste of money. By the way was it the 319?

Technical Problem is on Mihin Lanka's A321 - 4R-MRD. 4R-MRD came back from the C-Check on 27/3/2015 and faced the technical issues on 27/3/2015 on MJ311 CMB-GAY and 29/3/2015 on MJ501 CMB-DAC. I think they tried the test flight also on 28/3/2015. 4R-MRE also AOG for engine change.

I don't understand why they didn't just launch a non-stop from Heathrow, like you said. BA covers India very well from Heathrow, and seems to have no problem filling planes. Both the fact that it flew from Gatwick, and the inconvenient stopover in MLE certainly hurt BA's chances of doing well on that route. Also, if they flew from BA, they could also offer First Class on that route, as the 772s they fly from Gatwick are only equipped with Business. LHR would allow passengers coming from the US/Canada to more conveniently connect to CMB, as well as the countless tourists that are flooding into SL from the UK and other parts of Europe that aren't connected with nonstop flights to CMB

I am starting to wonder too whether this was the right choice of aircraft. I was hoping that UL might consider the 77W to become the new workhorse of the long haul fleet, as I do not believe it would need to have payload restrictions as the A333 does. It seems like other South Asian carriers like AI, JW, BG and PIA have all found success using the 77W, and have utilized them successfully on long routes such as LHR, CDG, MAN and beyond to JFK and EWR. I wish UL had considered the Boeing option, but I guess its too late now.

Maybe is because they want to stick with an all Airbus fleet and pilot for A343 and A332 can easily switch to pilot the A333 with no hassel and save cost on training.

Yesterday there was a MEGA Maldives flight from CMB to MLE. This some charter flight ?

Oh yes spot on brother.some people here were making big hype about new Aircraft orders and without thinking how this will effect the Airlines financial situation.

The flight number LV199 is the regular Shanghai-Male flight. Has to be some sudden diversion to CMB.

How about having 2 777's for UL?? to cover up London / Tokyo / Rome routes???

SriLankan supposed to replace A343s with A359s but they couldn't get the delivery slots of A359s in end of 2014. Since the A343s are getting out-dated, SriLankan Management hadn't had no aircraft option within Airbus other than selecting the A333 which is suitable only to serve UL's China, Middle East and Far East Destinations (A333=Medium haul has no restriction for fully loaded with Pax and Cargo). SriLankan to take delivery of three x A359s next year when these brand new XWBs will be serving long haul routes importanly : London (Heathrow)

I do agree with SriLankan1, SriLankan needs a bigger aircraft for Heathrow, It's shame the government had sold most of the slots at our UL's iconic route : Colombo-Heathrow where UL used to serve approx double daily flights. Getting slots at Heathrow is not that easy now and it's quite long way to go for the expansion of Heathrow airport's sixth terminal and third runway.

Currently SriLankan is mixing A332/A333/A343 on Colombo - London (Heathrow) route. In the winter, using A333 on Colombo - Heathrow is not a best idea due to payload retriction result of long flying hours. SriLankan going to fly just daily flights to Heathrow from Summer 2015 and in Winter 2015 onboard A332. For Next year Heathrow operations, SriLankan had planned to use A359s with 2 class 315 seater aircraft. I doubt daily 315seats are sufficient for Heathrow. May be UL has to plan to get A350-1000 which is a 387 seater in 2 class (J/Y) and plan for the daily Colombo-Heathrow-Toronto route. Transferring to Boeing may be not a good idea due to training etc..

why cant srilankan have a wet lease something like hi fly.....Srilankan s cargo industry has rapidly gone down,, HKG-CMB Cargo sector is doing v well,
Some routes like singapore using A321 /A320 it has given a chance to EK to carry Heavy cargoes.

I agree. We will have to make do with the A333 to Heathrow for now. Transferring to Boeing Aircraft just for this route is not worth. I believe at the time the previous government was in talks with Airbus for the A350's, Boeing has also offered to sell the 787-8 & 787-9, but the government was advised not to due to cost of training of staff, pilots, maintenance , etc. Even Mihin cancelled an earlier deal it has made with Boeing.

But while the airline could have paid for training on the Boeing aircraft, it would have been a worthwhile expenditure. If the A333 cannot take full loads of passenger on long range flight, that almost defeats the purpose of buying the bigger planes. If they can't fill the planes on long haul routes, why didn't they just buy a few more A332s then? If you are going to purchase a large plane, I would think it would be more worthwhile if you were able to reach the aircraft's full potential. That's just my view.