Good utilization of frames, but I thought UL operated double daily to LHR. Is this not the case anymore?

People of Sri Lanka are now liable for this debt - whilst others walk away with $$$ millions in profits from aircraft purchases, commissions and other corrupt deals.

It's a complete disaster.

There is no guarantee whatsoever that this will somehow solve all the problems. Absolutely nothing is being done - just a lot of Big Talk.

Nobody will touch this - especially when they discover how "business" is done in Sri Lanka.

The Rule of Law is non existent as far as I can see.

UL currently serve LHR with 7 weekly in Summer and 9 weekly in some time in Northern Winter.

Thanks Banu.

UL had 14 slots in LHR. Previous administration sold some of the slots

Ha ha... DL deal was announced this morning

Definitely a positive for the C series, but they have a very long way to go.

Swiss airlines's regional airline Swiss Global is launching commercial operation in July 2016
Republic airline regional airline for UA, AA and DL has placed order in 2010 EIS 2016. Korean Air placed order in 2011 EIS 2016...Hmm...I think C Series has a future...Not sure about Bombardier...has some cash flow issue waiting for a handout from Federal Gov.

The aircraft is fairly solid, but there have been cost overruns and program management issues along with a few problems popping up during flight testing. This crippled Bombardier as a whole, but it looks like their past the worst of it.

Govt pumps USD 201 million to keep SriLankan, Mihin flying until October

Sri Lankan government has decided to pump 201 million US dollars to restructure and keep the operations of state-owned SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka flying until October this year.

Speaking at a special press briefing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the cabinet has also approved a 70 million US dollars worth government-backed loan facility in this regard.

“We are left with only two alternatives. One is to close down the Airline and other is to provide government funds to keep it,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

“We didn’t think about the alternative to close down. Instead we allocate funds to keep the operations until October.”

The cabinet has also decided to continue the operations of SriLankan Airlines after October as a partnership with an investor or international airline.

The applications for choosing the prospective partner will be called in the near future and the partner company will be responsible with managing operations of the Airline.

The government will soon select an advisory firm to start hunting for a suitable partner for Sri Lanka’s national carrier.

State-owned SriLankan Airlines currently has a debt burden of 3.252 billion US dollars.

Qatar Airways Eyeing Shares at Royal Air Maroc

Qatar Airways is eyeing to acquire shares at the Moroccan carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) to strengthen its presence on the African continent, reports say.

Baker El Baker, Managing Director of Qatar Airways has reportedly said that his company would move forward to acquire between 25 and 49 per cent of RAM’s capital.

“A cooperation to acquire some shares was signed between the Moroccan and Qatari governments,” El Baker told Blomberg Agency on Monday on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market taking place in Dubai from April 25 to 28.



Qatar Airways ups stake in British Airways parent firm IAG

Qatar’s national carrier now owns about 12 percent of IAG, up 9.99 percent from previously, IAG is the parent company of British Airways, and its chief Willie Walsh has previously said the relationship with Qatar Airways could lead to more code-sharing arrangements, joint purchases and coordination between cargo units.



Alitalia/Etihad to buy 49% stake in Air Malta

Italy's Alitalia may decide to buy a 49 percent stake in Air Malta to boost its services to customers and accelerate consolidation in the aviation industry, it said on Wednesday.

Alitalia, in which Abu Dhabi-based carrier Etihad Airways bought a 49 percent stake as part of a 1.76 billion euro rescue plan, has vowed to return to profit by 2017.

Chief Executive Cramer Ball said the airline would decide whether to invest in loss-making Air Malta if its due diligence on the airline proves successful and once it is certain the move would not affect its own restructuring plan.

"We have decided to look closely to see whether Air Malta can fit into our strategic growth, particularly how our networks can complement each other in areas such as southern Italy," Ball said in a statement.



Singapore Airlines boosts stake in Virgin Australia

Singapore Airlines has lifted its stake in Virgin Australia amid uncertainty over the future ownership of the Australian carrier.

I admire your patriotism and the love for "Assembled in Canada" brand. But to be realistic, Republic I think is still in Chapter 11, so until DL came along C series actually did not have any credible orders.

Besides, look at the A380. Whose who in the industry (such as EK, BA, QF, AF, LH, SQ) uses it and still nobody calls A380 a success story.

Bombardier makes great trains and lousy planes. Should have stuck with what they know.

Not all Bombardier planes are lousy. The deHavilland/Bombardier Dash 8 is easily one of the best turboprop passenger aircraft ever built. Even the CRJs are pretty good aircraft for the short regional routes

Q400 is eaten alive by the ATR72.

CRJs were OK-ish until the ERJs came along.

Korean and Swiss are two credible customers. True enough that there haven't been a large number of orders yet, but it is still early. And if the rumored CS500 comes into play it will change the narrowbody airliner field.

We shouldn't forget the first 737 (737-100) only had a grand total of 30 orders. But 49 years later we all know where the 737 family stands