Haleef, Is UL definitely flying Melbourne end of this year? Do you know the starting date? Any idea when does the flight booking and schedule will be available?

To be exact, most probably in November or October mid. Airbus A330-300 will be operating. No starting dates given yet, we'll see soon.
Will keep you posted, most probably later in a month or so, as I won't be much able to come online due to my Ordinary Examinations this month.

Wishful thinking...I agree

trying to kill an another revenue stream...SriLankan Airline should write a book...how to lose money on a monopoly

They've lost a huge number of qualified Engineers - mostly to the ME3.

People with ability and ambition can do much better for themselves than be trapped in the toxic culture at UL.

Hope they lose their EASA certification - not sure how they ever got it in the first place.

This is the same Engineering department that dropped an A340 off the jacks during the time I worked there.

The story I heard is that they were short staffed and were using members of the cleaning staff to help them lower the aircraft off the jacks! What could possibly go wrong.?

I doubt the insurance company would pay in this situation - it was all hushed up of course!

This is the same Engineering department that left a cloth on the wing of the A340 I was flying after doing some last minute work. A passenger was alert enough to mention it the cabin crew - we had to be pulled back on to the stand after pushback.

On another occasion I had checked that all 4 gear pins were stowed in the cockpit (they were). Then when I was doing the walk-around I found another set of pins installed. The Engineering staff were too lazy to come to the cockpit and take the aircraft set of pins. The safety implications are obvious and when I addressed this to the Engineers on duty I could see they understood as well. This is a classic example of the "Normalisation of Deviance" - you can look that up if you want to know more.

The worst thing the Engineering Department ever did to me?

One afternoon I was called out to do a test flight on an A320 that had just come out of maintenance. Everything was delayed and they were pressuring me to do the flight. It had to be done under VFR conditions and the sun was setting - so I finally cancelled it as there was no time. The next day I found out that due to the amount and type of work that had been done - an authorisation letter was required from the DGCA. It was Sunday and they did not have this letter - but they were going to have me do the test flight anyway - thanks guys!

Very amusing to hear these inside stories, if you find time please don't hesitate to share more. This gives the perfect image to an outsider about the failed state of affairs this airline has, Also very keen to know which role you had in this airline.

Yeah, but can they compete on price with the others ??

There is not any other direct flights and there for we have a slight advantage against others.

Excellent Question.

The real issue is UL never learns from its past mistake. They need to stop following the diaspora concentrations points, like they did in Italy.

With all due respect to our compatriots, their patriotism ends when they find a fare a dollar cheaper. Which is certainly reasonable, as any passenger who does not have specific requirements would do.

Therefore, starting SYD would have been better than MEL, as at least they could have captured some premium traffic on the Kangaroo route if the flights were timed well to connect with LHR routing.

Not getting in to money burning ventures and resisting the urge to starting direct flights to Australia would have been even better.

@Mach3

I was Captain A320/A330/A340 for 8 years at this Airline for 8 years - then they cancelled my contract from one day to the next and forced me out of the country.

Of course once my contract was ended so did any non-disclosure agreements - they're not as smart as they think they are in UL Management!

I do need to be careful - I don't want this site shut down. It's important that people understand what is going on.

Back to the Tragedy of UL

I understand there are a lot of very naive employees at UL who were expecting the TPG Group to take over, wave a Magic Wand and solve all the problems. People were actually expecting the 4 A350s from airbus to come!

This Australia nonsense is probably part of this delusional thinking.

Some very naive people on this forum as well.

Here's the reality of the situation:-

The GOSL is out of ideas, out of money and out of time.

The country is being kept afloat by loans from the IMF. These loans come with conditions - that is why the PPP process started. It's PPP or a complete shutdown of various vanity projects including UL.

There is no PPP option for UL - nobody will touch this. At some point the IMF will instruct the GOSL to close UL down as a condition for getting more loans. The GOSL will then have 2 choices - shut down the country or shut down UL.

I don't know what kind of time frame is involved but I would guess this will be sooner rather than later - in fact we may already be there.

You certainly won't be reading any of this in the local papers.

This is how the IMF works - plenty of info online if you want to find out more.

UL is finished - there is no way out. Just a matter of time imho.

The real tragedy is that UL could have been a profitable Airline.

So you are saying that the count down for closure has most probably started. Well how relieving to hear from a tax payers point of view rather than an aviation enthusiast. With losses now reaching 6 billion USD, it would only make a white elephant if operated any further so I too think think that bankruptcy is inevitable with predicted increases in fuel prices, IMF pressure and as an icing for the cake TPG's withdrawal from it's due diligence. We already have seen in the past that no airline is interested with the feasibility of UL to acquire shares. Let's wait and watch the drama unfold and until then fingers crossed.

SriLankan Aviation mulls major expansion drive in Mattala


Sri Lanka Aviation College, SriLankan Airlines training arm, is looking at a major expansion drive and is also looking at setting up an Aviation College in Mattala Airport.

SriLankan Aviation College General Manager Primal De Silva said that they will set up this college from revenue within the company and also through bank loans. “We are ready to invest but need more aircraft movements at Mattala to fully engage in the project.”

He said they have also acquired a 737 200 cargo aircraft for training . and now are on the look out for a six seater Cessna aircraft.

Elaborating on their other plans he said that they will also tie up with three universities in England and Australia to offer more engineering courses. “We will also open two regional Aviation Colleges in Jaffna and the Eastern province next year. The students will come to Colombo in their final part of the exam to Colombo for practicals.

De Silva said SriLankan Aviation College is a self funding institution and today has around 20% of foreign students who help to generate additional forex to the country and the airline.

He said that they are one of the world’s 25th IATA accredited Regional Training Partners and only such centre in the region.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest aviation training body in the world, has selected Sri Lanka as the venue for its flagship annual event, the IATA Global Training Partner Conference 2017, on May 15 and 16 at Cinnamon Grand. “We will provide around Rs. 1.5 million to be the main sponsor for the event allowing us to get regional mileage from the event.”

The conference is the largest aviation training conference in the world and is the most dynamic event for networking in aviation training partners worldwide.

IATA selected Sri Lanka from among many other nominees for its Global Training Conference based on the above criteria and by recognizing the efforts of SriLankan Aviation College and SriLankan Airlines in developing a regional platform for aviation training.

We are just tired of reading the more talks by these politician. More talk but no action.

I didn't know before Sri Lanka currently have B737-200. Does any body have more information about this aircraft?

Slight advantage in terms of ??? other than to say we support the national carrier .. when others offer better prices, better connectivity with next to free stopover packages .. Tell me again, if UL charges 2000 $ and SQ offered the same flight for 1500, plus a 3 day stopover in Singapore,with 2 nights / 1 day stay, free travel pass, and concessionary entry to attractions, which one would you choose ??



Exactly.

When I was talking to somebody from a Philippine carrier how they add routes, the guy said this "just because there are a few thousand marias in X country, we don't add a flight, however patriotic Maria maybe ... After all, the Maria's flights maybe paid by the employers who want the cheapest flight, never mind Maria will have to stop over in two cities before reaching home. Flights are added based on the number of Full fare paying clients and other factors, not based on the diaspora living there ..

Are they still flying. The last 737-200 was rolled our way back in 1988. Most would have faced retirement by now due to the high cycles they would have accumulated due to short haul flying. Has unique looking engines though, the Pratt &Whitney JT8D and those extra windows on the cockpit.
On top of all how is it gonna be useful since most common type of narrow body aircraft at this time are the Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320 which even their days are numbered due to latest successor of each counter part.
Can someone explain the most practical and useful purpose this aircraft(737-200) could serve.