yes this was the one

Yes Vietnam is good I'll be ho chi min city.....
Iam not happy with ULA321 decision to hkg

As per the UL's official Facebook and Instagram page - MEL resumption daily non stop on 29 Oct 2017

As per UL website UL604/5 CMB MEL CMB is operated daily A330-200

Colombo - Melbourne Flight Timetable

DAILY - UL604 - A332 - CMB-MEL - 23:50 - 15:25+1 - 10:05-flying hours
DAILY - UL605 - A332 - MEL-CMB - 16:55 - 22:15+0 - 10:50-flying hours

Daily service ?? Srilankan will plan to connect LHR daily service with these flights ??

This doesnot connect well with existing CMB-LHR time table

Why are not utilising A330-300. Why using old A330-200.

Can anyone confirm what exactly is the reason 4R-ALN and 4R-ABQ are inactive

I don't think it's a C - Check this early for 4R-ALN

As for my assumption Maybe because of range difference and payload limitations. The A330-200 is a long haul aircraft where as the A330-300 is more suited to short to medium haul. Maybe even because the A330-300 are utilized for high density flights to the middle east, Japan and parts of India.
But then even when UL uses the A330-300 to LHR they should be just fine to MEL and for me personally I think that using an old A330-200 on a 10H+ flight would be unpleasant because right now 4H+ flight on these old birds are best avoided even though UL has done extensive refurbishment on These aircrafts.
Technical guys just clarify me if the A330-300 has any ETOPS problem flying the CMB-MEL route. Other aircraft types that take the same flight path are 77H,77L,789 and A388.

Good morning, first A321neo fpr Sri Lankan on maiden flight later today:

Airbus A321-251N 7663 4R-ANC Sri Lankan f/f 29may17 ex D-AVYO

Chris

Sri Lankan Airlines 4R-ANC A321-251N, D-AVYO (MSN 7663) performing flight testing now above north Germany & North Sea.

and here pic from the firstflight landing

A321neo Sri Lankan 4R-ANC by Tobias Gudat, auf Flickr

A321neo Sri Lankan 4R-ANC by Tobias Gudat, auf Flickr

A321neo Sri Lankan 4R-ANC by Tobias Gudat, auf Flickr

A321neo Sri Lankan 4R-ANC by Tobias Gudat, auf Flickr

A321neo Sri Lankan 4R-ANC by Tobias Gudat, auf Flickr

A321neo Sri Lankan 4R-ANC by Tobias Gudat, auf Flickr

Hello,

ALN was undergoing a 1C check and should be returned to service by now i guess. Well I have no idea about the ABQ though.
Far as I know, we are not retiring any A330s for the time being... But some A320/1 will be retired (most likely the ex MJ aircrafts). but not in less than 6 months.

cheers

SriLankan launches Colombo-Melbourne nonstop beginning in October

Travellers will have a nonstop option between Australia and Sri Lanka from October when SriLankan Airlines commences Melbourne-Colombo flights with Airbus A330-200s.

SriLankan said the inaugural service would take off on October 29 2017, with Melbourne chosen for its first Australian destination as about half of all Sri Lankans who live in Australia reside in Victoria.

“Given the number of Sri Lankans residing in and around Victoria, we fulfil a long felt need for a direct service,” SriLankan chief executive Captain Suren Ratwatte said in a statement on Monday.

The daily flight has been scheduled an overnight service from Colombo, arriving in Melbourne in the afternoon the next day. The return flight is scheduled to takeoff from Tullamarine in early evening, for a late night arrival in the Sri Lankan capital.

The are no airlines flying nonstop between Australia and Sri Lanka.

Currently, SriLankan serves Australia one-stop through Kuala Lumpur or Singapore thanks to codeshares with fellow oneworld alliance members Malaysia Airlines and Qantas, respectively.

SriLankan chief commercial officer Siva Ramachandran said there had been a “steady increase” in passengers travelling between Australia and Sri Lanka on one-stop itineraries.

“Our direct services will give us a definite advantage as SriLankan is the only carrier that is able to offer connectivity of this nature at this time,” Ramachandran said.

“We also offer seamless onward connections beyond Colombo to a range of destinations in the Indian sub-continent and Middle East.”

Australia’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Bryce Hutchesson congratulated SriLankan for launching the new route.

“Direct air connections between countries stimulate two-way tourism, business, trade and people-to-people exchange which are the core ingredients for a vibrant bilateral relationship,” Hutchesson said.

Hope they use 4R-ALS. Its relatively new (~8yrs) among the A332 fleet