but.. but.. but.. this government is the best......they've made us a developed nation in 100 days. You can get free wifi access even underground

This is the time to retire this 4r-als aircraft and replace with a brand new a330neo.

Hi Azamh,

Any idea why Cathay Pacific has reduced the frequency of flights to Colombo from daily B773 to 5 weekly A333?

Cathay flew daily to CMB before easter Sunday attacks but cut frequency to thrice weekly afterwards. But they have increased it to 4 weekly since November. CX has cut frequency to more destinations due to prevailing uncertainity in Hong Kong.

4r als

.

Would be great if that could be done.
Let's wait and see.

More wishful thinking.

This lease is part of the termination agreement for the first A350's.

The fact that no details about this lease have been made public tells me all I need to know!

LOT Polish Airlines arrived in Colombo Airport. 04 Nov 2019.

Photo credits to : Adam

why there is a special treatments?? this is just a seasonal flight and not scheduled regular one.

LOT Polish Airlines, the flag carrier of Poland, commenced operations to BIA today (4th November) connecting Warsaw (WAW) and Colombo (CMB) on their Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Ok that i know.. but my question was why a special welcome this being just a seasonal flight

According to FR24, there was two charter flights scheduled on last Sunday but they didn't arrived here...

Thanks for the video! How is the passenger load factor on Rossiya Airlines between Moscow and Colombo?

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Direct flights will operate three times a week

Air India’s wholly-owned subsidiary Alliance Air’s flight service between Chennai and Jaffna will begin operations from November 11. The direct flights will be operated thrice a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The flight from Chennai 9I 101 will depart at 10.35 a.m. and arrive in Jaffna at 12 p.m. The flight from Jaffna 9I 102 will then depart at 12.45 p.m and reach Chennai at 2.10 p.m on the scheduled days, Alliance Air said in a press release on Monday.

The direct flight service which was inaugurated with a maiden flight on October 17 was initially scheduled to begin on November 1. Air India officials told*The Hindu*that there was a delay as some formalities had to be completed between the two countries. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe had launched the Jaffna international airport for civilian operations in the presence of President Maithripala Sirisena on the same day just before the inaugural flight touched down.

This will be Alliance Air’s first connection to an international destination. Alliance Air currently connects 53 destinations within India with 113 departures every day.

“It brings us immense delight that after spearheading efforts connecting unique regional routes within India under UDAN, we now fly international, adding the beautiful island nation Sri Lanka in the aviation ambit of Alliance Air. This will be the first non-stop service between Chennai & Jaffna,” C.S. Subbiah, CEO, Alliance Air, said.

The opening up of Jaffna airport for international civilian flights is expected to reduce passenger traffic at Colombo international airport, as the mostly Tamil population in Jaffna will now be able to travel abroad without having to undertake a nearly eight hour journey to the Sri Lankan capital city.

Air India Chairman and Managing Director, Ashwani Lohani said on the day of the inaugural flight that the route was chosen due to high demand. “If it does well, we can increase its frequency. Initially, we will be operating three flights a week and this will increase to one flight a day,” he said.

The cost of a ticket from Chennai- Jaffna will be ₹3,990 plus applicable taxes and levies, while the Jaffna-Chennai ticket will cost $45 plus taxes and levies, an Alliance Air spokesperson said.

Source : The Hindu

WTM LONDON 2019: COLOMBO-SYDNEY IN THE PIPELINE FOR SRILANKAN AIRLINES

04 NOV 2019BY*PIPPA JACKS

Sri Lanka’s national carrier is poised to relaunch a Sydney route in the middle of next year, and hopes to position the island as an alternative stopover route to Australia.

Sri Lankan Airlines

The airline had hoped to bring the route back in 2019, but plans were shelved in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks.

*

“Sri Lanka is a very good half-way point from the UK – 10 hours to Colombo, then 10 hours to Sydney,” said chief executive Vipula Gunatilleka.

*

“Our daily Melbourne route has been excellent for us, particularly for the Indian market, and we expect Sydney to be similarly appealing,” he added, citing that Australia’s 700,000-strong Indian population is expected to grow to 1.3 million in the next five years.

*

The airline formerly flew to Sydney, but ceased in 2001 because of a terrorist incident, and currently flies only from Colombo to Melbourne.

He confirmed plans for Colombo routes to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, are also on the table for 2020.

*

Gunatilleka said that passenger numbers had recovered well since the Easter attacks, with numbers currently only 7% down on the same time last year – though he admitted yields have not been high.

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“Yields have come under a lot of pressure; we’ve had to be flexible on pricing,” he said. “We now need [yields] to bounce back.”

*

The airline confirmed it is to relaunch its website and mobile app next year in a bid to appeal to travellers who expect a “content-rich digital experience”, while the SriLankan Holidays website will relaunch in January.

Source : TTG