Ethiopian Airlines was planning to operate regular flights to Colombo Airport but its never been materialised. Few years ago it was planning to operate passengers flights on ADD-BOM-CMB. Last year, ET was advertising on its website its going to fly cargo flights to Colombo Airport but it didn't happen too.

SriLankan Airlines is going to increase Delhi flights from 18 weekly to 3 daily from Dec 2019

ADD is dominated by Ethiopan Airlines. ET is the biggest Airline in Africa with a vast route network.Not many foreign carriers fly to Ethiopia.Nairobi and Johanesburg is preferred to ADD.
Lots of Chinese flying to ADD and JNB.

UL need to upgrade it's aging A 330-200, A 320 ,A 321 if it wants to be competitive. I think UL should consider Airbus 330-NEO, A 321-XLR , Boeing 787 or Airbus 350 in future purchases. They are better on fuel savings and has modern cabin upgrades.

Good move, flew this sector recently and there was a pretty decent number of Pax flying both ways

Good to hear ! Is Vistara looking to fly DEL-CMB sector?

Thanks Serendib !

Does anybody know how many passengers were onboard Alliance Air's maiden schedule flight to Jaffna on the 11-Nov-19. Hope the route will become successful.

I wonder why Jaffna flight booking is not available on Air India/Alliance air website?

Yes. I wonder why Ethiopian Airlines doesn't fly to Colombo?

well it was not that bad to commence the first flight...

According to Sri Lanka Civil Aviation Authority Director-General H.M.C. Nimalsiri, the first Alliance Air flight landed at Jaffna Airport last noon with 12 passengers on board. “The same flight left for Chennai at 12.45 p.m. with 35 passengers,” he said.

i'm sure nos will soar up..

wrt to reservation..

“People can reserve their air tickets from respective websites for various promotional offers or through ticketing agencies. Visas should be obtained from the Consulate General’s Office under the Indian High Commission in Jaffna. The duration of air travel between Jaffna and Chennai is 32-50 minutes,” Nimalsiri said.

source: http://www.dailymirror.lk/print/fron...ces/238-177632

SriLankan Airlines’ Airbus deal flouted procurement rules: Auditor General

Thursday November 14, 2019 10:30:50

ECONOMYNEXT – State-run SriLankan Airlines had violated government procurement guidelines in entering a deal to purchase and lease 14 Airbus aircraft, without making a cost-benefit analysis, the Auditor General has said.

The Company had not adhered to Government Procurement Guidelines in obtaining consultative services for the entire process, selecting companies for purchasing six (06) A 330-300 aircrafts and four (04) A350-900 aircraft, leasing another four (04) A350-900 aircraft…” the AG said in his report on the audited accounts of Sri Lankan.

“The decision for purchasing aircrafts had been taken by the Board of Directors of the Company without obtaining approval of the Cabinet of Ministers and without making a proper cost benefit analysis.”

SriLankan had also paid a sum of 17.058 billion rupees as compensation for revoking leases of four A350-900 aircraft.

SriLankan was in talks with Airbus SAS to change order for four other A350-900 aicraft to be delivered in 2020 and 2021 and replace them with A321NEO or A330NEOs.

So far 2,528 million rupees (19.21 million dollars) had been paid to Airbus as a pre-delivery fee, the Auditor General said. (SB-Colombo/Nov14/2019)

Haven't they changed the four A350 order yet? These A350s supposed to be delivered from next year.

Ethiopian is calling CMB again..
today there was a direct flight back and forth (ADD-CMB-ADD)



is this too a charted one for UNPKF?

As i've repeatedly stated - this order has nothing to do with the requirements of UL.

This order is all about over $100 Million in Commissions that Corrupt Politicians and their cronies have pocketed.

This is why aircraft were leased at higher than market rates on 12 year leases with no termination clause. This has all been admitted to by Suren Ratwatte.

All of the above increases the value of the deal - increasing the Commissions paid.

This is what needs to be investigated (hopefully it was as part of the one year investigation into UL. I see this report has still not been released to the public). Who received these Commissions?

As for the remaining Airbus A350 - this order is exactly the same as outlined above. They have purchased these at what appears to be full list price (instead of a 40-50% discount given to most clients).

Again this is all Corruption. There are people responsible for this - starting with whoever signed this contract.

They've been trying to change this order for 5 years - still haven't been able to.

The only logical conclusion is that this order has no termination clause or a clause allowing the order to be changed and the people of Sri Lanka will have to pay.

I guess next week Kapila Chandrasena takes over again and we get to listen to his "Sri Lanka Big Talk BS".

Salamair announces direct flight from Colombo to Muscat

Expanding its subcontinent profile, Sultanate’s fastestgrowing value-for-money airline, Salamair, has announced direct flight service from Colombo to Muscat, one of the beautiful cities in the world.

Oman’s capital Muscat is a city of extraordinary beauty, an oasis of history and culture surrounded by sea, mountains and desert. Muscat is a vital hub for commerce, economic and trade activities and is considered the economic and administrative centre of Oman.

The Muscat-colombo direct route marks Salamair’s first entry into the Sri Lankan market. The airline now flies to seven destination in the subcontinent, including Colombo, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot and Chattogram (Chittagong).

Scheduled to commence on

November 25, 2019, the route is scheduled to operate four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, departing Colombo at 09:10 local time and arriving in Muscat at 12:10 local time. The flight will depart Muscat at 02:40 local time arriving in Colombo at 8:10 local time. One-way tickets to Muscat are now available at a special promotional fare of Rs.19,999 (OMR 45).

Salamair CEO Captain Mohamed Ahmed said: “Introduction of flights between Colombo and Muscat will contribute to further growth and strengthening of ties between Oman and Sri Lanka. It will also cater to the leisure and business travellers from and to Oman and Sri Lanka. With beaches, deserts, mountains, greenery, wadis, Oman is an enthralling tapestry of different terrains. This direct flight to the stunningly beautiful capital city provides a great opportunity to discover the incredible Oman.”

“We will continue to expand our network to meet the requirements of our guests. It is our constant endeavour to provide affordable and proficient services to all the destinations we fly,” he added.

Further, Andre Fernando, Chairman and Managing Director of MAC Aviation Services Pvt Ltd (Fully owned subsidiary of MAC Holdings Pvt Ltd) GSA for Salamair in Sri Lanka said: “We are delighted to represent a dynamic airline as Salamair in Sri Lanka. We will be providing a variety of services to support the airline and the discerning customer choosing Salamair as its preferred carrier to Muscat. The new route to the incredibly beautiful city of Muscat further solidifies the close links between Oman and Sri Lanka.”

Salamair currently operates three Airbus A320 aircraft and four Airbus A320neo aircraft making it the first Omani carrier to utilise the highly rated single aisle aircraft. Salamair flies to international destinations including Chittagong and Dhaka, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Doha, Jeddah and Riyadh, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, Shiraz and Tehran, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Alexandria, Kuwait, Istanbul and to domestic routes Muscat, Salalah, and Suhar. Additional passenger services to compliment the customer experience on the homegrown airline include options for extra luggage, seat and meal selection.

Customers can book their tickets through the airline’s official website on www.salamair.com

Source http://epaper.dailymirror.lk/epaper/...3D%3D&feed=rss

4R-ALS came back from KUL to CMB as UL1423 yesterday.