A Mihin Lanka flight to Indonesia from the Bandaranaike International Airport was cancelled today due to a technical defect. The flight was due to take off today morning. As a result, some 175 passengers, mostly Indonesians have been accomodated in hotels.

South India, extended home base, says Sri Lankan Airlines CEO

South India is an extended home base for Sri Lankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, which is all set to expand its operations in metros and tier-two cities in the region. As part of a move to accord thrust to the Asian market, the airline would increase both frequencies of operations and choices of destinations in India.

In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, Kapila Chandrasena, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sri Lankan Airlines, said increasingly liberal aviation policies and opening of secondary cities was a welcome sign for the industry in India. “India is important due to the sheer scale of operations it offers our network, and the market is big enough to sustain any number of airlines.

Airline Route has a latest update on UL

Some highlights,

Milan - No cancellation
Beijing/Shanghai - Daily
UL Operating Mihin aircraft on Bahrain route (???)
Moscow - will operate with 320s
Kochi - 2 daily
KL/ Singapore - double daily
Paris - Back to 4 weekly
Zurich - 3 times a week
LHR - Daily 330 service and 5 more weekly only during summer
No more flights to ZRH/NRT/LHR via Male
NRT - 5 times a week

Lankan President keen on Colombo-Madurai air link



Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Government are encouraging Sri Lankan Airlines to commence service from Colombo to Madurai, said Kapila Chandrasena, Chief Executive Officer of Sri Lankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka Airlines, here on Friday.

“However, a lot of operational and commercial process has to be worked and our technical team will visit the Madurai Airport soon. So, I commit myself to April month, in which both the Sinhala and Tamil New Year falls, as a possible target and will work backwards.” He was addressing an interactive session organised by the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry to push for immediate introduction of direct international flights between Colombo and Madurai.

Stating that the specifications of Madurai Airport showed that it was well equipped, he said that the route would first have to be approved by the airliner's board.

The entire airline industry itself was passing through a difficult patch with returns on investment being just one per cent in the recent years. While the operating costs kept escalating, ticket prices were going down and this necessitated the players to be innovative to survive.

Informing that the Sri Lankan Government had decided to infuse capital into the company for modernising and expanding, Mr. Chandrasena said that scale was needed to justify this expenditure and India, especially Tamil Nadu, could provide this scale.

Elaborating on the State-run Sri Lankan Airlines which operated 26 aircraft, he said that it served as a full-fledged airliner serving long haul flights and connecting metros such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai besides cities in Europe. Mihin Lanka Airlines, its sister entity, served as a regional airliner serving tier II cities such as Tiruchi and possibly connect Madurai also.

Around 50 per cent of the companies' aircraft were in the ‘wide body' category for serving transcontinental destinations in the Far East, West Asia and Europe. The rest of its fleet were in the ‘narrow body' category.

Rohana Perera, Head (Commercial), Mihin Lanka Airlines, S.K. Mittal, Executive Director of Translanka Air Travels, and Chamber president N. Jegatheesan, were present.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle2930966.ece

To initiate our justification,the actual demand for Colombo,even in the olden days are from Madurai only.The then Indian govt. pushed Air Ceylon to start their services from Trichy instead of Madurai at that time itself bcs of the lack of facilities at Madurai.This point is not to degrade trichy but to justify that the demand for Madurai-Colombo is there since 1965's.I've attached a proof from a newspaper extract-please look into it:



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Let me answer your questions now: This is a recent "The Hindu" extract for the estimated International Passenger traffic from Madurai airport,to be feeded by Southern districts of Tamilnadu,otherwise Madurai Hinterland.



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Exclusively for Colombo alone : 1200 per week = 172/day.
Dubai : 1200 per week = 172/day.
Singapore : 1100 per week = 158/day.
Kaula lampur : 1300 per week = 186/day.
Male : 400 per week = 58/day.
Europe & USA : 350 per week = 50/day.

At present,Only Srilanka has Madurai in their bilateral agreements and It's possible only either with UL/MJ or Spicejet to connect Madurai & Colombo in the coming Summer 12 schedule.Now only Bilateral treaty work is being carried out for other destinations to enable direct flight operations which will take atleast next 6 months.So,If UL/MJ start CMB-IXM by this S12,it's going to be your monopoly and you will get all type of onward passengers from madurai hinterland.

Adding it : 1200+1200+1100+1300+1000+400 if we exclude US & Europe traffic = 6200 per week and It's going to be 886 tickets per day.

To the maximum,If UL/MJ tries CMB-IXM,It will be with A320 aircraft possibly which is just 180 seats.So,the Demand is 5 times the seat capacity.I bet Madurai can give you 95-100% Occupancy If you start your CMB-IXM flights at the earliest.

Hope we will board UL/MJ flights from Madurai very soon.I'm ready to give any more explanations for why we stress for Madurai-Colombo air connection.Please feel free to ask me.Thanks..!!

Superb bringing out of points that justify our need for International connections!! Apart from all these, from Madurai, one could reach all corners of India by well planned completed 4 laned National Highways whose map you could find in the below picture.



And there are excellent opportunity for Cargo movement since this region is a pioneer in granites, graphite, fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee, rubber products, textiles, auto parts, alloy steel, forgings, cement, electronics, energy components and what not!!

Please visit Madurai region industries thread : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1479564

The thread is now building up and we have not included the industries in downsouth Tamil Nadu including Sivakasi, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli etc.

Steps would be taken for starting a direct flight between Madurai and Colombo by April.

Airsenok dominating local skies



Turning a new chapter in domestic aviation, SENOK GROUP OF COMPANIES recently launched its Domestic helicopter charter service under the name of ‘AIR SENOK’ recently.

The launch has already attracted the attention of the corporate, foreign agencies and as well as the high flying tourists. The company hopes to provide an excellent service to potential investors, high-end tourists that seem to pour into the island with the expansion of tourism and related services. In line with such enormous development AIR SENOK aptly fills the vacuum that exists in the Sri Lankan aviation industry.

The company, having looked at many options purchased Eurocopter’s AS 350 B3 helicopters as it was in the fore front where speed, power, comfort and reliability was concerned. The aircraft weighing 2250 Kg maximum takeoff weight, the aircraft flies at a cruise speed of 130 nm/ 235 Kmph, making it the fastest helicopters currently in Sri Lanka.Purchased brand new from France, this high performance variant of the AS 350 B3 Ecureuil (Squirrel/Astar) series, the single-engine B3 outclasses all other six seat helicopters for power, flexibility, safety and low maintenance of costs.

It is specially made to measure for hot weather conditions and very high altitudes and would easily tackle altitude changes in areas such as Pidurutalagala, Nuwara Eliya, the knuckles range and even Sigiriya.

A standard production model recently made history by landing on Mountain Everest. Its VIP configuration offers all the amenities of an executive jet without the annoying need for a landing strip. All seats are forward-facing for comfort.

The baggage compartments are easily accessible to allow for quick loading of bulky luggage and parcels.

The flexible design of the AS 350 B3?s enables it to be configured for many different missions, allowing for one aircraft to perform the role of many. Much of the special mission equipment added to the B3?s is removable, allowing the aircraft to quickly switch between roles such as Medical Evacuation Services in Emergencies. This is the only aircraft that?s fitted with the original Medical evacuation systems.

The helicopter can also be configured with the ?enhanced cargo handling system?.

The system consists of an under sling which can carry up to 1300 kilos. The company within a few days of its launch carried out its first Emergency Medical Evacuation making it the first such evacuation carried out by a private company in Sri Lanka.

The AIR SENOK hangar is at Ratmalana Airport. SENOK GROUP OF COMPANIES, in its last 33 years has covered many lines of business representing brands such as Kobelco, JCB, Mitsubishi, Liebherr, Sakai, UD Trucks, Ferrari, Audi, Volkswagen, Subaru, Nissan Diesel and more....

SriLankan check in time change


A SriLankan staffer at a check- in counter

In a move to ensure a swift and smooth check in for passengers, all SriLankan Airlines economy class check in counters are now closing 60 minutes before scheduled time of departure.

The change is expected to achieve optimum utilization of the infrastructure at Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo.

SriLankan Airlines opens check-in counters, three hours before flight departures and boarding gates 90 minutes before departure. This would enable all passengers who check in on line to also enter the boarding lounge well in time for their flight.

“This will be a vital step to ensure better efficiency and on-time scheduled departures, for total customer satisfaction for our valued passengers. This will also allow us to provide them with a seamless and a very smooth travel experience,” said Chief Marketing Officer, G.T. Jeyaseelan.

SriLankan Airlines provides ground services for all airlines that operate through Bandaranaike International Airport and an average of 70 departures are handled by SriLankan staff daily.

SriLankan Airlines had made large losses since a management contract with Dubai's Emirates was terminated, while Mihin Air has lost money from day one. airlines have been mainly financed by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, to which they owe 18 billion rupees (150 million dollars) in unpaid dues for fuel, a media report said.

Sri Lankan Plans Asia Expansion

SriLankan Airlines plans to focus expansion on Asian routes as European travelers pare spending on vacations.

“We are taking a cautious approach in Europe and an aggressive one in Asia,” Chief Marketing Officer G.T. Jeyaseelan said in a Feb. 23 interview in Colombo. The strategy is driven by “economic reality,” he said.

The carrier plans to boost services to cities including Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai as China’s economic growth helps spur travel demand across the region.

Global Alliance

SriLankan will also cooperate with other airlines to expand its international reach, possibly including joining a global alliance. The carrier is assessing the three groups and possibilities, Jeyaseelan said. There are no plans to invest in other carriers, he said.

SriLankan will add an Airbus A320 and an A330 by mid- year Jeyaseelan said.

A more correct statement is to say - the losses of Sri Lankan & Mihin are being borne by the general public.

Air Senok has an excellent website, but with a minor flaw.

They own the worlds' most powerful helicopters ..

As per the website ..

The aircraft can also be configured with the "enhanced cargo handling system". The system consists of an under sling which can carry up to 1200 tons.

Air Senok

Mihin website still showing Male schedule, are they still flying there?