Flight Trouble

SriLankan Airlines will jack up ticket prices by US$ 20 to key destinations from July 15, as soaring fuel prices threaten to set its balance sheet on fire.
SriLankan Airlines will jack up ticket prices by US$ 20 to key destinations from July 15, as soaring fuel prices threaten to set its balance sheet on fire. A one way trip from Colombo to Europe, the Middle East and Far East will be up by US$ 10 and from Colombo to India and Pakistan by US$ 5, the Airline’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Hill told LBO on Thursday.

The airline’s fuel surcharge is currently fixed at US$ 35 (single trip from Colombo to Europe, Middle East and Far East) and US$ 20 (one-way from Colombo to India and Pakistan), Hill said.

The airline is currently buying fuel at US$ 1.
83 a gallon, well past budgeted estimates of US$ 1.53 for this financial year and showing few signs of easing.

If prices remain at US$ 1.83 per gallon, it will wipe off US$ 30 million off SriLankan’s balance sheet this year, Hill said adding that the airline is already posting a US$ 3 million loss in June alone, aggravated also by currency fluctuations.

For SriLankan Airlines, the galloping fuel c