Category: Aviation

Nov 05, 2010 (LBO) – India’s Jet Airways launched daily direct Boeing 737-800 flights from Colombo to Delhi and Mumbai on Friday, as the island’s peak tourism season got underway, a statement said. The two new flights between Sri Lanka and India are in addition to the existing double daily Colombo Chennai – Colombo services. […]

Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – Dubai-based Emirates airline’s first-half profit shot up 351 percent to 925 million US dollars (3. 4 billion UAE Dirhams) from a year ago as it carried more passengers and cargo, a statement said. The airline attributes the sharply higher profit in the six months ending September 30, 2010 mainly to […]

PARIS, October 31, 2010 (AFP) – Commercial airlines in the United States, Europe and Asia are at last relishing a rebound in their financial fortunes, announcing profit spurts after two very lean years. The civil aviation sector in recent months has enjoyed a pronounced pick-up in both passenger and freight demand, with airlines welcoming the […]

Oct 29, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines is almost doubling daily flights to the Maldive islands from December 1 to cater to the peak tourism season and also connecting a fourth city in China, a statement said. The number of flights to Male is being increased to six a day from the earlier 3-4 a […]

Oct 20, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines has won a merit award at the island’s national software awards for its fuel management information system that enabled it to cut fuel costs and aircraft emissions, a statement said. The National Best Quality Software Awards 2010 (NBQSA) honours innovations in information technology and are presented annually by […]

Oct 19, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines plans to improve connections to major Indian cities by adding several flights to Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, a statement said. Also, large numbers of Indian travellers transit Colombo to destinations as far as North America, Europe and the Far East, as well as nearer regions such as the […]

Oct 10, 2010 (LBO) – Indian budget carrier SpiceJet, which has launched daily flights to Sri Lanka to exploit the island’s post-war tourism prospects, intends to increase frequencies and add more destinations soon, officials said. “We like consumers to book early,” Sridharan said. “Closer to the flight fares go up. The last few seats are […]

Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to further liberalise its civil aviation sector and remove flying restrictions with the end of its ethnic war, an official said. The private sector will be given more opportunities to operate hot air balloons, float planes and helicopters, the Civil Aviation Authority director-general H M C Nimalsiri […]

Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run national carrier SriLankan Airlines is planning to divest a part of its fully owned catering unit through a public listing, Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe said. Earlier this week the government said it will divest a 49 percent stake in a gas distributor it planned to buy back from […]

Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Gulf Air, which has resumed flights to Sri Lanka after a war, is aiming for daily frequencies by next summer given the increasing number of Arab tourists visiting the island, officials said. Chief executive Samer Majali said the island’s economic recovery after its 30-year ethnic war is also drawing increasing […]

Sept 28, 2010 (LBO) – India’s Jet Airways said it plans to introduce daily flights to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo from Delhi and Mumbai to cater to the rising number of visitors to the island. The two new flights starting from November 5, are in addition to the existing daily Chennal Colombo service, with […]

Sept 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will revamp its outdated civil aviation law to cope with advances made over several decades and a new law will be brought to parliament quickly, information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. Analysts say Sri Lanka could also earn revenues by expanding air traffic and navigation services to the Indian […]