Category: Aviation

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2009 (AFP) – US aerospace giant Boeing is readying its 787 Dreamliner for first test flight in the coming days, banking on the new fuel-efficient plane to sail above stiff market headwinds. Boeing has built six Dreamliners that will be used in the flight-test program to assure the plane’s safety for the […]

June 10, 2009 (LBO) – AirAsia said it will launch daily flights from Sri Lanka from August 15 offering promotional all-in fares as low as 4,090 rupees one way between Colombo and Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysia-based carrier, known as Asia’s largest low fare, no frills airline, said Colombo is an important destination for AirAsia to […]

PARIS, June 2, 2009 (AFP) – Passenger jets are hit by lightning every 1,000 hours — on average twice a year — and experts say the risk from the bolts of electricity is growing. But technical experts, astounded like everyone else by the disappearance of an Air France jet in the Atlantic with the feared […]

May 29, 2009 (LBO) – Emirates airline said it will add 22 weekly flights to India in an expansion encouraged by liberalization of its skies that made the sub-continent one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. The Dubai-based carrier said in a statement the move will support for the Indian government’s ambitious growth plan to […]

May 25, 2009 (LBO) – Emirates said it will increase flights to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo by resuming services via Male from July 1 with the launch of three additional flights a week between Dubai and Colombo.From July 1, 2009, Emirates flight EK 654 will depart Dubai at 1020 hours local time and arrive […]

April 29, 2009 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines said it had acquired a second Airbus A320 as part of its narrow-body aircraft re-fleeting program where the existing fleet is replaced with newer more fuel efficient aircraft.The newly acquired A320 is a two year old aircraft on lease from AWAS of Ireland on a three-year contract. It […]

April 29, 2009 (LBO) – Emirates SkyCargo said it had begun transporting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) relief supplies for refugees in the North East.Emirates said a Boeing 747-400 freighter had landed in at Colombo’s Monday April 27, with a cargo of 119 tonnes of tents for refugees who escape Tiger guerilla controlled […]

April 24, 2009 (LBO) – A new Sri Lankan aviation policy aims to encourage investment and open the sector up for more carriers, ground handling and caterers as the economy recovers from war and the market grows, officials said. “If there’s a big growth, with the recovery of the global economy and an end to […]

SINGAPORE, April 16, 2009 (AFP) – Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Thursday that passenger numbers plummeted in March as the global downturn continues to weigh on travel demand. The carrier, majority owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, reported a 42.8 percent fall in net profit in the third quarter to December, to 337 […]

Mar 30, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has appointed Prasanna Wickramasuriya as the new chairman of Airport and Aviation Services Ltd., which runs the island’s airports, from Tuesday, an official said.Airport and Aviation Services also provides air traffic control services and manages the Sri Lanka airspace as well as the Colombo flight information […]

March 27, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national carrier SriLankan Airlines will lease a short-haul aircraft to Mihin Air, a state-run budget carrier, at a below market rate, after extending the dry lease of one of its own aircraft, an official said. Mihin Air is now operating with a single aircraft after it was resurrected […]

March 24, 2009 (LBO) – Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, has launched a facility to let customers access their website from mobile devices called Mobile Emirates.com. Visitors to the site may check-in online up to 24 hours before departure, select a favourite seat or request a special meal and check real-time flight status and view […]