Category: Shipping and Transport

SriLankan Airlines is pushing to expand its portfolio through fifth freedom rights to Nepal and Bangladesh, while keeping a close tab on rising jet fuel prices, which may put a drag on its balance sheet this year.rnrnFifth freedom or lquote beyond rights, refers to the right of an airline from one country to land in […]

An action plan to re-haul bus transport and enforce regulation on a decentralised, largely out-of-control sector, is being rolled out by the National Transport Commission over the next few weeks.ldblquote Buses are a Rs. 30 bn industry and a very large component doesnt have the management and the regulation that it deserves dblquote , Chairman […]

Emirates Airlines on Monday announced a fuel surcharge on airline tickets purchased from selected markets, including Sri Lanka.Passengers buying tickets from Sri Lanka, pay an additional Rs.500 for a one-way journey and Rs. 1,000 per return ticket, the airline said.rn rnldblquote Emirates Airline is not implementing across-the-board ticket price surcharges in response to rising fuel […]

Travel Agencies in Sri Lanka can now book travel on Jetstar Airways, Australias new low-cost domestic carrier, following an agreement between the airline and Galileo International, a leading global distribution services company and subsidiary of Cendant Corporation. Under the agreement, Galileo is providing a simplified level of GDS distribution to Jetstar to complement the carriers […]

An action plan to clean up the local transport mess is lined up for Cabinet approval but private bus owners, currently paying up over million rupees a month as kickbacks to alleged gangsters that control bus routes, are not convinced of a change.The new Minister of Transport Felix Perera will present an action plan to […]

Striking flight attendants at Sri Lankas national carrier SriLankan Airlines announced they had ended a work stoppage that forced the airline to ground flights for more than 24 hours.The Flight Attendants Union said its 600 members would return to work from 2:00 pm (0800 GMT Saturday) after securing a meeting with their chief executive officer […]

A strike by flight attendants over a pay row delayed several SriLankan Airlines flights and stranded passengers Friday, airport officials said.rnThere was no immediate word from the airline about the delays, but the Flight Attendants Union said 600 crew members were taking part in the trade union action.rn rn The strikers are demanding talks over […]

Trade to the North East has taken to the road, washing away business for the seaports in the region. The Trinco harbour saw the number of ships calling there drop to 121 ships, down 78 ships from 2002, the Central Bank said in its 2003 Annual Report, adding that this was mainly due to the […]

The ADB is to help package road development into a shelf of projects complete with backward clearances in place, making it easier for investors to step in. A US$ 15 mn Asian Development Bank technical assistance grant is in the works to change over from ad-hoc development to a more planned project lending process.rn rnldblquote […]

Dubai based Emirates Airline said its net profit rose 73.5 percent to US$ 429 mn, while revenues grew 37 percent to US$ 3.6 bn for the financial year ending March 31, 2004.SriLankan Airlines key strategic partner also said they carried 10.4 mn passengers endash 23 percent more than the previous year.rn rnThe total profits of […]

Colombo Dockyards is sailing off on new business routes to stay comfortably afloat as its shipbuilding and repair operation gets weather trodden. Revenues from shipbuilding fell 96 per cent from Rs.2.5 bn to Rs. 91 mn in 2003, as orders for new ships dried up.rn rnCEO and Chairman Koich Yamanaka said some of main setbacks […]

In a bid to entice private airlines to fly to Sri Lanka, the Civil Aviation Authority plans to cut landing charges during off-peak hours.This will even out operations at the Bandaranaike airport, which is under-utilised at certain times and heavily congested at others.rn rnMost of its business is during the day, with slack hours between […]