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| Founded | July 1979 (1947 as Air Ceylon) | |||
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| Hubs | Bandaranaike International Airport (Colombo) | |||
| Frequent-flyer program | FlySmiLes | |||
| Airport lounge | Serendib Lounge | |||
| Subsidiaries | Mihin Lanka | |||
| Fleet size | 21 (+1 on order)[1][2][3][4] | |||
| Destinations | 61[3][5] | |||
| Company slogan | You're Our World | |||
| Headquarters | Airline Centre Bandaranaike International Airport Katunayake, Sri Lanka[6] |
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| Key people | Nishantha Wickramasinghe (Chairman)[7] Kapila Chandrasena (CEO)[7] |
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| Website | http://www.srilankan.aero | |||
SriLankan Airlines Limited (Sinhala:ශ්රී ලන්කන් ගුවන් සේවය) (previously known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier airline of Sri Lanka. It operates to destinations in Asia and Europe from its base and hub at Bandaranaike International Airport (Colombo). The airline's trademark phrase is 'You're Our World', and the company's logo features a stylized peacock. The airline's head office is in the Airline Centre, on the grounds of Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka.[8]
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Air Lanka was set up by the Government of Sri Lanka in July 1979 following the closure of Air Ceylon in 1978. Initially, the new air carrier operated two Boeing 707 jets on lease from Singapore Airlines but Air Lanka never returned the Boeing 707s, which were purchased in 1979, while a Boeing 737 was acquired for shorter routes.[9] During the 1980s, the airline increased the number of destinations served and made additions to its fleet. By 1990, Air Lanka served 26 destinations. In December 1992, the airline purchased its first Airbus A320.
Air Lanka, which was state owned, was part-privatized to the Dubai based Emirates Group in 1998 when Emirates and the Sri Lankan Government signed an agreement for a ten-year strategic partnership. This agreement included exclusive rights for all aircraft ground handling and airline catering at Colombo-Bandaranaike airport for a ten-year period. Emirates bought a 40% stake worth US$70 million (which it later increased to 43.6%) in Air Lanka, and sought to refurbish the airline's image and fleet. The Government retained a majority stake in the airline but gave full control to Emirates for investment and management decisions. In 1998, the Air Lanka brand was abandoned and SriLankan Airlines was born. In the early 1990s the airline had its headquarters in Colombo.[10]
SriLankan acquired six Airbus A330-200s to complement its fleet of Airbus A340-300 and A320-200 aircraft. The A330-200 aircraft joined the airline between October 1999 and July 2000. The company’s fourth A340-300 arrived at Colombo painted in the airline’s new corporate livery. SriLankan upgraded its existing A340 fleet into a two-class configuration (business and economy class) whilst overhauling the interior to reflect the new corporate image.
SriLankan Airlines has been affected by environmental problems and acts of terrorism. This has included the SARS outbreak, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the Civil War within Sri Lanka and a terrorist attack on Colombo-Bandaranaike airport, which destroyed four aircraft and damaged two, writing off half of the airline's fleet. SriLankan took the decision to position Colombo as a hub for flights to Asia. An example of this is its expansion into regional markets, notably in India and the Middle East.
Whilst continuing expansion in the region, SriLankan commenced flying to Jeddah, its third destination in Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh and Dammam. Jeddah was the airline's 51st destination in 28 countries, thus increasing the number of destinations in the Middle East to nine.
It flies nonstop routes from Malé (the Maldives) to London, Tokyo and Zurich.
On 19 December 2007, then CEO Peter Hill had his work permit cancelled by the Sri Lankan Government for refusing to remove 35 passengers in a fully booked flight to give space for the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa and his entourage.[11]
In 2008 Emirates notified the Sri Lankan Government that it will not renew its management contract,[12] which then expired on 31 March 2008. It claimed that the Sri Lankan Government was seeking greater control over the day-to-day business of the airline, "which was not acceptable to us".[13]
The flight attendant's uniform remained unchanged from the days of Air Lanka until February 2010, when a new uniform was introduced. The first destination announced for their expansion plans is Shanghai, China which began on 1 July 2010.[14] The airline has commenced flights to Guangzhou, China on 28 January 2011.[15] The airline also plans to start flying to Copenhagen,[16] Ho Chi Minh City, Toronto and Melbourne by 2012.[17]
Emirates sold its 43.63% stake in the airline to the Government of Sri Lanka in a deal that was finalized in 2010, thus ending any affiliations the two airlines had with each other.[18] SriLankan is not a part of any airline alliance.
SriLankan Airlines is a holder of the Imperial Mark, which is valid until May 2014.[19]
The airline is also keen to join an alliance with Oneworld or Star Alliance as preferred "as soon as practicable".[20]
SriLankan Airlines serves 61 destinations in 35 countries as of December 2011.[5] As of December, 2011 SriLankan remains the largest foreign carrier into the Maldives with at least 32 weekly flights between Male and Colombo.
SriLankan has codeshare agreements with the following airlines, as of December 2011:[7]
It also has a codeshare agreement with SNCF.[25]
SriLankan leased a fifth Airbus A330-200 which arrived in July 2010. SriLankan also took delivery of two additional Airbus A320 aircraft which arrived on 14 November 2010 and 15 December 2010, respectively.[26][27]
SriLankan Airlines aims to boost its fleet to 28 aircraft over the next four years and is currently in talks with Airbus and Boeing, in regards to a deal which may consist of up to six long haul aircraft.[28] It has also leased four additional Airbus A320 aircraft, witch arrived in April, May, October and November 2011, respectively.[29] Kapila Chandrasena said the carrier wants to add "roughly six widebodies" the Airbus A330-300 and the Boeing 777 to its fleet to replace its Airbus A340-300s, with deliveries beginning in 2013– 2014.[20] Five more aircraft will be purchased for the Sri Lankan Airlines by the middle of next year. All the old aircraft of the airline will be renovated to suit to the needs of the modern times
As of November 25, 2011, the SriLankan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 9.3 years:[30][31][32]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | |||||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 3 | 1[33] | 12 | 138 | 150 | ||||
| 1 | 0 | 165 | 165 | ||||||
| 3 | 20 | 120 | 140 | ||||||
| Airbus A330-200 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 275 | 287 | ||||
| 2 | 18 | 236 | 254 | ||||||
| Airbus A340-300 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 296 | 314 | ||||
| 2 | 18 | 299 | 317 | ||||||
| 1 | 20 | 223 | 243 | ||||||
| DHC-6-100 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 19 | SriLankan AirTaxi | |||
| Total | 21 | 1 | |||||||
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A300 | 2000 | 2000 | [34] |
| Boeing 707 | 1979 | 1990 | |
| Boeing 737–200 | 1979 | 1995 | [35] |
| Boeing 737–300 | 1979 | 1995 | [35] |
| Boeing 747–200 | 1984 | 1987 | [36] |
| Boeing 767-300ER(leased from Luzair) | 2010 | 2010 | |
| Antonov An-12F | Cargo Only[37] | ||
| Lockheed L-1011 TriStar | 1980 | 2000 | [38] |
The Business Class seats are in cream on some aircraft and dark blue on others. The Economy seats are in light blue color. SriLankan provides an individual video player with 18 movies and 22 radio channels (Economy Class) and over 30 movie titles in different languages (Business Class). Both classes are given the option of a "Satcom" satellite phone. Satcom allows calling anyone in another seat free of charge. SriLankan prepares meals for those with dietary requirements and Business Class passengers can pre-order any of the special meals available. On some flights, like Singapore to Colombo, Sri Lankan Airlines does prepare hot meals, such as chicken and rice or seafood with vegetables, for economy class, as the flight is long. From 2011, full flatbed seats will be offered in Business Class, on selected Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.
New movies from Hollywood, old classics and some films from India are available. There are also comedies, dramas, arts, sports and children's TV.
CTV is SriLankan's channel for children with programmes such as comedies and cartoons. SriLankan has 22 radio channels to provide music from around the world. SriLankan's radio channels cover the European charts, Golden Era, classical and jazz and popular music selections from Sri Lanka, Arabia, India and Japan. New games have been added, including puzzles, playing cards and classic board games.[39] In 2011, SriLankan will install AVOD systems provided by IMS of the United States, on selected Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.
SriLankan Catering, although a 100% owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, is a standalone operation responsible for its own economic infrastructure, management and profitability. Under the guidance of its chief executive officer, the company’s prime responsibility is the preparation of in-flight meals for SriLankan Airlines. It also caters for foreign airlines, among which are Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Emirates. SriLankan Catering recently opened a laundry facility and took over the management of the Serenediva Transit Hotel, at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport.
SriLankan's first frequent-flyer programme was called Serendib Miles and was abandoned in early 2000. It then became a partner of Emirates' Skywards frequent-flyer program. However this agreement ceased to exist when the partnership between the two airlines concluded on 31 March 2008.[40] SriLankan subsequently launched FlySmiLes, which has since added a variety of new reward partners to its program.[41][42]
Sri Lankan airlines has been given a 3-star rating by Skytrax
On 3 May 1986, a bomb planted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam exploded on board Flight UL512 prior to take-off at Colombo's International Airport. The bomb, which had been timed to explode in-flight, went off while the aircraft, a Lockheed L-1011 'Tristar' was on the ground killing 14 of 128 passengers. Officials believe the bomb may have been concealed in crates of meat and vegetables being freighted to the Republic of Maldives. Other reports believe that the bomb was hidden in the aircraft's 'Fly Away Kit'.
On 24 July 2001, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam launched a suicide attack at Colombo-Bandaranaike airport that damaged or destroyed 26 aircraft. Four aircraft were written off, including an Airbus A340-300 (4R-ADD) destroyed by an explosive charge and an Airbus A330-200 (4R-ALE or 4R-ALF) destroyed by a rocket fired from the control tower. In addition, an Airbus A320-200 (4R-ABA) and an Airbus A330-200 (4R-ALE or 4R-ALF) were damaged (and written-off) in the assault. In total, six Sri Lanka Air Force personnel, one commando and eight members of the LTTE were killed.[43][44]
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