SriLankan Airlines Limited (previously known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier airline of Sri Lanka. It operates a fleet of 13 Airbus aircraft to destinations in Asia and Europe from its main base and hub at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport. The airline's trademark phrase is 'You're Our World', and the company's logo features a stylized peacock.
SriLankan is not part of an airline alliance. It had a partnership with Emirates Airline (which still maintains a 43.63% stake in SriLankan), which expired on 31 March 2008.
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. 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.
SriLankan acquired six Airbus A330-200s to complement its fleet of Airbus A340-300 and A320-200 aircraft. The A330-200 units 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 also upgraded its existing A340 fleet into a two-class configuration (business and economy class) whilst overhauling the interior to reflect the new corporate image.
Apart from its cosmetic differences the SriLankan Airlines fleet, which now ranks among the most luxurious and well equipped in the world, is also one of the most efficient. Fleet compatibility has reduced maintenance and training costs, Rolls-Royce Trent and CFM56 engines give minimum fuel consumption on long-haul sectors, cargo uplift has increased, and the high quality of the products on offer is encouraging a growing number of passengers to fly SriLankan Airlines.
SriLankan subsequently took the decision to recreate Colombo as a new hub for flights to Asia. An example of this is the expansion into regional markets, notably in India. It is now the largest foreign air carrier into India with 100 flights a week to 11 destinations
Whilst continuing expansion in the region, SriLankan also serves Jeddah, its third destination in Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh and Dammam. Jeddah was the airline's 51st destination in 28 countries, thus increasing to nine the number of its destinations in the Middle East.
As part of its expansion strategy, it has also developed non-stop flights from the Maldives (Malé) to London, Paris and Tokyo.
In 2008, the Government of Sri Lanka notified Emirates Airlines that it will not renew the management contract which then expired on 31st March 2008.The flight attendant's uniform has remained unchanged since the days of Air Lanka. The stewardesses' uniform is a Kandyan-style sari in green with a peacock feather print, while the stewards' uniform is a red/maroon jacket, white shirt and black trousers.
The cabins are very similar to the cabins of the Emirates Airline A330-200s and A340-300s. SriLankan provides an individual video player that includes 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 special dietary requirements and Business Class passengers can pre-order any of the special meals available. |
