SriLankan Airlines,lost 6.06 billion rupees in the year to March 2010,
Total loss for the last 2 years is 16.05 Billion rupees.(150 Million dollars)
02 Sep, 2010 16:54:25
Sri Lankan Airlines cuts losses
Sept 02, 2010 (LBO) - SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka's state-run national carrier said it lost 6.06 billion rupees in the year to March 2010, down from a 9.99 billion loss notched up an year earlier.
The airline said it had cut cost and improved revenue under turnaround plan and losses in the second half of the year was 44 percent lower than the first half.
A 30-year civil war ended in May 2009, and tourist arrivals had since picked up.
SriLankan said revenue fell to 63.36 billion rupees, down from 74.26 billion a year earlier, as operations were cut back and a fuel surcharge on air tickets was lifted.
Fuel costs were down by 35 percent, aircraft maintenance by 19 percent, catering by 3.0 percent, landing costs by 13 percent, airport handling by 7 percent and overflying by 16 percent, and key fixed costs, chief executive Manoj Gunawardena said in a statement.
Operating expenses fell to 69.2 billion rupees from 84.4 billion and unit costs improved to 43.37 rupees a tone/kilometer from 50.71 a year earlier.
Passenger load factor, or the actual passengers carried as a share of available seats had increased to 77.93 percent from 72.85 percent a year earlier. Overall load factor, which includes cargo, had increased to 66.72 percent from 65.12 percent a year earlier.
SriLankan said it will expand its route network and fleet this year and would "diversify into related areas of activity," without elaborating.
Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe was quoted as saying that the airline will expand "with the broad objective being a return to profitability within the shortest possible time."
In July 2009 it had taken a delivery of a one Airbus A320 and a wide-body A330-200 was acquired in the second quarter of 2010. Services to Milan were launched last year and to Shanghai this year.
SriLankan said it had carried about half the tourists who came to Sri Lanka in the past year which was three times as high as the second placed airline.
It had also won the 'Best Airline Operator (South Asia)' at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Awards, and 'Best Passenger Airline by Growth in South Asia' at Singapore’s Changi Airport Awards.
Sri Lankan Airlines has over 100 flights to India from Colombo, and none from Jaffna, which is half the distance to South India.
ReplyDeletePassengers from the North have to travel by bus or train from Vavuniya, clear dozens of security check points, stat overnight in Colombo, to take a flight to South India.
May be when the Hambantota International Airport (Rajapakse IA) opens may be they will have to drive further to Hambantota and take the flights to India. As the UNP leader commented 7 years ago, it would be convenient for India pilgrims to visit Kataragama.
There were regular flights to India from Jaffna when UNP came to power in 1977 operated by Air Ceylon. Foolishly the new Air Lanka in 1979 did not want to operate flights from Jaffna. The Minister of Aviation was none other than President J R Jayawardene and the
Chairman was Capt. Rakhitta Wickramanayake a colleague of mine from Air Ceylon who was flying for Singapore Airlines in 1978 as a junior captain.
In 2002-2003 UNP under the Chairmanship of Malik Samarawickreme with Ranil Wickramasinghe as Prime Minister also supported the International Airport and port to be built in Hambantota.
Donald Jayantha Gnanakone.
Tamils For Justice.
Losses accumulate after the departure of Emirates Airlines partnership in March 2008.
ReplyDelete23 Mar, 2009 18:26:36
Sri Lankan Airlines halves flights to India, trims costs
Mar 23, 2009 (LBO) – State-run national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, has slashed flights to India from 100 a week to 51, as part of a cost-cutting strategy and re-aligning of services to conserve cash and maximize yields, an official said.
In the first quarter of the current financial year starting March 2008, the airline lost almost 50 million US dollars, on core airline operations, chief executive Manoj Gunewardena said.