SriLankan Airlines will negotiate with an Asian based air service company to begin a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre at the Mattala airport in Hambatota.
SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ajith Dias states proposal for an MRO at the Mattala international airport was in the pipeline for several years but it never got off. We are now in talks with an Asian counterpart to get this project of the ground at least now and this MRO will help the bottom line of the airline to a great extent as they could harness big business due to SriLankan Engineering’s track record.
He further said Srilankan Airlines are going to re-evaluate to begin domestic operations next year by acquire two 40 seater aircraft for this operation and hope to operate regular flights to selected domestic airports out of total 12 domestic airports in Sri Lanka. and with increased tourism we see great potential in this project.
Commenting on the re fleeting of the airline by the end of this year they will have seven new aircraft increasing the total fleet to 20. In the next two years we will get eight more. Subsequently all ageing A340 aircraft will be retired and Sri Lankan will have a fleet less than 3 years of age. All these aircrafts will be for SriLankan Airlines and not for Mihin.
With the new aircraft the national carrier will add more frequencies to key destinations. The airline may not look at new routes but will increase frequencies to existing destinations that include China, London and India.
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