SriLankan to add an A340; order for A320 confirmed

SriLankan Airlines will be adding an ex- Cathay Pacific Airbus A340-300 to its fleet to aid expansion. The aircraft, MSN381 ( currently registered B-HXL ), will join SriLankan in the first week of April. It is likely to be registered as 4R-ADG in Sri Lanka. The aircraft is currently configured in 8F/12C/205Y and SriLankan stated that they will retain the same config.( However I have returned to the airline for verification that this was not a mistake, as UL is presently a two-class airline. Not to mention that it doesn’t make financial sense to add First Class under this economic climate. )

The aircraft, manufactured in 2000, presently has the following seat pitches

First Class – 79″ pitch, 22″ width – Flat beds

Business Class – 60″ pitch 20″ width – Lie flat seats

Economy Class – 32″ pitch 17.5″ width – Standard seats

Cathay 343 First Class

Photos copyright Lufthansa747

B-HXL spent most of 2010 in the Victorville desert, and was ferried to Xiamen in late 2010 for refurbishment.

Multiple sources also confirmed that the airline has placed orders with Air Lease Corp for three factory fresh Airbus A320 ( IAE ) aircraft. The first of these, MSN4694, the airline’s first brand new aircraft in over ten years, will also arrive in April 2011.

SriLankan fleet info page has been updated to reflect these changes.