SriLankan to Suspend Indian Services, gives them to Mihin
NEWS JUST IN :
With the proposed relaunch of Mihin Lanka and their expansion phase planned on 15th January, SriLankan Airlines will be suspending their services to Cochin, Calicut, Coimbatore and Hyderabad ( exactly on the same day ) and it is learnt that this would be done in favour to Mihin.
Although this news is still NOT confirmed officially, This news is now CONFIRMED and major GDS services show the flights as suspended.
SriLankan was already doing very well on the flights to Cochin and Calicut and did not face any Indian competition on all the four routes too.
The airline also had enough available aircraft to comfortably operate these sectors. But they recently decommissioned double the amount of aircraft that they had intended to and is now not having adequate aircraft to operate these sectors too.
The airline has so far not outsourced any new replacement aircraft either and it is reported that, as a helping aid to Mihin, SriLankan might avoid taking in new aircraft and thus will indirectly handle these routes to Mihin.
No new destination is planned to be launched by SriLankan in 2009, Mihin however would start services to three destinations that SriLankan already serves including Dubai and Trivandrum .
It is also rumoured that SriLankan is experiencing losses on the new Rome route launched upon government’s request, since the airline operates the FCO-CDG-FCO leg without 5th freedom traffic rights and not operating it as a triangular flight instead.
The airline also recently suffered a number of safety outbreaks including runway overran of some aircraft and Mayday issuances on the air and the staff puts the blame on new management’s new handpicked Flight Operations Manager as the one responsible for these malfunctions.
A number of experienced pilots have left the airline and the airline is in an unsuccessful attempt to lure foreign pilots at a lower wage.
Can we know whether Srilankan will add new aircrafts as well as new routes. When will Mihin Start flying to Cochin,Calicut,Coimbatore and Hyderabad. Any other plans by Mihin and Srilankan.
RSVK, I’d love as much as you do to know their plans, but currently, available information are limited.
I think they are taking a wait and see approach towards expansion due to the economic recession.
However SriLankan is in a refleeting exercise and they recently completed replacing their A320s with ‘almost new’ ones.
Mihin will soon start flying into Varanasi. They had planned to fly into Kochi, but these plans seem to have since been shelved.