Handover SriLankan management -BT Poll
Most Sri Lankans polled in a new survey by the Business Times (BT) on the future of debt-ridden SriLankan Airlines (SLA) say management must be handed over while ownership needs to be retained. Asked whether SLA should continue to be managed and controlled by the Sri Lankan government, 78.6 per cent of the respondents said NO? There was an interesting suggestion from one respondent: “Re-organise the airline; sell part of the stakes to foreign and local investors with those experienced in the tourism sector (John Keells Holdings, Aitken Spence and Jetwing, etc) being encouraged to invest. Thereafter list the company on the stock market.”
To, two other questions; should SLA be managed by a foreign airline like the earlier arrangement with Emirates or should SLA be managed by a foreign airline which would also invest and hold a stake in the airline, not only as a management partner; the majority responses, respectively were both: YES(71 per cent and 67 per cent). The popular BT poll, returning after a long absence, was conducted on email with responses coming from corporate heads, chamber heads, directors, professionals, tourism, airline and civil society leaders; and students and travellers, among others. While some respondents argued that such a poll would not reflect an accurate assessment of the airline as such a study must come from a proper audit and due diligence undertaken by professionals, the larger percentage of the responses simply reflected what the public has always been bitter about: wasting taxpayers money.
The general view was that the public’s money has been abused for too long but that ownership should remain in government hands with management privatised. One former staff member of the national carrier during its halcyon days as “Air Ceylon” was critical of staff discipline. “Our air hostesses think they are God’s gift to mankind. They hold up staff transport to powder themselves and disrupt the entire transport trip to collect them for the flights,” he said. The only occasion during the poll when there was a mixed response to the questionnaire was when less than 50 per cent (respondents) agreed that the national carrier should reduce routes to cut losses. ”Some routes that are strategic to Sri Lanka like London, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome should not be cut. Perhaps a reduction in frequency to these destinations may be a temporary measure,” one respondent noted.
| SriLankan/Qatar Airways discusses part equity/ management deal | |
| By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera SriLankan Airlines, in a bid to wriggle out of an insurmountable debt it has amassed over the years, is discussing with Qatar Airways to sell part of its equity and also management control, informed sources said. SriLankan Catering (Pvt), a part of SriLankan Airlines recently issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) to select an investment bank (in a bid to list a minority stake of 30 per cent to 49 per cent in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) under economic reform plans announced by the Prime Minister, officials said. “Some investment banks have advised the Treasury to issue share option schemes to its employees as well,” a source told the Business Times, adding that SriLankan Catering is also added onto this deal. Many months ago Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker was in Colombo and met officials from the national carrier. Details of that meeting have not been made public. |
| SLA’s Frankfurt/Paris routes reviewed for possible withdrawal | |
| By Sunimalee Dias Debt-ridden SriLankan Airlines is considering a possible withdrawal from Frankfurt and Paris, weeks after announcing that its Rome sector would be discontinued from May 1. Staff cuts, according to an airline source, is also on the cards as the national carrier desperately tries to work out ways to put the institution on a better, financial footing. However in its February 15 announcement to the media, it gave no indication that two more European sectors would be axed or are likely to. That statement in fact said . “On the other hand, the carrier said it would add a fifth frequency to Frankfurt from July set to continue during the summer of this year as well. Flights to Paris will continue with four weekly frequencies”. The airline source told the Business Times that they were considering cutting flights into Europe namely Frankfurt and Paris, which would be “scrutinized for possible withdrawal”. Meanwhile, the airline will strengthen its destinations into the Far East, South East Asia and India, and the Middle East. The source pointed out that the carrier would be more focused on how it spends money adding that they were looking at cutting jobs as a means to efficiently run the company by assessing how much is required to run the airline “efficiently with a leaner and meaner productive workforce”. In this regard, staff related costs would also be reviewed like allowances for staff and it was pointed out that wherever possible they would take reasonable cuts, the source explained. In the meantime, the carrier is also looking at cutting its lease rentals from its landlord as well as restructuring the company. Sources said that the aim was to eventually bring back the airline to profitability by engaging in a viable network, cost reductions and working more with code share partners. The airline was said to be in talks with some of its OneWorld Alliance partners for support to ensure that the airline would be able to stay afloat. |
