SriLankan in talks with Turkish Airlines to lease A350s
View(s):SriLankan Airlines is in talks with Turkish Airlines to lease out its new three Airbus A350s as per an earlier government agreement of exiting from these new aircraft due to rising debt, officials said. The state-owned carrier had already made arrangements to find a buyer for one aircraft of these four planes (that were on order) and is in talks with Turkey’s national carrier over the other three, an official told the Business Times.
He said that they are close to wrapping up a deal with them. While SriLankan Airlines with debts of around US$3.25 billion needs more aircraft for expansion, it does not need long-range planes such as the A350, according to the management. Meanwhile in its letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund, the government has spelt out structural benchmarks which include a “resolution strategy” for SriLankan Airlines by September this year. -(DEC)