Simpli(fly) the best, now better than the rest
The new RIU hotel near Galle
ON CLOUD 9: Our call sign Four-Romeo-Delta-Lima-Kilo crackles in my headset. I feel like I’m one of the jarheads in the Oliver Stone Vietnam-war epic Platoon as we skim over the coastline. All that is missing is the imperious Wagner soundtrack ‘Ride of the Valkyries’. But there is no need for a battle-cry for the excitement has reached a crescendo as the Robinson R66 chopper, the newest in Simplifly’s fleet, gives us a taste of the ideal way to travel and overcome the stress of traffic. It beats everything hands down. Car and train journeys to Galle have been cut down these days, yet you cannot beat the convenience of air travel. In less time than it takes to travel from (my home at) Dehiwela to Fort during rush hour, we have flown from Ratmalana Airport and are ensconced at the Galle Fort Hotel waiting for breakfast to be served.
Our host, Suren Mirchandani, vice chairman of Simplifly, knows all the staff at the hotel by the first name. He is a familiar figure inside the Galle Fort. It was here that he got the inspiration to start a domestic airline 12 years ago, realising that one day it could serve to ferry high-end travelers, both business and leisure, to a city which is now a brand name in the world. “Galle is iconic. Today foreigners say we are going to Galle. Not Galle, Sri Lanka, but just Galle. Many years ago I figured we could cater to a special segment of the tourist market, for those people whose time is precious and is money,” says Mirchandani. “We pick up our customers from BIA (Katunayake Airport) and fly them straight to Galle or any destination in Sri Lanka.
But Galle was the place which inspired this dream,” adds Mirchandani. The dream began on July 26, 2004 when the first Simplifly aircraft swung into operation. Today, having just celebrated the 12th anniversary of that first flight, the operation boasts of seven fixed wing aircraft and helicopters and has turned into the largest domestic air services provider in the country. We lift off smoothly from the apron at Ratmalana Airport, the Rolls Royce jet engine purring like a contented cat, and head along the coastline to Galle. An English breakfast awaits us in 40 minutes at the venerable Galle Fort Hotel and we savour it from 600 feet in the air.
Galle Fort and cricket ground
Bird’s eye view
This vantage position offers a different perspective of our beautiful land. I never knew how big Bolgoda Lake is or how serene the Kalutara temple looks from above. We are travelling at 100 knots which translates into 180 km per hour. It is early morning but our foreign visitors in the hotels that stretch along the coastline are already sunbathing poolside or on the beach. I have a bird’s eye view. Simplifly had to work hard to convince authorities that a domestic airline was a need and had a part to play in the future of the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.
“The war was on and from 1995 to 2002 all civilian airlines were banned from operating due to security concerns,” Mirchandani recounts. “When we applied for a licence in 2002, things were different on the ground compared to the present day. It took close to two years to convince the authorities to permit us to fly. When our helicopter bearing the call sign Four-Romeo-Delta-Lima-Kilo took off on our first flight on July 26, 2004, it was like a dream come true and heralded a new beginning for domestic aviation.
Pioneering role
“We are very proud of the pioneering role we played in creating an entire industry at a time when no other corporate had the risk appetite to do so. The systems for operating were tested, improved and fine-tuned by us,” Mirchandani explained. Until 2009, Simplifly was the only operator providing a helicopter service. In 2011, the Millennium Group of Singapore took a significant interest in Simplifly which now has diversified its business to include a flying school operation (Millennium Training Academy), a third party maintenance arm called Ready-Jet-Go plus the core charter division. Looking down on the Southern stretch we can’t but help think of how it must have been during the tsunami – Simplifly was in the thick of relief operations back then with its single helicopter.
There is another tsunami on the horizon for Simplifly – the unchecked growth of the industry which “cannibalises” the mother lode and can be a huge detriment to the future progress of the domestic aviation business. “We welcome competition and actually need a number of very good air service providers in Sri Lanka. More airlines make for better service and also will increase awareness of travelling by air around the island,” insists Mirchandani. “But what is happening now is that certain ‘airlines’ which have got licenses only have a single trainer aircraft or are only for private use are chartered out to offset ownership costs. “This is a real danger for it cannibalises sales from established operators and limit our ability to grow. There are also severe space constraints and a short supply of pilots and engineers and what all this unfettered licensing does is destabilises a very tricky industry.”
Simplifly architect Suren Mirchandani. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Five operators in aviation space
At present, there are five players in the industry, including the Sri Lanka Airforce. Mirchandani believes that the way to go would be for authorities to only hand out licenses to new entrants that demonstrates “a clear willingness and a plan to build a new airline” rather than individuals on an ego trip who are trying to cut prohibitive costs of owning a Dreamliner. In addition, the safety aspect also comes into play with small operators sometimes unable to invest in the human operations and technology systems that a large operator can. The Dutch Galle Fort looks different from the air.
The nearby cricket stadium looks forlorn and missing the Australian batsmen’s perahera as we circle it before landing on a strip of beach nearby. We are ferried to the hotel for breakfast by a four-wheel drive laid on by Simplifly, all part of the service. Celebrities from the wafer-thin American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man) to Middle-Eastern Royalty have flown on Simplifly. I’m not in that class evident from my purchase at a shop on Pedlar’s Street inside the Fort – a few packs of thinly sliced manioc chips – as we get ready to depart for Colombo. Take off is from Koggala Airport. Effusive and full of life, Mirchandani is buoyant about the future.
The company is on the verge of getting a new Bell 230 helicopter, an advanced 10-seater which will be the only twin-engine civilian helicopter in the country. “We believe that the capacity of the aircraft will enable us to deliver further economies to the flying passenger by reducing costs,” says Mirchandani. At present it costs around US$1,000 to charter the four-seater Robinson. “As Sri Lanka positions itself as a MICE destination, it’s important for us to be able to carry large groups. Our partners in the high end of the travel trade are clamouring for larger capacity.” We return to Ratmalana. The whole trip including a leisurely breakfast has taken less than four hours. Breakfast in Galle, lunch in Nuwara Eliya and dinner in Trincomalee – I dream on.