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SriLankan plans to buy two freight aircraft
View(s):SriLankan Airlines will shortly seek Cabinet approval to acquire two freight aircraft on an operating dry lease—that is, airplane with crew, Chairman Ashoka Pathirage said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic drastically cut down the number of passenger flights (where cargo was transported in the belly of the aircraft), there has been considerable demand for freight services, industry experts said. SriLankan reconfigured an A330-200 aircraft earlier this year for cargo but has no dedicated freighters.
Mr Pathirage said business into and out of Sri Lanka and to other transhipment areas was being targeted. “If there is freight business, why not?” he asked. “We don’t just take aircraft unless there is a business proposition. We can also carry, for example, cargo from India to another country through Sri Lanka.”
It was also announced on specialised international aviation publications this week that SriLankan would issue tender notices for the two freighters as passenger demand flagged.
The reconfiguration of the A330-200 added an additional 60 cubic meters of volumetric capacity to the main passenger deck, bringing total capacity to 170 cubic metres, Mr Pathirage is quoted as saying. It can haul a maximum payload of up to 45 tons.