Financial Times

Jetwing, Nawaloka drop out of race for i’national flights
The Jetwing and Nawaloka groups along with LankAir (formerly Ronan Air), have dropped out of the race to operate international passenger air services leaving six firms in the fray out of which a maximum of two are likely to be selected.

All three domestic operators operating on the Colombo-Jaffna run, Expo Aviation, Lion Air and Aero Lanka (formerly Serendib Air), submitted completed applications and the Rs 1 million fee by the July 13 final deadline, along with Deccan Aviation, Holiday Airways and Peace Air.

The Civil Aviation Authority will now process the applications and have detailed talks with each firm about their plans to go international, Director General of Civil Aviation Authority and Chief Executive Officer H.M.C. Nimalsiri said.
“After a quick perusal of the applications we will call all the firms, one by one, to give us detailed presentations of their plans. We expect to have these meetings within about two weeks from now.”

The contenders have asked for permission to fly to most Indian metros, as well as capital cities in the sub-continent and also to the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia and some even European capitals.

This is under the Bilateral Air Service Agreements that Sri Lanka has entered into with other states many of which currently remain under utilised.
Currently, national carrier SriLankan, which is managed by Emirates of Dubai, has a monopoly on international routes.

The companies have named a variety of aircraft they plan to operate on designated routes ranging from Avro HS 748 and Fokker F27-500 turbo-prop aircraft to medium-sized jets like the Airbus A320-232 and Boeing B737-300 2 and even the long-haul Boeing B747.

Bilateral air services agreements enable an airline designated by one government to enjoy concessionary landing charges and time slots which are not usually made available to other commercial carriers at their destinations.

Back to Business