Ten years of SriLankan Airlines : ‘Milestones on Our Journey’

SriLankan Airlines launched a book titled 'Milestones on our Journey', on the achievements of the National Carrier and the challenges it has faced over the last decade. The first copies of the book were presented to dignitaries of the country's four religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity - at ceremonies in Kandy and Colombo on November 5 and 6.

Chandana de Silva, Head of Corporate Communications at the National Carrier, said: 'This book is a tribute to the staff of our airline - 6,000 of them scattered around the world - who have served their company and this country faithfully through thick and thin'.

'This is a story of triumph over challenge - not just one but multiple challenges. SriLankan Airlines has faced more trials in the past decade than any company. I can think of anywhere in the world, from the destruction of half our fleet of aircraft in the terror attack on Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in July 2001, to the Tsunami of December 2004. Through it all, the members of the SriLankan Airlines family have stood firm and resilient' added Mr. de Silva.

The book provides an insight into the many ways in which the airline supported the country through its darkest days, aggressively promoting the Indian Ocean Island as a tourist destination; spending hundreds of millions of rupees in marketing campaigns for the country; and investing billions of rupees in infrastructure at no cost to its shareholders or the public while achieving profits in eight of the last nine years.

The 56-page book, published in both Sinhala and English, also speaks of the manner in which SriLankan has become an internationally renowned airline, winning more than 50 awards since its partial privatization in 1998, many of them global accolades.

The book also chronicles the company's diverse commercial activities such as widening its route network to cover 54 cities in 28 countries; turning Colombo into the gateway to South Asia; making SriLanka the air cargo hub in the region; expanding its fleet with modern aircraft; providing all ground handling and flight catering services at BIA; providing maintenance services for other airlines, and launching new products and services such as the International Aviation Academy and SriLankan Holidays. It also describes the activities of SriLankan Cares, the charity arm of the airline, in building schools and supporting the education of tens of thousands of children throughout the nation.