SriLankan Airlines: Not usually late anymore but most punctual

SriLankan Airlines says it has enhanced its reputation as one of the most punctual airlines in the world, being rated as the most on-time member airline of the oneworld global airline alliance in the fourth quarter of 2016, by the global flight data monitoring firm OAG.

oneworld has for many years been rated as the most punctual among global airline alliances. oneworld comprises 14 airlines that connect more than 1,000 cities in 160 countries – airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM, Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines and S7 Airlines, the national carrier said in a media release on Monday.

Captain Suren Ratwate, CEO of SriLankan Airlines, said: “SriLankan has for many years been among the more punctual airlines in the world and during the latter half of 2016 we focused our efforts on competing with the best and setting a new standard. We are delighted that our efforts have been successful and we feel certain that our customers will also be very pleased. Keep in mind that this was achieved while adhering to SriLankan’s policy of never compromising on safety, security and service to our passengers.”

SriLankan achieved a punctuality rating of 90.5% of its arrivals and departures being on time throughout its global network in the 4th quarter. For the entire year 2016 SriLankan was ranked 7th with a rating of 85.1%. The industry definition of an ‘on-time flight’ is one which arrives or departs within 15 minutes of its scheduled time.

Siva Ramachandran, Chief Commercial Officer of SriLankan Airlines, said: “This high level of punctuality was achieved through an excellent effort by the SriLankan Airlines team at our hub in Colombo and around the world, bringing together airport service staff, cargo handlers, pilots, aircraft maintenance personnel, flight despatchers, security staff and many others. It is noteworthy that this performance overcame many challenges beyond the control of our airline, such as weather, air traffic control, customs, immigration control, bird strikes, airport congestion and many other factors at every airport that we operate to.” - ENDS -