SriLankan Airlines commenced the induction to its fleet the latest Airbus aircraft A320 neo and the A321 neo series by unveiling the A320 neo yesterday.
The leased A320 arrived in Katunayake on Sunday from Hamburg Germany and is expected to be ready for commercial operations by early March.
The aircraft has been acquired on a monthly operating lease and five more A320-A321 aircraft are expected in the next 15 to 18 months, Chief Technical Officer Dinnaga Padmaperuma said.
With this leased A320 neo aircraft SriLankan will have a total fleet of 25 aircraft out of which two will be returned to the owner which results to 23 flying aircraft.
The Neo-series has been designed to provide significantly lower fuel consumption and lower operating costs through more modern engines, aerodynamic refinements, large curved winglets, known as sharklets and weight savings, he said.
It also features cabin improvements such as more passenger seats, larger hand luggage spaces and an improved air purification system as well as reduced engine noise levels and a significantly increased flying range.
The aircraft which is 13 to 15% fuel efficient can fly a longer distance and SriLankan was one of the first airlines to take delivery of an A320 neo aircraft, Padmaperuma said.
The wet lease with PIA has lapsed and the aircraft will return back to Colombo by the end of the week from Pakistan. A payment of US$ 3 million was due for the wet lease till February and is expected to be settled after closing the account and reconciliation done.
Padmaperuma said PIA has always made prompt payments and expressed optimism on the early settlement of dues.Commenting on the abolishing the Paris and Frankfurt sector he said it was the right decision because Paris and London were leisure markets and there were no businesses for the French of Germans to come here. “So the business class never fills and as a result the airline loses. Moreover, the average ticket price we get to Paris is about US$ 200 per passenger. When you multiply 200 in to 200 it is US$ 40,000 which is not enough to sometimes fuel the airline to go to Paris,” he said.
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