Something that I just found out – and thought would be worth sharing. This might in fact have taken place a longer time ago, but is not yet known among the aviation circles.
Sri Lanka’s second international airport, presently being constructed at Mattala, Hambantota, has received its formal IATA code. The identifier is HTT, while the airport would be named as ‘Mahinda Rajapakse International Airport’. The Hambantota city code will also be HTT.
This makes the airport another inch closer to launching operations – planned for November 2012. flydubai has already officially announced that it plans to commence services to HTT, once it begins operations.

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

A new section has been added to Airline Industry Review with information on airlines and airports operating in the Sri Lankan domestic air travel market. The section is actively being constructed, but already has a wealth of information and aims to serve as a source on often less known aviation information on Sri Lanka’s domestic air travel market. This section can be accessed  at http://airlineindustryreview.com/sri-lanka/domestic-flights .

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

Ambitious and successful Europe based low cost carrier, Norwegian, has announced that it has placed the largest ever aircraft order by a European airline. The order is for 150 Airbus A320neos, and 222 Boeing 737s. This makes a departure for Norwegian from its Boeing-only strategy so far.

The order breakdown is as follows

• 100 firm orders for Boeing 737-8 Max
• 22 firm orders for Boeing 737-800 NG
• 100 purchase rights for Boeing 737 – unconfirmed
• 100 commitments (MoU) for Airbus A320neo
• 50 purchase rights (MoU) for Airbus A320neo – unconfirmed

The structure of the deal however shows Norwegian’s strong relationship with Boeing and also leaves open the possibility, at an extreme event, for the Airbus order to be cancelled. The Boeing order is valued at $11.4b.

Norwegian is the first European airline to make a firm commitment to the 737Max, which was launched after the A320neo, but has been able to add orders and commitments for over 1,000 units from 15 customers so far.

“This is a historic day for Norwegian – we have secured our fleet renewal for years to come and are very pleased with the agreement with Boeing,” said Norwegian’s CEO Bjorn Kjos. “Boeing has played a major part in our strategy to develop a cost efficient and environmentally friendly operation with high customer satisfaction. We are very happy to continue our valuable cooperation and we are proud to be the first 737 MAX customer in Europe.”

“The A320neo will enable us increasing capacity while decreasing our operating costs,” also said Bjørn. “With this aircraft we will continue to boost our reputation for offering high quality, low fares service with the most modern and eco-efficient fleet of aircraft in Scandinavia”.

Norwegian presently operates a fleet of 62 Boeing 737NGs, and employs about 2,500 people. The total order is expected to value at around NOK127 billion at list prices, while the actual price could be significantly lower.

Like with most LCCs however, Norwegian probably will never operate all 372 aircraft at the same time, but will rather use them in ‘generations’ to replace each other. Norwegian has also expressed its interest to launch a long haul low cost operation this year, and has already secured orders for the Boeing 787s to be used on its operation.

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

Sri Lankan government’s project to create a rail transfer service from Colombo city to the Colombo Bandaranaike Airport, has turned into a loss making venture. Keeping aside the usual suspecting of corruption involved in South Asian dealings, this is a suggestion to make the system work in Sri Lanka.

- If possible, import two to three new economical Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) for use on the service (economical being the highlight since the older Hitachi model presently used for this service can hardly be considered economical). The new DMU should be configured in a semi-luxury configuration. A luxury service would mean that higher fares need be demanded, which would make the project commercially non-viable. A higher density service would not be preffered by the tourists as the new service would probably be their first touchpoint with the country of Sri Lanka. As Sri Lanka does not have any electrified rail tracks, having an economical DMU would be essential to ensure that this train service is made profitable. A good choice would be a DMU similar to the HB-E300 Hybrid custom built to fit the track gauge size used in Sri Lanka – or may be even a choice similar to the Australian Transwa or Bombardier built Turbostars (Class 172 in UK), although Sri Lanka Railways might as well be able to find a suitable alternative from a Chinese or Indian provider too.
-Create booking partnerships with airlines operating into Sri Lanka. The service should be made available for integration on airlines’ websites through a dedicated Booking Engine backbone. A small commission should be made avaialble to the airlines which send bookings for the train service. This would prove to be an attractive source of ancillary income for the airlines and the possibility is that possibly almost all of the foreign airlines operating into Sri Lanka may participate. Once the service develops into a commercially successful venture, the train operator may start charging the airlines a monthly or annual fee to participate in the service.
But until then, it would be a task that should be well managed with a mix of efficient resource utilization bringing lower costs, lower fares and good marketing. While it might not be a project to consider very easy, it is something doable and almost certainly will guarantee success.

The great photo of a Transperth B-Series train used as the featured image on homepage, is owned by DBZ2313

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

Making local aviation history, an Airbus A380-800 touched down in Sri Lanka today for the first time. The unexpected first arrival was A6-EDN, an Emirates A380, enroute from Sydney and Auckland. Apparently the A380 needed to refuel and selected Colombo instead of its previously planned Singapore stop – due to shorter total flying time on the way from Sydney to Dubai via Colombo.

Flight details

EK414 AKL-SYD-CMB-DXB

Scheduled departure out of Auckland: 1840 Actual: 1848

Scheduled arrival into Sydney: 2005 Actual: 2022

Scheduled departure out of Sydney: 2145 Actual: 2320

Planned departure out of Singapore: 0545 for a 0900 arrival into Dubai – CANCELLED

Scheduled arrival into Colombo: 0235 Actual: 0433

Scheduled departure out of Colombo: 0540 Actual: 0526

Scheduled arrival into Dubai: 0825 Actual: 0819

The A380 had been delayed due to a bad weather situation at Sydney, which disrupted refueling and had to leave with an insufficient fuel load for reaching Dubai, in order to escape the Sydney airport closure. With this, a stop at Colombo had been pre-planned to refuel. The photos below are taken by an spotter on the field at the time, and are copyrighted to the photographer. The A380 was handled at Colombo by SriLankan Airlines Ground Handling.

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

Leading Sri Lankan domestic airline Deccan Lanka has received additional capital after the purchase of its Indian Deccan held stakes by Singapore based Millenium Aero. The airline presently operates a single Bell 206 Jetranger helicopter and a GippsAero GA-8 Airvan aircraft. The airline has already finalized its plans to begin daily flights to Jaffna, in Northern Peninsular of Sri Lanka and is also interested in international operations.

Full media release below

MILLENNIUM AERO MAKES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN DECCAN AVIATION LANKA

Jaffna domestic scheduled flights to resume

Mulling international operations

January  8, 2012 COLOMBO:

Domestic helicopter and aircraft operator Deccan Aviation Lanka (DAL) has announced that Millennium Aero has acquired a 48% shareholding in DAL held by Bangalore based Deccan Charters Ltd with effect from October 30 this year.

In details released to the media, the DAL statement revealed that Singapore based Millennium Aero has acquired the entire equity interest of Deccan Charters and infused additional working capital into DAL.

Deccan’s Sri Lanka venture was put together in 2004 by local investor Suren Mirchandani in partnership with Indian aviation mogul Captain Gopinath. Regarded in industry circles as a pioneer who played a key role in re-building the domestic airline sector, Mirchandani’s family holding company Favourite Investments will continue to have a significant equity stake in the venture.

After starting out with a single Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, Deccan inducted a Beech 1900 in 2007 to operate the Colombo-Jaffna route and regional operations to destinations such as Male’, before replacing it in 2011 with a brand new commuter aircraft built by GippsAero of Australia. The airline operates helicopters to all parts of the country and flies to all local airports. In addition to its own operations the airline maintains and provides services for a number of private aircraft owners. Widely acknowledged as the market leader, the airline has a strong pipeline of new business bolstered by the entry of Millennium Aero of Singapore.

The airline has announced firm plans to commence daily scheduled operations to Jaffna in 2012 and is also said to be looking at international operations out of BIA and Mattala.

The new board of the company comprises Kevin Pocock (Chairman), Suren Mirchandani (Vice Chairman), Harsha Amarasekara, Denham Schokman and Yeo Sock Hwa.

GA 8 Airvan enroute to Koggala with passengers onboard

        Deccan’s Bell 206 Jet Ranger conducting a flight to Polonnaruwa

“Deccan India can be very proud of the role they played in re-starting the domestic aviation industry in 2004 after it had been suspended for security reasons in 1995. We thank them for the pioneering role they have played in the emergence

 of domestic aviation in the country”, said Suren Mirchandani on the sidelines of the announcement.

“Until recently, Deccan Lanka was the only private helicopter company in the island, and has also operated a Beech 1900 on local and international routes, and maintained a vital air bridge to Jaffna. Measured by years-of-operations, engineering expertise, our unique capability of both helicopters and planes, customer base and guest experience, Deccan is undoubtedly the market leader when it comes to flying leisure or corporate clients to any part of the country”, added Mirchandani.

“Let me also say that Deccan India have been amazing partners, and we look forward to continuing to build on the excellent relationship we have developed over the years. We thank Capt Gopinath for the role he played as Chairman, investor and mentor to us. We will continue to operate the Bell Jet Ranger belonging to them, and we can also choose from their large fleet of helicopters and business jets on short notice. We will continue to do what we do best, flying our guests in exquisite comfort and safety to where they want, and when they want”

When asked whether Deccan Lanka would rebrand, Mirchandani stated that “There’s no doubt that the airline has a strong brand presence in the corporate and travel industry, but the new shareholder group may look at rebranding in the medium term” and did not comment when asked to reveal the growth plans of the company only saying “that would be giving away too much to our future competition, I can only say we intend to maintain and further cement our market leadership position”

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

The following photos depicting the present progress of the Hambanthota Mattala Airport development in Southern Sri Lanka, were posted on Sri Lanka’s Airport & Aviation Authority website.

The runway being constructed

Terminal area being developed

Terminal building being constructed

Air Traffic Control Tower being constructed

All photos copyright of the Airport & Aviation Services Ltd, Sri Lanka.

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer who recently embraced Windows Phone as its main smartphone OS, has taken the advertising for its new Lumia lineup one step further, by painting a Jet Airways aircraft with a Lumia ad. While photos of this aircraft are not yet to be seen on any spotter site (Indian aircraft are less likely to be captured due to the lower number of spotters living in Asia – compared to that in Europe or USA, and stricter regulations), the photo is likely authentic as this move was publicly announced by Nokia India some time ago. Enjoy the photo below the fold, and the aircraft appears to be a Boeing 737.

Photo courtesy a ZOMGitscj.com reader.

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

“Just till I go to sleep today”..
You just want to be positive, keep your resolutions till the end of 1st january.
But why ?
Last morning I thought, I only need to keep positive mood till 12 noon. That’s when it will be 2030 to Kiribati and Tokelau.
And it made me think, why not start everyday as the 1st of January ? Better yet, why not think of every single moment as the early morning of 1st January ?

You need not a once in every year opportunity on 1st January to be optimistic and to make resolutions. Time is an artificial concept that we have developed. Think of every moment as 1st of January. Make a resolution. Then live up to it.

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review

The last few years have seen an astonishing rise to popularity, and also equally success, of various ‘stores’. Ranging from Apple’s wildly popular iTunes to the Chrome Web Store to the AppStore to the Android Market to the Nokia Store – all of these internet based stores have shown that client based service delivery is the future for online purchases.
Not only do they significantly cut the distribution cost for the provider, they also increase the discoverability for your content. And the ease of use attracts the user to use it more often (I cannot remember the last time I downloaded an app from a developer’s website – I always go to the Nokia Store on my N8 which is fast, and convenient).
So, why not a web/app store for an airline?
Within this store, the airline could directly deliver to the user what they need, and cut the distribution cost (which accounts to over 2% of legacy airline costs) while at the same time increasing the opportunity for more ticket sales.
Here are some highlights/tips

• The client store ‘app’ will be available as a download for Windows, Mac, as well as various mobile OSes such as Android, Blackberry, iOS and Windows Phone
• The app will feature the following as its core elements

• Flight timetables
• Flight booking
• Check in
• Frequent Flyer Programme miles collecting and redeeming

• Hotel bookings
• Car rentals

• Hotels
• Museums
• Amusement parks
• Operas
• Transport providers

The cost would be easily more than offset by the savings and the income it brings, and will deliver a very convenient, and seamless interaction with the airline to the potential passengers. The already clear willingness to install ‘Store’s by the customer means that the first airline to develop a well designed ’airline store’ will probably have a runaway success with it.

Isn’t it a good business idea to consider in the new year?

P.S: It should be noted that while some airlines already have desktop flight search applications, the store defined here goes well beyond of what has been done so far. Futuristic, as it may sound to some – these technologies are already widely available and can be readily implemented by an airline with the willingness.

Originally posted on Airline Industry Review