Sri Lankan Airlines Whats going on?

[LOVE UL]

Ayubowan every one.

What's happening to our airline. We are not in a good situ are we. Country in shambles airline is staggering.

Is Mihin Lanka taking over the show?. I guess its someone elses turn. Am I right.

[newagebird]

Well i guess its time to start a new thread huh. Since the other one got shut down and some got banned...no surprises there.

I dun think mihin airs gunna take over anytime soon, they flew to some indian destination(not sure which) and were unable to return due to technical difficulties.
Until they get some decent aircraft they won't be making any headlines. that being said they have the president on their side, its his brainchild and i can forsee loads of money being put it to make it work.
As to sri lankan, i have no idea, last i heard we were just making a profit..only just!

cheers newagebird

[uniform lima]

As far as I know they are going to train local pilots by next year< but dont know what how selection will be made.

Well lets hope that mihin air doesnt become AIRFORCE 1 of srilanka.

Well as for srilankan the contract with emirates is still under negotiation ending next year March.If they extend the contract for 10 years they are planning to replace the current fleet of 330/340 with 350/787 & 346/777 after 2012. (2012 since the orders are not made yet and uncertian of the future of contract):confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Sad thing for us as pilots is the that srilankans expansions are limited because of uncertainty and limits cadet pilots intake.

[sharuk khan]

Hi Guys,
Thank God the moderator finally turned up and put a stop to some of our friends posts :ok: ...it was getting out of control....but that's been the sri lankan mentality ever since independence! Crabs in a basket trying to get out!

Yes, it doesn't look good for UL, the goverment snubbed EK again by not attending the arranged meeting by sending a sms the previous night to management cancelling the meeting, again my first statement stands true.

I only hope sanity prevails...

You would have heard that the DGCA has taken up another posting due to the interference from the top where he was unable to perform his duties rightly....great guy, but what a waste, some croony will replace him who will be a YES man.

It's a waiting game now....

[uniform lima]

well with less than a year to go for the contract is over no one knows where there going. well its bad not just for th airline but the country and
future cadets.:ugh: :ugh: :ugh: :ugh: :ugh: :ugh: :ugh:

without a clear cut indication the airline cannot expand then it limits the cadet intakes(no new a/c joining the airline):{ :{ :{ :{

since emirates has 43% of stake they will not just walk out when those guys strike a deal they stay hit ,no turning back irrespective of anything, that the thier attitude and ego.:ok:

we all know after the 9/11 attacks the global aviation industry was cutting them self out, but EK WENT ON TO ORDER 45 A380S:cool:

IF THE GOVERNMENT CANCELS THE EMIRATES DEAL THEN THEY WILL ALSO CUT OTHER VENTURES NOT TO MENTION THE EMPLOYMENT OF SRILANKANS IN DUBAI WOW THEN WERE THE HECK ARE WE GOING TO GET SOO MUCH OF FOREIGN INCOME.

CANCELING MEETINGS IS ONLY THING THE GOV. CAN DO NOTING MUCH . Because never heard of any privatized company coming back to state control.

[Gotafix]

LOVE UL

I think the answer to your question is a plain and simple 'Yes'.

The fact that the President now uses Mihin Air for his official trips seriously undermines Sri Lankan's status as national carrier.

Once Mihin Air starts scheduled operations it will take over traffic rights to whichever UL destination it chooses, since as a solely government-owned airline it will get priority access to routes based on inter-government agreements. With Mihin Air targeting the Indian and Middle East sectors, which is probably where most of UL's income comes from, loss of these sectors will seriously affect UL's bottom line.

The traffic rights UL had acquired over the years was probably the only thing that attracted EK in the first place. If Mihin Air has priority access to these rights, UL would be a lot less attractive to EK.

EK was never comfortable with the unionised staff and employee-friendly labour laws it had to contend with in Sri Lanka, and would not be able to cut staff strength to a level needed to stay in the black as UL lost profitable routes. Since the funds for all the Voluntary Severance Schemes so far have been from EK, given the evolving situation it is highly unlikely that EK will spend on another VSS.

EK itself has massive financial commitments with its own fleet expansion, and the last thing they'd want on their hands would be the kind of uncertainty that UL and Sri Lanka have to offer right now.

I have heard many people argue that job opportunities for Sri Lankans in the Middle East would be affected by a breakdown in the EK deal. That is of course assuming that good relations between Sri Lanka and Dubai hinges solely on the UL/ EK agreement, which is certainly not the case. Moreover, Dubai is no where close to being the main destination for Sri Lankan labour migration to the Middle East, so even a tightening of entry requirements for Sri Lankans would not make a large dent in Sri Lanka’s income from inward remittances, while depriving the UAE of a source of educated cheap labour. However I do feel that the means by which the government is trying to get out of the EK agreement will probably have many potential investors backing off at a time when Sri Lanka is badly in need of FDI.

Frankly the only advice I can honestly give my friends at UL is to bail out while they still have marketability, because that drops drastically when the situation at UL becomes apparent to prospective employers. Those who were around when Air Ceylon went belly up know the sad situation the staff found themselves in. If you hang around to turn the lights out, God help you.

While Mihin Air does not have the expertise of SQ to back them up, there is no shortage of local expertise, which was one of the greatest drawbacks at the time of the transition from Air Ceylon to Air Lanka.

I hear that many good staff are already in line for jobs at Mihin Air, though there are still quite a few who have convinced themselves that Mihin Air will never make it. It was the same in 1979, when UL was struggling to get things going with two rickety leased B707's and the Air Ceylon staff who were laid off waited quite happily for UL to flame out and Air Ceylon to come back. Eventually most of them lined up at the gate and took whatever jobs were offered them at greatly reduced salaries. A hungry family has a way of clearing the fog of great expectations.

Sadly for the many good people at UL, I think the writing is on the wall for a company which had an uncanny knack for bouncing back relatively unscathed from the hardest of times.

[uniform lima]

WELL AS PER ETIHAD AIRWAYS CAREERS PAGE FOR FLIGHT CREW THEY HAVE VACANCIES FOR 300 F/O & 100 CAPTAINS.

TOTAL TIME FOR F/O 2500HRS TT(1000 HRS IN JET EXCESS
60TONS)
BASIC SALARY 24500 DHS
FLYING PAY 2600 DHS (40PER HR *65 HR PER MONTH)
HOUSING ALLOWANCE 9583 DHSPER MONTH(115000DHS PER ANNUM)
MEAL ALLOWANCE 3500 DHS
PROFIT SHARE(USUALLY A MONTHS BASIC SALARY OR TWO)
CHILDRENS EDUCATION FOR 4 CHILDREN 25000-30000 DHS PER ANNUM PER CHILD
42 DAYS OFF + MANY OTHER BENIFITS MEDICAL TICKETS

COMMAND FOR F/O IS APPROX. 4 YEARS FROM DATE OF JOINING

TOTALS AROUND 55000DHS PACKAGE (INCLUDES INSURANCE PROFIT SHARE AND ASSUMING 2CHILDREN FOR EDU.) THERE FOR ITS AROUND 15000US$ (1 US$ =3.67 DHS) FOR F/O.

TOTAL TIME FOR CAPTAIN 7000HRS TT (4000HRS JET 60TONS>)
BASIC SALARY 33000DHS
FLYING PAY 3250 DHS(50 PER HR*65HR PER MONTH)
HOUSING ALLOWANCE 10000DHS PER MONTH(120000PER ANNUM)
MEAL ALLOWANCE 3500 DHS
PROFIT SHARE CHILDRENS EDUCATION MEDICAL 42 DAYS OFF SAME AS F/O)
TOTAL 68000 DHS OR 18528 US$

ETIHAD WILL BE GETTING THEIRA380 BY 2009 SO ALL HIGH EXPERIENCED F/O & CAPTS CAN LOOK FORWARD TO FLY THE BLUE WHALE OF THE SKY


BESIDES A LOW COST CARRIER BASED IN SHARJAH CALLED AIR ARABIA OPERATES A320

F/O 1500 TT 800HRS ON A320

PAYS AROUND 28000DHS OR 7692US $

CAPTAINS 5000TT 800 PIC HRS ON A320

PAYS AROUND 36500DHS OR 10000US $

SEE NOTE BELOW********

QATAR HAS TEMPO STOPPED RECRUITMENT BUT WILL CALL FOR APPLICATIONS WITHIN 6 MONTHS FOR BOTH F/O AND CAPT.ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE GIVEN A MASSIVE SALARY HIKE FOR PILOTS.

PREVIOUSLY HIRED F/O WITH ONLY 1000HRS AIRLINE OPERATIONS AS PER TYPE WHICH THEY FLEW PRIOR JOINING.
AND CAPTAINS WITH 6000 HRS TT

BASIC FOR CAPT 28000QR
HOUSING 12000QR
FLYING PAY 7200 QR
MEAL ALLOWANCE 3000QR
+ PROFIT SHARE +EDUCATION +INSURANCE +TRAVEL BENEFITS

TOTALS AROUND 55000QR (15500US $)+ ANNUAL INCREMENT
1 US $ =3.65 QR

F/O BASIC 18500
HOUSING 10000QR
FLYING PAY 4200QR
MEAL ALLOWANCE 3000QR
+PROFIT SHARE+EDUCATION +INSURANCE+TRAVEL BENIFITS

COMMAND REQUIREMENTS FOR F/O 3YEARS WITH QATAR & 5000TT

TOTAL 40700QR (11150US$)

RETIREMENT AGES ARE 62 FOR QR SOON ETIHAD PILOTS WILL BE ALLOWEDTO FLY UNTIL 65 BY GCAA(EMIRATES PILOTS ARE ALREADY GIVEN THE OPPERTUNITY AS PER THERE RECRUITMENT PAGE)

THEY LIVE A 5 STAR LIFE WITH PEACE IN MIND NO WAR LESS CRIMES

NOTE :- IF A PILOT WISHES TO JOIN EMIRATES IN LONG RUN THEY COULD DO SO BY FLYING FOR AIR ARABIA FOR 3 YEARS BEFORE THEY CAN SWITCH TO EMIRATES.MANY LOW TIME AIR ARABIA PILOTS HAVE DONE SO INCLUDING ONE FEMALE PILOT CALLED MARTHA PABONE A COLOMBIAN NATIONAL.

AND WHAT DO OUR GUYS GET AT UL WITH HEAPS OF HEAVY JET HRS????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

WELL ASK SOME OF OF THE FOLKS WHO LEFT UL FLYING FOR QATAR & ETIHAD:ok: :ok: :ok: :ok: :ok: :ok:

[newagebird]

I hope they take out this LTTE air wing, the last thing anyone would want is a bogey on their six around Katunayake airspace!

Hope the Sri lankan cricketers do well today! GO LANKA GO!!

[FlyMeToTheStars]

Shame for the cricketers...they tried hard. LTTE air wing flying high....is anyone going to stop them?

[newagebird]

I dno much abt our SLAF's abilities but its hard to understand how a propellor Zlin aircraft can evade being shot down by our KFIR jets and MIG's. I understand they fly without lights and have no heat signature but don't we still have the better capability.
The endless propoganda makes me sick too, no idea whos telling the truth!

Nyways getting back to Sri Lankan, is there anyone out there whos going to apply to the next cadets? What qualifications do u have? What are you doing to prepare for the dreaded tech exam?

cheers newagebird

[Gotafix]

Extract from a statement by Sheikh Ahmed, Chairman of Emirates :

Emirates, the world's eighth-largest international air passenger carrier in 2005, operates a fleet of 102 aircraft and has another 106 on order, including 43 of Airbus's A380 superjumbo. It carried 10.5 million passengers in the second half, up from 7.52 million in the year-earlier period. The government-owned airline plans to expand its fleet to 157 and double the number of its destinations to about 170 during the next five years, adding cities in the United States, Africa and India.

Sheikh Ahmed ruled out buying stakes in other airlines such as PIA. "There's nothing in the pipeline at the moment. We're focusing on the airline [Emirates], not investing in other carriers."

Food for thought for those expecting EK to fund UL's future plans. :=

[Haren]

Newagebird,

I am applying for the next intake...whenever it is.
Studying Aussie ATPL theory and attempting JAA/CAA questions.

If you or anyone else require help, send me a message.

My qualifications are minimal at CPL/MECIR/FIR and a whole heap of endorsements that are not required. All Australian.

Good luck:ok:

[uniform lima]

WELL ITS A WISE IDEA TO SUSPEND NIGHT FLIGHTS, BUT SRILANKAN SHOULD PROTECT THEIR A/C. THEY SHOULDNT BE LYING IN THE RAMP IN OPEN OR THE A/C SHOULD BE BASED IN ANOTHER COUNTRY FOR THE SAKE OF THE SAFETY OF THOSE A/C.

WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED IN 2001, 6 A/CS WERE DAMAGED & DESTROYED THATS THE LAST THING WE WANT.

SO UL MANAGEMENT SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION AGAIST SAFE GUARING THIER AIRCRAFTS AND SOMEONE FROM UL READING THE TREAD PLEASE BRING IT TO THEIR ATTENTION IF THEY HAVE NOT PLANNED FOR IT YET.

AFTER ALL KATUNAYAKE DOESNT HAVE TO BE CLOSED IF NOT FOR THAT SLAF BASE THERE, THATS WHAT THE LTTE IS AFTER(EVEN IN 2001 THEY CAME TO ATTACK THE FIGHTER JETS AND WE ALL KNOW HOW SRILANKAN A/C GOT HIT SHOOTING LIKE MANIACS):ugh: :ugh: :ugh: :ugh: :ugh: :ugh:

AFTERMATH WAS SRILANKAN AIRLINES LOOSING CLOSE TO 350 MN US$
AND AIRFORCE NOT EVEN LOOSING 10MN US $ .SO ANY ONE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THE DAMGE EFFECTED HEAVILY ON SRILANKAN NOT AIRFORCE.

ITS A BLOODY VIOLATION OF ICAO RULES TO OPERATE A AIRFORCE BASE IN A INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND NO ONE SEES TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT WONDER WHY?????????????????????????????????????????????????
:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[newagebird]

YEh good idea, move the aircraft to a hangar so the LTTE knows exactly where they are!! Theres another problem, we don't have enough hangars to accomodate 14 aircraft! If they hide the planes then they'll have to do it to the other airlines' aircraft. The whole point of shutting down the airport is to hide the aircraft and (this is just a guess) i reckon the TAF use the VOR/NDB to track to the airport or maybe they have GPS! Shutting down the power means the aids dont work!

Its a crime that the SLAF cant shoot them down, but its not surprising given they have no night capable aircraft. The US pacific command told them to stop investing in expensive MIG-27s and instead get some damn night vision goggles.
The problem with the TAF is that they have light propellor planes, extremely difficult to see at night unless they have lights on.
Maybe the airforce will upgrade their facilities in Weerawila and shift down there.
Theres no solution to this problem other than neutralise the threat posed and that means shoot down the TAF.

newagebird

[uniform lima]

CERTAINLY IF THA A/C ARE IN HANGARS THEN WE ARE ASKING FOR IT.
THATS A MA.... CHI.... IDEA.:} :ugh: :confused: :eek: :sad: :* :ooh: :uhoh:

SRILANKAN SHOULD SHEDULE THEIR FLIGHTS SO NO A/C IS IN COLOMBO WHILE THE AIRPORT IS CLOSED. PROBALY ARRANGE LATE NIGHT FLIGHTS TO INDIA,MIDDLE EAST,S.E.ASIA AND KEEP THE A/C THERE AND BRING THEM IN THE EARLY MORNING WHEN THE AIRPORT REOPENS. THEN THEY COULD TURN AROUND FLIGHTS AS NECESSARY(BUT COSTLY THOUGH)

[newagebird]

I'm sure they will work out the schedule to best make a profit. However its gunna cost a fair bit of money to have 14 aircraft in a different place. the airport is only shut from 10.30 to 4.30 or so i hear so thats 6 hours an aircraft cannot land.

It doesnt sound so bad but the effect the LTTE airforce (TAF) is having on the tourism industry is of more concern than anything else. UL relies on indian businessmen, lankan expats and tourists travelling in and out of the country. Tourism industry is one of the largest SL have and if that goes down the drain then UL could be in trouble. As it is we're not making that much money. Hopefully things will improve.

[uniform lima]

As i have mentioned earlier qatar has fresh openings which is ongoing for both f/o and captains with their revised salary.

anyone intrested can log on to careers-flight crew of qr website for more details.

f/o openings for as little as 1000hrs tt
500hrs on type(320/330/340):ok:

[troff]

Uniform Lima please stop yelling...
And MOD(S), do you condone the use of full names as stated my U.L. earlier in this thread?
I think discression is the key here lads. Lets use it.
You hide behind your "handle", U.L., and make brash statements, but put yourself in another's shoes...
We are all in a position where we want to keep our head below the radar and get the job done (for most of us it's for our entire career), and... don't kid yourself, we are all capable of getting ourselves in trouble. We don't need anyone's help. Do you know what I'm sayin', U.L.? 21 posts and a member for a month? I had a previous alias for some 11 years but a computer crash caused me to rise from the ashes as Troff. I watched but rarely spoke. If you want to pee with the big dogs...
Ask yourself: Would you like your full name splashed about on world aviation's "tattler"?
Then why not tell us who YOU really are, U.L.?


T

[newagebird]

hey troff
relax man, Uniform Lima isnt as bad as some of the guys who got kicked off the forum cuz of the last thread. I dun think hes shouting, in fact his posts always have caps and many emoticons. Let it be, all the Sri Lankan threads of the past don't exactly give us the best rep on this site atm so lets try and be a little civil. If u still wanna vent at him send him a PM. He's still entitled to his views as long as he aint attacking other members, u feel me?

cheers newagebird

[captslk]

I have almost decided with my family to leave UL. I suppose this is the time. Its sad. But will Etihad, Qatar, SIA or Jet take us.
I was told that cpt RJ is an instructor with Qatar. Does anyone have his contact so I could get in touch with him. And any other contacts to other airlines to find out more info. Or even cpt Sunils.

Would appreciate it very much.

[SRILANKAN AIRBUS 330]

SINGAPORE AIRLINES WIL KEEP U ON HOLD, BUT ETIHAD/JET/QATAR IS DESPERATE.:ok:
ALSO TRY TO CONTACT YOUR FORMER BUDDIES WHO JOINED ETIHAD(PJ)

[captslk]

Thank you for your quick response. But why is SIA keeping you on hold?. Any agreement with UL? And is there a similar agreement with Qatar, Etihad and Jet.

The new flying boys are creating havoc in the country.:rolleyes: Sometimes I wonder wether they have got a valid license with instrument rating issued by the CAASL. They fly at night which our airforce boys cant do. We could even see our airforce boys, the way they fly with us in the civil cockpit.
Ha Ha..............

[teeepee]

is air lanka still hiring expats for the airbus fleet?:)

[newagebird]

VEry speculative answer comin up...but given the shortage of pilots and the many locals who seem to leave the airline after a short space of time, id say theres a few vacancies for foreigners.
Wouldn't hurt to try.

Cheers newagebird

[SRILANKAN AIRBUS 330]

Does Anyone Know The Retirement Age For Ul Pilots?????????
55 Or 60

Heard That Ek Ey Qatar Raised The Retirement Age To 65

[saumyaw]

Does anyone know how this is going ?

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=369302&ssid=51&sid=BUS

Dubai, May 03: Emirates Airline plans to increase its stake in Sri Lankan Airlines from current 43 per cent, a senior official of the Lankan carrier has said.
Emirates and government of Sri Lanka would hold talks this month in Colombo to discuss renewal of management contract and transfer of stake, Srilankan Airlines (SLA) regional manager Mohamed Fazeel said.
Sri Lanka government holds majority stake of 51.05 per cent in SLA while emirates and its employees hold 43.63 and 5.32 per cent respectively.
Emirates airline manages SLA, known as Air Lanka till 1999, under a 10-year contract which culminates at the end of 2008.
An emirates spokeswoman said: "Discussions with various Srilankan stakeholders are still pending." She refused to comment any further.

Zee News (3rd May 2007)

[saumyaw]

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070527/News/nws8.html (http://www.sundaytimes.lk/070527/News/nws8.html)

Emirates team here tomorrow for crucial talks on SriLankan deal

A top level team from Emirates Airline is expected in Colombo tomorrow for discussions with the government on extending SriLankan Airlines management deal.
Dubai-government owned Emirates has a ten year contract ending in March 2008 to manage the Sri Lankan national carrier. Coupled with the management deal, the then government also sold a 43 percent equity stake in SriLankan to Emirates in 1998. Aviation sources said the government delegation at the talks would include two British experts and Sachin Vaas Gunawardena, who heads the newly formed Mihin Air.
The latter’s inclusion has raised some eyebrows as Mihin is building up to be a competitor to Sri Lankan. The composition of the government delegation, however, could not be independently verified at the time of going to the press.
Emirates are known to drive hard bargains. When the United National Front came to office in 2001 threatening to review the deal signed by the Chandrika Kumaratunga regime, Emirates President Tim Clark simply insisted that “a deal is a deal” and state lawyers had to back down.
Mr. Clark has already been quoted as stating that the government’s creation of the new airline, Mihin Air was an issue for Emirates and that it was up to the Sri Lankan government, struggling to cope with the intensifying separatist war, to persuade the West Asian airline to continue the management arrangement.

[LOVE UL]

Hi FRA2008

Yes things are quite low as you said. But its only for a short period. And a couple of bombs going here and there is not too bad. Anyway there is trouble all over the world.

But look on the other hand. You could get a conversion on to the A330/340 and then split. Which has been done by many others before. UL gives you the best deal when it comes to ratings. We got a lot of money for training.

So come and fly with us. And get the wide body ratings and then see you else where.

So think about it.
:E

[SRILANKAN AIRBUS 330]

wats up any news from flight ops or anything respect to emirates deal

[saumyaw]

Emirates may renew management contract with Sri Lankan Airlines


Emirates airline will likely renew its management role with SriLankan Airlines, a top Emirates official said, after months of the deal appearing to be in limbo.


http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/06/06/10130276.html

[saumyaw]

NEW DELHI (AFP) — SriLankan Airlines wants a new management contract to be signed soon with Dubai-owned Emirates, chief executive Peter Hill said Tuesday, forecasting a "tough" year for the island's carrier.
The Colombo government is holding another meeting on January 8 with Emirates to discuss the renewal of the 10-year management contract of SriLankan Airlines that runs out next March, an airline official said.


http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h5ddQnakz-dgWhw-VJb-kdZE1JLQ

[EKULfreqflyer]

Hey guys,

I would say tht if EK pulls out, it will be the end of UL in a heart beat. If u look around the sub continent we have airlines like Jet, Kingfisher, Singapore, Qatar and of course Emirates it self. Sri Lankan only manages to get a good name after Emirates took over. If Emirates leaves, I bet tht the service will go down from bad to worse, Skywards will not be the freq flyer program. I bet that those Sri lankan expats in the UK and USA will start flying othar airlines instead of connecting on UL flights via other cities. Competetion is getting tough in tht part of the region. I hope that if the deal does not go through with Sri lankan, Emirates will not stop flying to Colombo or do like what Etihad did. Tht will be a major disaster!

Note: Srilankan needs to get a interior refurbishment ASAP. Need new business/ economy seats and a totally new entertainemnt system along with a new fleet of aircraft.

[411A]

....along with a new fleet of aircraft.

They can't afford any after what they paid for the fleet they have now...:rolleyes:

[saumyaw]

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/articleDetails.aspx?id=1637&sectionid=36&name=Top%20Stories (http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/articleDetails.aspx?id=1637&sectionid=36&name=Top%20Stories)

SriLankan Airlines, which has been witnessing growth in load factors and route network post entering into a management contract with Emirates and going in for re-branding, has decided to renew the 10-year management contract that is due for expiry in March, 2008. Currently, negotiations are on between the two airlines and the contract is expected to be signed by April next year. Currently, Emirates has 40 per cent stake in the airline and while it has proposed to buy more stake, SriLankan Airlines is looking at increasing its own profitability. With a view to enhance its profits, the airline has proposed that it should be allowed to use two of the 50 Airbus A380, which will be delivered to Emirates by early 2009. SriLankan Airlines is planning to deploy these two aircraft on Indian routes.

"We will be signing the new management contract with Emirates once all the negotiations are finalised," Peter Hill, Chief Executive Officer, SriLankan Airlines, confirmed on the sidelines of a party held recently in Mumbai to celebrate the airline's achievement of 100 weekly flights to India.

[newagebird]

dont worry, i reckon they will sign the agreement soon, whether or not the government backs down from the demands. Emirates need us as much as we need them, firstly there will be numerous problems when it comes to codeshare flights if the deals breaks down, im sure neither will want to lose their respective business.
Im not sure about it but i think emirates uses some of our rights to travel to certain destinations. They wouldnt want to lose that either. Also sri lankans service standards, food and general cabin crew behaviour are in fact miles ahead of emirates at the moment. The crews in EK i encountered on recent flights looked to say the least, demoralised, as if they couldnt give a stuff. Sri lanka actually looked after their pax.
Yeh definitely we are in need of a fleet upgrade and yes they paid way too mcuh for the current aircraft but if the deal gets signed i reckon we can see a few EK aircraft being off loaded onto us as always seems to be the case.

newagebird