SRI LANKA
Flying green
With a global recession still in full swing, airlines the world over have been experiencing tough times. In Sri Lanka, not only are people travelling less, but insecurity fears abound with the war still waging in the north. The state-run SriLankan Airlines subsequently has had it doubly rough.
In fact, the last 12 months have been difficult ones for the airline. It was left scrambling in January 2008, after Emirates Airline, a major shareholder involved in management, chose to part ways with SriLankan, ending a decade-long relationship. Add to this the global hike in fuel prices last year, and a recipe for disaster was instantly born – one that resulted in losses of almost USD 50 million during the first quarter of this financial year.
Needless to say, the push to cut costs remains great for the embattled national carrier. And it did just that recently, reducing flights to India from 100 to just 51 flights per week. This is, of course, likely to put a damper on the plan to convert Colombo into a luxurious duty-free shopping destination (see last month's Briefs). But compromises are necessary in these lean times, and SriLankan has promised to revert to the old schedule once the global financial situation improves – whenever that may be.