SriLankan Airlines has resumed most of its international flights to destinations in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, but sadly, continues to face financial challenges due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic. We spoke to Richard Nuttall, CEO, SriLankan Airlines to understand the future of air travel and how the airline is navigating the post-pandemic landscape while building a sustainable future.
With a continuous effort to expand its network of destinations, particularly in Asia, SriLankan Airlines has announced plans to increase the frequency of its flights to destinations such as India, Bangladesh, and Maldives. Despite the financial and political challenges, SriLankan Airlines continues to receive recognition for the quality of its service. In 2022, the airline was named ‘Best Airline in South Asia’ by the Travel Trade Gazette Asia, ‘Best Airline Staff in Asia’ by Skytrax World Airline Awards, and ‘Best Airline in Central Asia’ by Global Traveler Magazine.
Adapting to Change
SriLankan Airlines has restarted most of its previously suspended routes; the last to resume would be China, which is scheduled to reopen on the 1st of April this year, for which the airline is very hopeful. “SriLankan Airlines carters to three major traffic flows; the Sri Lankans themselves, traveling back and forth, the Indians, particularly in the south region love to use our services to fly to destinations like Australia or the Middle East, as it is convenient for them and that is our second major traffic following the Diaspora. In terms of tourism in Sri Lanka, the top five inbound markets for the country are India, being number one, Russia, United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East,” shares Richard.
Prior to the pandemic, SriLankan Airlines flew into 14 cities in India. They have currently resumed flying into 9 Indian cities and are hopeful to expand to 12 in the next few years. The aim is to grow the fleet gradually. In terms of the global market, the airline has a network of over 40 destinations which includes Europe, the United Kingdom, GCC, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, China, Australia, and the list go on. SriLankan Airlines does not fly to the United States of America.
Prior to the pandemic, the airline flew 27 aircrafts out of which they operate 24 aircrafts as of today. “Our goal is to, throughout the course of this year, get up to 26 or 27 aircrafts as we move further into 2024 and that gets us close to pre-COVID levels in terms of the network. We’re flying to most places, but we’re flying with reduced schedules. We used to fly 140 flights to India but at the moment, we’re at 70, 80.” says, Richard.
Reviving Sri Lanka’s Tourism Industry: The Road to Recovery
Tourism plays a major part in the contribution of Sri Lanka’s economy, and the country has been working to develop its tourism infrastructure and promote itself as a top tourist destination. As the SriLankan Rupee drops, the Indian Rupee provides more value for tourists. Richard mentions, “As a tourist, at any stage last year and today, you are safer in Sri Lanka than anywhere else in the world. There was never a security issue in the country and even today, we are open to tourists. We urge everyone to come to see for themselves how amazing and welcoming Sri Lanka really is.”
Talking about some trade and consumers marketing activities done by them, he shares, “We have hosted many travel agents and bloggers, sporting events, and conferences in the hopes to attract more tourists. We aim to announce new packages going further to get more Indians to visit. We had 9000 Indian tourists in January 2023 but with the potential of India as a country, we hope to increase these numbers.”
Marketing at 30,000 Feet
In February 2023, marking 75 years of Sri Lanka’s Independence, the Airlines, in partnership with SriLankan Holidays announced the launch of ‘Dil full of Sri Lanka’; a range of experiential holiday packages. These packages include a variety of itineraries and experiences that appeal to visitors of different travel interests, with an incredible ‘buy one get one free’ offer. “In October 2022, we conducted a familiarization trip for over 170 travel agents from across the world, including India. We want our neighbors in India, to experience SriLankan hospitality. Our country is vibrant and diverse, with many unique activities to explore from gorgeous sandy beaches, luscious rainforests, our colorful history, and scrumptious food,” concludes Richard.
