Run into turbulence
Guild says decision to suspend flights to Frankfurt and Paris will reduce value of national carrier
SriLankan Airlines pilots and management are on a collision course over the decision to suspend flights to European destinations from October. The Airline Pilots’ Guild is speaking out openly against the move, saying it will reduce the value of the national carrier and give competitors an edge. The pilots also speculate whether there is a deliberate attempt to cheapen the brand just months away from a proposed public-private-partnership.
The management counters by saying commercial decisions are not the prerogative of pilots and that it will do whatever is necessary to cut losses. SriLankan will stop flying to Frankfurt and Paris in two months. It suspended Rome in May. London will soon be the only European destination on the route map.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Pilots’ Guild’s executive committee members made scathing criticisms of recent management choices. They also admitted that relations with the SriLankan Airlines’ board were “not good.” The nine committee members did not wish to be individually identified.
The Guild recently wrote to the management questioning, among other things, the rationale for pulling out of Frankfurt and Paris. The pilots requested route performance figures to verify unprofitability claims, but were told this was sensitive information. They claimed such data had previously been available to staff.
The pilots insisted that they gained no personal benefit from continuing to fly to Europe. Rather, closing those routes would mean they get their allotted leave and not run short of flight deck crew. “We are often ten percent short of pilots,” a committee member said.
“But when the airline is about to be sold, it adds value to the company when we have European destinations,” he explained. The committee members said they feared that the airline would sell SriLankan’s lucrative European slots to other carriers for a high price.
When SriLankan suspends flights, the three Middle East carriers - Qatar, Emirates and Etihad- benefit a senior pilot warned. Meanwhile, Jet Airways, India’s second largest airline, has announced it hopes to fill the vacuum created by SriLankan suspending flights to Frankfurt and Paris.
The Guild was critical of the airline’s commercial operations' chief, who had once worked for Jet Airways, saying he was only interested in closing stations. “All of us can do that,” scoffed a pilot. “The easiest way to run this airline is to park the aircraft, get the Government dole and pay the salaries! Other routes are also losing money. Do we, then, close those?”
There were concerns about transit traffic--passengers from other destinations going through Colombo to Europe, including Chinese and Indian travellers. “It affects our entire route network,” a senior pilot warned. “Where do we fly? What happens to our frequent flyer programme when European destinations are cut? When the buyer comes in, we have nothing to sell!”
The management’s strategy has not been explained to any sections of staff, the Guild also said. They advised the board to brainstorm with employees as they had countless years of experience. The pilots questioned whether the company had a business model that did not involve closing stations. They asked whether the management had studied why there was no yield or profit.
The Guild claimed the company had no scheme to defeat price-undercutting by Middle East carriers. They said the management had not tried reducing costs at overseas stations. They observed that qualified, experienced employees in the commercial division were not allowed a voice. The pilots said the new board members were not knowledgeable in the running of an airline. Despite saying the company was overstaffed, nobody has been retrenched.
“The problem right now is that they’re making decisions based on whoknows-what analysis,” a Guild member said. “That is putting our lives and our jobs at stake. This is why we are speaking out. Earlier, SriLankan had a politically-oriented policy. Now it’s meant to be commercially-oriented, but now it’s neither of the two.”
The Guild also encouraged the management to consider flying the new A350s which are being leased at tremendous cost -above market value. They said with more passengers, more cargo capacity and less fuel utilisation, the aircraft would generate more revenue that could go towards the rental.
The management’s strategy has not been explained to any sections of staff, the Guild also said. They advised the board to brainstorm with employees as they had countless years of experience. The pilots questioned whether the company had a business model that did not involve closing stations. They asked whether the management had studied why there was no yield or profit.