SriLankan focused on reconnecting and consolidating its position in key markets
At SriLankan, they are ready to commence operation on major routes like in the pre COVID days, but it is a matter of increasing the scale with viability decisions which would be the main decisive factor. V Ravindran, Regional Manager, SriLankan Airlines, India and Bangladesh, shares more about the past and the future at the airline.
SriLankan over the past year has taken several initiatives with the industry stakeholders to support and to represent the country and as a national carrier to commence the air transportation to boost tourism and the economy. They also operated cargo flights to a select few destinations in the Middle East, Far East, European Union, and Indian Sub Continent, and had scheduled passenger operations to the Maldives and operated special repatriation flights to India from Australia.
Speaking on whether the business is picking up, V Ravindran says, “It is a tough question. The people who have desperate requirements to travel are opting while complying with the protocols and the guidelines given by the Government authorities. We are optimistic the situation will be in control after the administration of the vaccine, however, in my opinion, passenger capacity to return to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels by mid-November or later.”
SriLankan wants to prioritise Indian destinations and few new destinations such as Korea and Sydney, which are in the pipeline. They will be putting their efforts to strengthen the current network and will temporarily suspend certain routes until it regains the preCOVID business level. Certain costcutting measures also will be in place in consultation with the stakeholders.
“The pandemic has been a good lesson and every organisation has to have reserves to face this type of challenges and all costs to be critically evaluated while not to be hesitant to tough decisions as well. However, as the government is the main shareholder of SriLankan, they will take all possible measures to keep the airline flying,” implies V Ravindran.
Presently, there have been a lot of changes in the aviation industry. Safety and hygiene will be the utmost requirement and priority, and both airline and passengers have to critically evaluate spending by every cent in terms of service and relevant features. On this, V Ravindran speaks, “I do believe that bio-safety measures will become a regular part of the travel experience for at least for a foreseeable future, but, I wish it could be temporary.”