TDME talks to Nishantha Wickramasinghe, chairman of SriLankan Airlines
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Give us an overview of the market potential for SriLankan Airlines?
We connect to several destinations globally. However from the Middle East, we cater to huge percentage of the work force present in the region. We have also seen a trend for the Middle East traveler to explore destinations such as Hong Kong, Malaysia and Male. There is a big market there. I would confidently state that despite all the incidents that has occurred in the Middle East recently, we still view this market with great potential.
What is kind of market growth you have seen from the Middle East?
We carry around 60% of the SriLankan workforce from the Middle East. We also cater to a lot of Indian passengers. On an average, our flights to the Middle East generally have an 80-90% load factor.
Do you foresee increased capacity from this market?
Definitely, we see growth as well as demand from this market. The Middle East like the Indian sub-continent is a very important market for us.
What is the market growth witnessed from the Middle East region?
On an average we have been growing around 6% year on year for the Middle East. However, with the optimism we have for this region, we look at a 6-8% growth for this year. Our stronger markets are certainly China and India, which is around 12%. We are also working on the SriLankan Airlines product as well as our service offerings and connectivity. Some new routes being started this year include Madurai from June and Seoul in South Korea.
Do you see any expansion plans for the Middle East region?
There is big growth in the North Africa region and we see opportunity there. As per our research we see a lot of traffic of Chinese and Indians from Africa. There is a possibility of us explore the destination.
What key product developments are lined up?
We are currently refurbishing our aircraft like putting in new seats and flat beds. We believe that the money is in the front row of the aircraft so we are increasing capacity in our Business class sections. Seats are being increased from 18 – 32 or 36. We also see big demand for our premium economy. We are looking at new technology for fuel saving and safety. Our fuel saving technology has aided us in reducing fuel costs by 10%.
How do you see the online booking segment enhancing numbers for the airline?
The online booking medium has not grown especially in SriLanka. We are encouraging our customers to book online. The trade is important to us but we see the growth of the online medium increasing every day. Our current percentage is around 20-25% for online bookings wherein the European market is very well-developed and one of our stronger market for online booking.