Sri Lankan plans fuel surcharge; trims costs onboard

SriLankan Airlines said Wednesday that it would raise fares by end August for the third time this year, to cope with soaring fuel prices, even as it trims costs onboard its aircraft.
A fuel surcharge of possibly ten dollars on short haul flights and 20 dollars on long haul flights for a one way ticket, is on the cards for end August, Gunatilleka said.
The increases with August’s surcharge could add up to 80 dollars of the cost of a long haul one way ticket, and 50 dollars for a shorter run.
The airline has begun a series of measures to eke out efficiencies on board, from throwing out excess paper to switching over to lightweight seat covers. All ‘non-value adding’ items like operational manuals were removed from the planes.
SriLankan has no expansion plans on the cards for this year apart from flights to Goa in India.
Sri Lanka has been lobbying India to allow more flights to top Indian tourist cities like Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore.
16/08/06 Lanka Business Online, Sri Lanka

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