Holiday Air international flights from next year
 

by Shirajiv Sirimane

Holiday Air, Sri Lanka's only budget airlines will launch their international flights from next May. According to CEO, Holiday Air, Arjun Ruzaik they would be first flying to four destinations in India, Trivendrum, Trichi, Calicut and Cochin. "Our next destinations would be the Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand," he said.

He said that they are very excited about the idea and thanks the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ports and Civil Aviation Mangala Samaraweera and the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the professional manner in which they handled it.

He said that they would be acquiring a 150 seater Boeing 737-400 aircraft for their operations and they would be operating one flight to each destination. "All the four destinations can be flown under one hour," he said.

He said that they are also keen to have a stop over flight in Jaffna (Palaly) when that airport is upgraded.

"In a country such as ours, where the migrant worker and the foreign exchange they remit to Sri Lanka is amongst the top contributors to our economy, the advent of a low-cost operator can mean a lowering of costs incurred by a Migrant worker. Through the use of a low-cost operator into the Gulf, a saving of nearly 28% off the price can be achieved. Ultimately this drives down the cost to the foreign employer too," he said.

The success of a low cost airline is dependant on a number of factors. "Chief amongst these, is the need to have your aircraft more in the air than on the ground. Rapid Turnaround times are crucial to an operation as is the support given them by bodies such as Airports Authorities. The fees charged by the Airport Authorities is of paramount importance if the low-cost brigade are to sustain their permanently low prices," he added.

As our economy grows and the People are economically empowered, travellers will become more demanding and expect to be given a choice. Holiday Air will be such a choice.

With our commitment to permanently low fares and flying to as many destinations as possible, we are confident that Sri Lanka too will be a pro-active and dynamic player in the phenomenon that is "low cost air travel".