Emirates upbeat on SriLankan contract

Emirates airline and the Sri Lankan government will meet again next month over the renewal of its management contract for SriLankan airlines, drawing a long and involved round of negotiations closer to resolution.

Emirates chief executive Tim Clark is set to lead discussions for the Dubai airline, which has a 43 per cent stake in SriLankan and has managed the airline on a ten-year lease ending next March.

Clark, speaking during a demonstration flight of new aircraft in Dubai this month, said the airline expects to renew its contract to manage flag-carrier SriLankan Airlines for at least another five years and aims to as much as double its fleet to 30.

“It hasn’t been an easy operation,” Clark said. Sri Lanka’s 2003 ceasefire in its civil war broke down last year. The new contract could be for five years, extendable for another five, Clark said.

Sri Lankan media have reported on the discontent of some members of the government over the terms of the 1998 agreement and the possibility of aggressive renegotiations for better terms.

But Clark said he believed the Sri Lankan government had come to endorse Emirates’ future role with the airline, and SriLankan’s workforce also supported a new contract.

Terms of the contract would be similar to the previous deal, he said.