Cinnamon Air takes wing from Mar. 15
Invests nearly Rs. one billion:
Shirajiv Sirimane
Cinnamon Air, a joint venture involving MMBL Leisure Holdings (Pvt)
Limited, John Keells Holdings (JKH) and Phoenix Ventures Limited, would
take wing from March 15. Saffron Aviation (Pvt) Ltd., will manage
Cinnamon Air. The management has invested nearly Rs. one billion and
would initially operate with two eight seater amphibious aircraft.
CEO, Cinnamon Air, Shawn Dwight, said that they were also looking at
acquiring another 12 seater aircraft in the future. The aircraft were
expected to arrive during the first week of February.
He said that they would also offer an online booking facility which
would enable any person locally or internationally to book. "We are
hoping to open the web for bookings soon," he added.
The airline would be Sri Lanka's first scheduled domestic airline
operation, taking off from the Colombo International Airport. The
initial destination that would be covered by Cinnamon Air would be
Koggala, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Sigiriya, Dickwella, Kandy (Polgolla
Reservoir) and Weerawila. "We would also operate to the new Hambantota
airport in Mattala when it opens."
"As best as possible, our flight times to and from the international
airport have been connected to departure and arrival times of the
National Carrier, SriLankan Airlines and all other major international
airline services."
Apart from their scheduled services, Cinnamon Air also offers charter
flights. "This was an ideal option for those looking to make group
bookings, arrange private corporate travel or organize special VIP
transport."
The operation would also provide over 50 employment opportunities and
the starting fare was expected be around US $ 150.
Sri Lanka currently has schedule domestic airline operations to
Jaffna and Trincomalee, operated by Heli Tours and Expo Aviations. In
addition charterer operations were being carried out by Zenok Air, Air
Deccan, Daya Aviation and Cosmo Aviation. In addition, several new
airline companies have applied for licenses from the Ministry of Civil
Aviation to operate domestic flights.
The Government has also invested in refurbishing domestic airports
and a new domestic air strip has also been proposed for Nuwara Eliya.
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