Aerospace Diary

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  APRIL 15, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Thanks to Chinese funding, Sri Lanka now has a second international gateway, Mattala Rajapaska International Airport, and Sri Lankan Airlines is among the first carriers to commit to operating there. (Photo: Sri Lankan Airlines) April 15, 2013, 2:15 PM Sri Lanka’s second international airport–the $200 million China Exim Bank-funded Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport ( MRIA )–opened last month and has already attracted national carrier SriLankan Airlines and its subsidiary, SriLankan Cargo; Sharjah-based budget carrier Air Arabia; and flyDubai. Emirates Airlines, Korean Airways and Sichuan Airlines all plan to start services soon, while British Airways and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways have also “committed” to establish a presence at  MRIA , located in the district of Hambantota, some 100 miles southeast of the capital, Colombo. Looking to attract ...

Neelam Mathews March 23, 2010 On the third anniversary of Dubai’s first low cost airline, flydubai, its 16th aircraft was delivered carrying the registration A6-FDP. The Boeing 737-800NG  will help the airline further expand its network of 33 routes across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.  The aircraft is flydubai’s seventh aircraft  to be fitted with Boeing’s new Sky Interior and the Fibre-To-The-Screen in-flight entertainment system by Lumexis. “Less than two years after operations began, we have a fleet of 16 aircraft, a growing network ….The numbers alone speak volumes about flydubai’s rising prominence …..”, said CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith. In South Asia flydubai flies to Lucknow, India and Kathmandu (Nepal). The carrier has been asking for more frequencies and destinations to India which it hasn’t been granted as yet, Aerospace Diary learns. Flydubai’s all fares are one way and inclusive of taxes, one piece of hand baggage weighing up to 7kg and a small han...