SriLankan Airlines: Parliament Reveals UL Loss Is Over 100 Billion: A Few Comments

By Rajeewa Jayaweera -February 6, 2015 

Rajeewa Jayaweera

Having read the article by Marlon Dale Ferreira published on 02 February 2015, I decided to make a few comments based on my own experience with the National Carrier spanning over a period of 16 years which I hope would help readers to put matters in a better perspective.

On the issue of “the entire country blaming the previous regime for milking the national airline by appointing many political stooges that have now gone on to take the airline basically to the cleaners”. Ferreira is correct in that political stooges were indeed appointed by the previous regime. On the issue of “milking the national airline”, every government since the airline’s inception are guilty of milking the airline. Suffice to state between 1994 and 1998 in the run up to privatization, the entire cabinet of Ministers were supposedly opposed to privatization excluding the then President and Finance Minister who wanted to be done with regular treasury hand outs. The main concern of those who opposed privatization was the anticipated loss of First Class travel. Ministers on officials travel were entitled to First Class travel. It was a common practice to have their ticket issued against payment by the relevant ministry, return it to the airline for a refund which was issued by way of MCOs in the name of the minister (not in the name of payee), purchase two Economy class tickets for the Minister and spouse and send the tickets to the Chairman who would oblige by upgrading both tickets for First Class travel on a ‘firm basis’. This is but a very small example of how Air Lanka was milked by till 1998. This practice was drastically reduced though not completely eliminated after management was taken over by Emirates. Sri Lanka did not have an ‘open skies’ policy until after privatization of Air Lanka. However several foreign carriers were granted traffic rights to Sri Lanka simply due to the carriers of those countries having local companies as General Sales Agents in Sri Lanka who were close to the Head of State of the day. In addition, more than one Head of State directed Air Lanka to appoint their cronies as General Sales Agents in foreign countries on terms unfavourable to the national carrier. Granting GSA contracts in South India in the early 1990s to a Trade Union Leader from the Hill Country resulting in the loss of millions if not billions is one such instance.Read More