SriLankan Airlines signs purchase deals with Airbus, Rolls-Royce
View(s):SriLankan Airlines made to two major purchase deals this week running in millions of dollars to acquire six Airbus planes with Rolls-Royce engines.
While the Rolls-Royce deal is worth US$800 million, there was no mention of the value of the order for six A330-300s and four A350-900s in which SriLankan Airlines signed MoU with the aircraft manufacturer.
An Airbus media release said the airline has chosen the ‘highly reliable A330’ and the latest generation A350 XWB aircraft as part of its long-haul fleet renewal. “The efficiency, reliability and passenger appeal of our in-service A330s form the pillar of SriLankan’s long haul operations,” said Kapila Chandrasena, CEO of SriLankan Airlines. “Adding more new A330’s to our fleet, combined with the unbeatable economics the A350 XWB will offer, allows us to achieve a strong economical performance.”
John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, said, “The winning combination of A330’s and A350 XWB’s will allow SriLankan Airlines to offer the highest levels of comfort to their passengers while also benefitting from superior efficiency levels at any time.”
Airbus aircraft share a unique cockpit and operational commonality, allowing airlines to use the same pool of pilots, cabin crews and maintenance engineers, bringing operational flexibility and resulting in significant cost savings.
Rolls-Royce, in a separate media release, said it won the order from SriLankan Airlines for Trent XWB engines to power four A350-900 aircraft and Trent 700 engines to power six A330-300 aircraft.
This order marks SriLankan Airlines’ first selection of the A350 XWB aircraft and the Trent 700-powered A330s, will join the airline’s current fleet of seven aircraft. In 2012 the two companies marked 50 years of Rolls-Royce engines powering SriLankan Airlines and its predecessors, Air Ceylon and Air Lanka.
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