Who is Suren?
Suren Ratwatte, FRAeS, is an accomplished pilot, airline executive and aviation researcher.
He became one of the world’s first Airbus A380 Captains, was previously SriLankan Airlines’ CEO and has also been featured in several books and academic publications.
Category: Airliners
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COVID’s effect on the airlines
Happy New Year to all my readers. As 2022 dawns we look back on what has been possibly the worst two years the world’s airline industry has suffered in its relatively short existence. As readers are aware, the airline industry only began in the 1920s, as in the aftermath of the First World war saw…
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Will Jabs be the key?
A tale of two states Over six months ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic’s first year drew to a close, this column foresaw a ‘two speed’ recovery of domestic and international air travel (see December 15, 2020 column here). Back in December 2020, with vaccines due to arrive in a few months there was a good…
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Boom or Bust?
Boom or Bust? The airline industry as we know it today began with a piece of legislation known as the Air Mail Act of 1925, which was approved by the United States Congress to allow private contractors to carry airmail. The primitive, frail aircraft of the time could barely transport a handful of passengers, but…
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Closed Borders and Lucky Generals
The ‘Lucky Country’ and its General Scott Morrison, Australia’s Prime Minister since 2018 is a devout Christian. He certainly seems to have the heavens on his side. Backroom manoeuvres saw him rise to the leadership of the Australian Liberal Party (which is actually quite right-wing) and inherit the federal Premiership. He won a general election…
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The dreaded ‘second wave’ hits India
The iniquities of vaccination and the impact on air travel India is ablaze. Not with forest fires, but funeral pyres as the COVID-19 pandemic is undergoing a vicious second-wave in the region. With over 1.8 million confirmed cases and more than 200,000 deaths India is now surging towards breaking all records in this pandemic.…
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Sri Lanka’s aviation sector stirs to life
FITS Air acquires an Airbus A320 FITS Air, formerly ExpoAir, has recently taken delivery of an Airbus A320, becoming the first private airline in Sri Lanka to do so. This is a landmark occasion for Sri Lankan aviation, one that the airline’s owner’s hope will usher in a new and successful era. In a previous…
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The crash of Icelandic Airlines flight LL001 – Part 2
The crash of Icelandic Airlines flight LL001 – the aftermath The tragic crash of Flight LL001, a Douglas DC-8-63CF operated by Icelandic Airlines and chartered by Garuda Indonesia, in November 1978 sent shock waves through Sri Lanka. The island was just emerging from a long period of self-imposed isolation. In November 1978, when the accident…
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The crash of Icelandic Airlines flight LL001 — Part 1
The crash of Icelandic Airlines flight LL-001 In 1978 Sri Lanka was emerging from a long period of economic isolation. A landmark election the year before had ushered in a change of government, with a mandate to open up the economy. Rebuilding ties with the West, long-ignored during a period of austerity and socialist policies,…
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Aviation’s worst year is far from over
It all started off so well. Many airlines were coming off a record year of travel in 2019, oil prices had been stable, and the world just loved traveling. Emirates, one of the fastest-growing airlines of the last few years, recorded its most profitable quarter ever, from January to March 2020 with its fleet of…
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Domestic and Regional travel shows green shoots
Will domestic travel save the airlines? Nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic, good news in the travel sector is still hard to find. Despite the rollout of vaccines international traffic continues to be virtually at a standstill, with a -72.3% degradation in the calendar year to date, according to newly released International Air Transport Association…
