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.
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Air India – the pioneer of Asian aviation
The Birth of airlines in the South Asian region Part 1 – Air India South Asia as we know it today, is a recent invention. A hundred years ago, it was simply India, or “British India”. The subcontinent was united under British rule, with a patchwork of “princely states” enjoying nominal independence, but functioning under…
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The Decade Ahead – Part 2
My latest column on FT was published recently – and is republished below
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The “Ghost” column
SARS all over again? Many readers will remember the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in 2002, which affected East Asia quite significantly. Originating in southern China, the SARS scare lasted almost a year, with the virus infecting over 8,000 and resulting in 774 deaths in 17 countries. Fast forward A new mutation of…
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SARS 2020
Seventeen years after SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) terrorized Asia, a new virus has grabbed the headlines. Originating in Hubei province central China, the virus has infected over 40,000 people already and is spreading rapidly all over the world. The speed of transmission is quite alarming – just a week ago the number of cases…
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2020: What will the decade ahead hold?
Crystal balls are murky things, and predicting what is ahead for the next decade is fraught with pitfalls. This is especially true in the aerospace industry as there is so little history to go on. As readers of this blog are aware, the airline industry as we know it came into existence only in the…
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What led to the demise of Thomas Cook?
One of the world’s oldest travel companies, Thomas Cook, in business since 1841, failed last week, stranding more than 150,000 passengers worldwide. The unravelling of Thomas Cook’s business is a complex matter, which in many ways is symptomatic of the travel industry’s recent woes. A combination of factors has come together to disrupt existing business…
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Boeing in MAX-imum trouble?
Recent reports are that Boeing may be at risk of having to completely stop production of its most lucrative aircraft until the aircraft is re-certified, due to logistical reasons. This could mean significant layoffs and serious repercussions for its huge number of sub-contractors Read my latest column on Financial Times to read my take on…
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Interview with CAPA TV
An interview which Suren had with CAPA TV while he was the CEO of SriLankan Airlines SriLankan CEO Suren Ratwatte @ APAS 2017 from CAPA on Vimeo.
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Interview with Bloomberg
An interview which Suren had with Bloomberg, while he was the CEO of SriLankan Airlines.
