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| Sunday, 27 February 2005 |
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First budget airline awaits green light The first budget airline to be launched in Sri Lanka, Holiday Air with the logo " fun way to fly" will fly to 12 destinations within six months of obtaining approval. CEO Holiday Air Arjun Ruzaik said they will invest US$ 12 million initially . According to plans they will operate Boeing 737, 150 seater aircraft to Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Maldives and seven destinations in India when approval is given. The cabin crew will be Sri Lankans while the flight crew will be recruited from India or Kenya. He said that the flight crew has to be recruited from overseas since Sri Lanka does not have the required number, but we will open a training academy and if everything goes as planned we should have a Sri Lankan flight crew as well operating the Airline in five years. Budget airlines which has tremendous growth was a concept initiated in USA by Sir Freddie Laker. The tourism industry is growing but it is still rather expensive to fly from one destination to another because the traditional airlines charge about 40 percent extra for food, give-aways, maintain posh offices and staff to do individual tasks. "We the budget airlines are changing the concept as we want more people to fly, as our policy is to sell tickets at the lowest possible price. We will cut down on unnecessary expenditure to give our customers a good deal but we will not compromise on quality or safety" he said. "We have an image to portray but as we will start with short distance flights we will not charge for food, headphones or blankets but it will be available on board at a nominal price. Online bookings is the only way of purchasing tickets and boarding will be on a first come first served basis. He said that as a nation our growth is constrained because of the high cost of travel to and from Sri Lanka. Ruzaik said that if the company gets about two routes such as Kochin and Trivandrum we will not commence operations as it would not be viable. Ruzaik, an old Thomian, broadcaster started as an entrepreneur 26 years ago in Kenya. Their group is involved in aviation, media, printing and packaging. They have been involved in the aviation industry for over 25 years and ranks among the top six competing with 70 other Kenyan aircraft operators. (SG) |
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