Sri Lanka Is Eyeing the Most Isolated Big City on Earth

SriLankan Airlines is studying a nonstop route between Colombo and Perth, Western Australia. No launch date has been announced and the proposal is still under review, but chief executive Vipul Misra said the study followed demand the airline saw on a roadshow with Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry. Perth would become its third Australian gateway after Melbourne and Sydney.

For travelers in Western Australia, a direct flight would remove the usual connection through Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or a Gulf hub. The airline would need extra aircraft from outside its fleet to operate it. Misra suggested a national carrier can sometimes take on routes that private airlines might avoid because of commercial risk.

The numbers help explain the interest. Sri Lanka received 10,951 Australian arrivals in September, up 20.3 percent from a year earlier, making Australia the island’s third-largest source market that month. Jetstar’s three-times-weekly Melbourne–Colombo flights were reported running above 90 percent full in both directions, and arrivals via Singapore and Kuala Lumpur fell 19.6 percent and 32.1 percent respectively.

SriLankan itself is feeling the pressure. It carried about 4,720 Australian tourists in September, but its share of that market slipped from 47.55 percent in July to 43.11 percent, even after it raised Colombo–Melbourne flights from seven to ten a week on August 2. A year earlier it held a 55.83 percent share with roughly 5,080 Australian visitors.

Sources: Aviation A2Z, SriLankan Airlines