A dream come true, says UL Chief Nishantha

Tuesday, 12 June 2012 01:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe yesterday described the breakthrough partnership with oneworld as a “dream come true”.

“With the world airline industry increasingly focused on alliances, SriLankan has carried out in-depth analysis of the options open to the airline as we enter this latest phase of our development. oneworld is very clearly the best option for us,” Wickremasinghe said.

“Joining the alliance will help put SriLankan more firmly on the global aviation map and vastly improve Sri Lanka’s connections with the rest of the world, thereby benefitting the vital tourism industry,” he added.

“When the new management took over SriLankan and especially after Government acquired full control we were very keen to explore best options for an alliance. This was also important for our frequent flyers especially business travellers as our existing FlySmiles scheme had limitations. We had earmarked oneworld as the best fit for SriLankan given the potential, impressive profile of its partners and their like mindedness,” Wickremasinghe told the Daily FT on the sidelines of the announcement in Beijing.

Wickremasinghe’s close connection with oneworld partner Cathay Pacific which came forward to sponsor SriLankan for its entry had considerably helped the breakthrough as well.

He personally knows the Cathay Pacific owners Swire family, which also holds the controlling stake in Finlays Colombo Plc, where Wickremesinghe had worked for 30 years.

The SriLankan Airlines Chairman said the oneworld partnership would further strengthen the national carrier’s competitiveness especially in the context of rapid growth of some of the Middle Eastern carriers.

“Among key drivers of airline industry today are price, frequency and the frequent flyer program. What oneworld gives SriLankan is an unprecedented smarter opportunity to rapidly grow our presence, marketing and operations via the alliance partners,” Wickremasinghe added.