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Monday, 9 December 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Text and pix by Sarah Hannan
Saffron Aviation Ltd., popularly known as Cinnamon Air, introducing its latest flight schedules for Winter 2013/2014 and announcing the addition of the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft to its fleet provided the Daily FT a unique opportunity to visit its very own passenger terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.
Having arrived early at the airport, along with the AERO International editorial team, we were given a familiarisation tour of Saffron Aviation’s newly-built aircraft hangar and workshop located at the Sri Lanka Air Force base in Katunayake.
Saffron Aviation Director of Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Delaney Fernando gave an overview of the company as well as his own division: “Our staff works on two shifts per day, one from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the other from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Though we are a general aviation 
company, we still fall under the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka and therefore follow all protocol according to their books. We have a highly qualified and trained staff on our technical as well as operational ends.”
Training and development
Asked about the training the technical staff has undergone, Fernando said: “Our technicians follow a three-year course from a certified aviation school. Apart from that, our senior technicians at least have 10 years of industry experience. The next step for these technicians is to obtain the license to sign off planes and at present only two of us have the license to sign off aircrafts.”
In order to obtain the licence senior technicians are sent for type training on the aircraft engine to Phoenix, USA in order to further learn about the Honeywell engine which is used in all three aircrafts and then for type training for the aircraft frame to Kansas, USA. Once they return from the training, they have to then obtain the licence from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.
The division also has a conference room and a full flight training room in the facility where refresher and further training courses are carried out.
Meeting demand and overcoming challenges
General aviation is breaking ground with the rise in charters and domestic airline operations. Fernando believes that Saffron Aviation’s Cinnamon Air is just the pre-cursor in this booming industry.
“Given the geography of Sri Lanka, we had to purchase the Cessna 208 Amphibian Caravans to accommodate the necessity of landing on water and land. In order to overcome the challenges of reaching smaller water strips, we had to add more avionics so that all the cockpits were standardised. We have also changed the standard engines to Honeywell TPE 331-12 JR – Super Van engine with a capacity of 900 hp. Since the modifications to the aircraft engine, the aircraft now lands in Polgolla, Kandy whereas earlier they had to land at Victoria Dam during their trips to Kandy.
Tracking fleet maintenance 
A systematic inventory system keeps track of every component used at the workshop and is maintained in log books as well as in a software version which alerts the stores when the stock is running out. Separate log books are maintained for the aircraft engine, propellers and the aircraft frame. As for the maintenance of the Honeywell engine its very own Honeywell Service Bulletin is followed; however, Saffron Aviation has also come up with their very own maintenance schedule manual which is prepared with field experience by the senior staff and the service bulletin and owner’s manuals that come along with the aircrafts and approved by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Flight operations, progress and future plans
Speaking about the operational side of the company, John Keells Group President – Transportation Group Romesh David said: “Saffron Aviation has been in operation for the last four months and from Friday 6 December we scheduled flights to Sigiriya on a daily basis and four times a week to Batticaloa-Passikudah, which brings departures to 28 per week. During summer 2014 we are planning to double these flights.” David went on to say that their latest addition to the fleet – Cessna 208B Grand Caravan – is bound to provide you the experience of flying in an executive level aircraft. It was used as the first aircraft to take off to Sigiriya last Friday.
Saffron Aviation and SriLankan Airlines have a code-share agreement and the flights carry their own code (C7) as well as a SriLankan Airlines code (UL), which allows the potential passenger to not only book the flight separately but also as a combination when they book their air tickets for their Sri Lankan holiday. Of its three aircrafts, Saffron Aviation has liveried one as a ‘SriLankan Air Taxi’ to accommodate the codeshare agreement. In order to attract more local passengers, the company will launch a ‘hot seats’ campaign which will provide 20%-50% discounts on selected flights and days.
The company also plans to work with partner hotels in order to expand its flight operation by providing attractive package offers to tourists who come on shorter holidays. The company believes that with the expansion of its flight operations to different locations in Sri Lanka, more passengers will book flights to get to anywhere in the country under an hour’s time. “We are expecting more bookings from western European travellers as well as travellers from the Gulf, China and India as most of these tourists come to Sri Lanka on shorter holidays and would like to experience the country’s exotic beaches and other attractions within a short time.
The time taken to travel to the east coast in a ground vehicle is around eight hours whereas taking the air taxi will enable the traveller to get to their destination within an hour’s time,” David explained.
For the convenience of the passengers, all flights are synchronised with the arrivals and departures schedules of the Bandaranaike International Airport flight schedule.
Round Trip to Kandy
While we were getting to know more about the technical and operational side of the company the ground staff and the co-pilot were preparing the Cinnamon Air liveried Cessna 208 Caravan for our round trip to Kandy.
We had to drive over to the Cinnamon Air terminal located inside BIA where our baggage was weighed and then the boarding passes were handed over to us.
The passenger lounge had ample seating inside and outside and we decided to sit outside until our aircraft taxied towards the tarmac. After we boarded the aircraft, the co-pilot conducted the ‘Safety Briefing’.
Despite the sky being overcast, I managed to capture few images of the beautiful cloudscapes and landscapes and was taken aback to see the lush green fields, waterways and the ongoing constructions in the suburbs. As we approached the mountain ranges there was a slight turbulence, but overall the flight was quite enjoyable.
We landed in Polgolla to pick up two passengers who were travelling back to Katunayake and en route to Katunayake the aircraft touched down at Waters Edge to drop us off and then took off after taxing in the swamp, providing us enough time to capture a few shots of the take off.
