Peace Air, one of the shortlisted bidders for Sri Lankan Airlines, has also placed bids for Mattala Rajapakse International (MRI) Airport and proposes to create Mechanical Repair Overhaul (MRO) facilities at the Airport.
“We propose to create MRO facilities to give employment to a further 1,500 technically skilled Sri Lankan workers, mainly ex-air force technical staff,” a Peace Airways brochure said.
“The MRI Airport does not have power on one side. Hence we will have to work with the CEB and get the required supply. We also need to resolve the bird issue,” they said.
Although Peace Air seems to be new in the news, it has been in the industry since 1992.
Speaking about SriLankan Airlines, Director of Peace Airways, Gamini Wettasinghe said, “When Emirates came in it was a prerequisite that no other airline operates in the country. Due to this reason we had our licence revoked. Since then we have been operating with other international airlines.”
Wettasinghe said that if Peace Air is selected they will bring in US $ 5.5 billion.
“The due diligence should have been held in October according to the IOI, three names have been selected and none of us have been allowed to conduct the due diligence. This is because someone within is trying to bring in a new airline. Lufthansa will be doing the due diligence for us,” Wettasinghe said.
They further said that they hope to bring in more aircraft and rescind existing leases as the leases usurp the profits of the airline.
“If a major airline comes in they will not be interested in more than carrying Sri Lankan Airlines as a regional airline. But we will be expanding operations to take it further up at international level,” Wettasinghe said.
Other than the colossal investment they will also provide a signing bonus of Rs. 100,000 per employee and hopes to increase the intake of employees.
Aligning with the government’s thinking, Peace Air hopes to introduce five destinations in Africa, five in Australia, five in China, ten in India, five in Europe and six in Asia and Far East.