SriLankan Airlines is ready to upgrade its fleet by replacing some of its older Airbus A330 aircraft as their leases will soon expire and has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for leasing five widebody A330. The airline is looking out for five A330-300 or A330-200 on a six-year dry lease, with expected deliveries this year.
SriLankan has seven Airbus A330-300 planes and five A330-200. The airline is also looking for five second-hand A320s and has specified that they must not be more than 15 years old. The latest reports now detail their requirement for the five A330s on lease.
The airline has specified that the aircraft should be configured in two cabin classes, with the business class product offering lie-flat seats. It also wants the planes to have at least 12,000 hours, 8,000 flight cycles, and around three years until they are due for their next extensive C-check.
SriLankan is ideally looking for an A330-200 with a maximum take-off weight of at least 233 tonnes or -300s with an MTOW of at least 238 tonnes.
The airline could opt for Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine or might opt for other engine types if the engines are enrolled in an OEM power-by-hour maintenance agreement or the lessor agrees to provide substitution engines in-lieu of a shop visit event.
SriLankan’s fleet upgrade plans come on the backdrop of its capacity expansion plans with rising demand across its network especially in India. The airline also plans to ramp its Australia and China network with nine weekly flights to China from April 3, 2023.