JKH, Brandix to take to the skies?

Peaceful skies of post-war Sri Lanka are tipped to see a refreshing sight, with premier listed blue chip John Keells Holdings (JKH) and unlisted apparel industry icon Brandix Group teaming up in a consortium to foray into domestic aviation.

Aviation sources said that the consortium involving the two blue chips has applied for a licence to operate an amphibian aircraft which has the ability to land and take off from both land and water.

Industry speculation was that the venture will deploy two Cessna aircraft, initially in a multi-million dollar venture.

At present national carrier SriLankan Airlines and Deccan Aviation Lanka are the only two active operators in the domestic aviation scene along with Sri Lanka Air Force’s commercial service whilst several have had expressed interest or busy preparing on their respective forays.



State-owned SriLankan however operates only float planes, which can take off and land only on water, whilst Deccan has a heli service. The latter is credited with being preserving in bad times since 2004 and since the dawn of peace has been aggressive, including forging ahead with new initiatives.

The entry of JKH and Brandix combined is expected to brighten the open skies with competition, offering superior service and comfort.  It is claimed that they will operate a schedule service for all, whilst the joint venture partners on their own have a captive market as well.

JKH is the country’s biggest hotel and resort operator numbering nearly 10 and growing, whilst Brandix too has extensive presence around the country.

Considering the impressive profile and class of the partners of the new consortium, aviation industry analysts aren’t ruling out they using the domestic operation as a launch pad to tap prospects in the region.

Since the end of the war as well as rebound in tourist arrivals, leisure industry experts have been urging better and faster connectivity both via road and air. Given the upside in tourism and Sri Lanka’s new profile as an exotic and peaceful destination, to draw the high spending tourists, greater access via air to existing and upcoming resorts has been emphasised as a key requirement.

A drawback to a more robust domestic civil aviation despite the country having many airstrips including at tourist sites are the seemingly tough barriers to enter in the local air space.

Some industry analysts have questioned the validity of a full service national carrier having a foothold in domestic aviation. However, SriLankan has justified it on the grounds that it was serving a critical need of some of its discerning passengers and the Air Taxi service was an extension of its total solution.

Some have noted that the services of SriLankan and the Air Force were needed and must be continued with, though on a highly-commercial basis. The operation of scheduled services is also important, which is not the case most of the time.

Openly SriLankan has welcomed competition, though industry analysts are sceptical, noting that the mere presence of both SriLankan and Air Force are perceived barriers for new entrants.

In that context, the Civil Aviation Authority entertaining applications from the private sector and impending launch of JKH-Brandix venture has been welcomed by analysts, who however emphasised that greater encouragement along with effective regulation are critical for a high-flying future of domestic aviation in post-war Sri Lanka.

SriLankan Air Taxi operates scheduled flights to Kandy, Bentota, Dickwella, Koggala, Nuwara Eliya and Dambulla from the south coast. Charter operations are now possible to Tissa, Hambantota, Victoria (Kandy), Castlereagh, Trinco, Ampara, Arugam Bay and Iranamadu in Kilinochchi.  Batticaloa is next up to come online in SriLankan Air Taxi’s charter operations.