Is the Airbus A3330-200 aircraft, which became a part of the Sri Lankan Airlines, a brand-new aircraft?

Although there were proposals to privatize Sri Lankan Airlines during the previous government due to economic losses, the current government decided not to implement it and continue to operate it as the national airline service of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Airlines has been the subject of intense debate due to its losses, and talk about it resurfaced with the news of the addition of a new aircraft to the Airlines. 

This latest addition to Sri Lankan airlines is an A330-200 with the registration number 4R-ALT and it arrived to Sri Lanka on June 4th from Paris.

Posts circulated on social media claiming that this aircraft is a newly manufactured aircraft. Is the aircraft really brand new? Below is our fact check regarding these social media posts.

Social Media Posts :

Below is a post indicating that the newest member of the Sri Lankan airlines is a brand new aircraft.

FB | Archived

Here are some other posts.

FB 

Fact- Check :

Airbus A330-220 which joined Sri Lankan airlines

The Airbus A330-220, wide-body aircraft, registered 4R-ALT, arrived in Sri Lanka from Paris on June 4th. Before landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, the aircraft flew along the Colombo coastline from the southern tip of the port city to Moratuwa, providing a special opportunity for aircraft spotters. 

With this, there were lot of discussion on social media and mainstream media regarding the aircraft, and it has also become a hot topic on the political stage.

The discussion in Parliament about the plane and the Minister’s response

The Airbus A330-220, the wide body aircraft which was the first aircraft to join Sri Lankan airlines after 7 years, was questioned at the parliament asking whether it was brand new.

Nalin Hewage, a Minister from Samagi Jana Balawegaya stated in the parliament that the A330-220 aircraft that joined Sri Lankan airlines is a 13 or 14 year old aircraft which has been previously used by Garuda Indonesia (Video). 

Furthermore, Minister Kins Nelson questioned the Minister in charge if it, regarding how old the Airbus A330-220 was and what level of amenities are available inside the aircraft.

In response, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake stated that though this aircraft is a previously used aircraft, there isn’t an issue regarding its condition.

“This aircraft has been leased and we will return it in 8 years. It is true that this is a previously used aircraft. But we can’t buy a new one yet. It will take many more years to purchase a new one. There isn’t a problem with this. We will pay for it and hand it over in 8 years” – Minister Bimal Rathnayake 

(“මේ ගුවන් යානය ලීස් කරලා අරන් තියෙන්නේ යළි අවුරුදු 8කින් අපි  ඒක නැවත ලබා දෙනවා. මේක මීට කලින් පාවිච්චි කරපු ගුවන් යානයක් බව ඇත්ත අලුත්ම බ්‍රෑන්ඩ් නිව් එකක් ගන්න නම් දැන් ගන්න බෑ. තව අවුරුදු ගාණක් යනවා එහෙම එකක් ගන්න.. මේකෙ කිසිම ප්‍රශ්නයක් නෑ මේක අපි හරියට ගෙවලා අවුරුදු 8කින් භාර දෙනවා”)

Media reports regarding the Airbus A330-220

Meanwhile, citing the airfleets.net website, the BBC reports that the Airbus A330-200 wide-body aircraft that joined Sri Lankan Airlines on the 4th and has previously been used on flights by two other airlines.  It further states that this aircraft, which has been used by Garuda Indonesia under a lease since November 11, 2011 was later taken out of service due to Covid-19 pandemic and returned to the company in 2021. The aircraft was then used by South Korea’s Fly Gangwon airline from November 2022 and was returned to its company in May 2023. You can refer the full article here.

The Sri Lankan airlines management also commented on the newly added aircraft, and you can view that below.

Is the Airbus A330-200 that joined Sri Lankan Airlines old?

A closer look at the above facts reveals that the aircraft that recently joined the Sri Lankan family is not a newly manufactured aircraft. However, just because it is a 14 year old aircraft, should we suspicious of its condition and label it as obsolete? Aviation Voice provided a lengthy explanation regarding this matter.

Accordingly, they point out that one of the main criteria considered when reaching a conclusion regarding the age of aircraft is the number of flight cycles of the aircraft. They explained that usually the number of flight cycles of the Airbus 230-300 model is about 30,000 while the number of flight cycles of the Airbus A330-200 which was leased by the Sri Lankan airlines is currently close to 4000. Accordingly, the aircraft has been used for about 9/1 of its flight cycles and the maintenance of the aircraft is at a very good level. Many facts about the Airbus A330-200 aircraft joining the Sri Lankan airlines and the future of Sri Lankan Airlines are discussed in that video. You can watch the full video below.

Join us to learn more about our investigative fact findings.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok