FitsAir

Airline overview

FITS Aviation, branded FitsAir, is a private Sri Lankan carrier. It started in 1997 as Expo Aviation, initially in air cargo, and later expanded into domestic passenger services, international cargo flights and charters. The company is registered as a Board of Investment (BOI) approved entity, headquartered in Colombo, with its operating hub at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB).

FitsAir holds IATA two-letter code 8D, ICAO three-letter code EXV and the radio call sign EXPOAVIA. The official website is fitsair.com. The airline is not part of any global alliance; its business is built on international non-scheduled cargo flights, regional scheduled passenger flights and on-demand charters, making it one of the few Sri Lankan carriers other than the flag carrier that still operates international cargo routes.

FitsAir's early cargo fleet included Fokker F27, Douglas DC-8 and Ilyushin IL-18 freighters, and it also brought in a widebody freighter of about 45 tonnes payload that extended the cargo network to Middle East and Central Asian points such as Kabul, Bagram and Baghdad. The network later grew toward Dhaka and Bangkok, forming mixed scheduled cargo and passenger routes from Colombo to South Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Gulf. The current fleet combines Airbus A320-200 narrowbody aircraft, ATR72 regional turboprops and Cessna 208 single-engine aircraft, with scheduled regional cargo covering Colombo to Chennai, Dubai, Male, Dhaka and Bangkok.

As a BOI-approved air operator, FitsAir holds local operating approvals at the Colombo cargo terminal, and its cargo team has handled international inbound and outbound freight continuously since 1997, with working knowledge of ground handling, customs declaration and regional connections at CMB. For cargo arriving from China that must move on to Indian Ocean island markets, FitsAir is one of the few local carriers based at CMB that can connect same-day to narrowbody onward flights.

For shippers in China, FitsAir's value lies in regional onward carriage from the Colombo gateway: export cargo can first reach CMB from a Chinese airport on the Sri Lankan flag carrier or another carrier, then connect to Male, Dhaka, South India and Gulf points on FitsAir narrowbody belly capacity and charters. For Chinese exporters that must distribute cargo into markets such as the Maldives and Bangladesh, where direct China services are thin, FitsAir provides the regional air leg beyond the CMB gateway.

Contact details and business support in China

FitsAir currently has no published office or representative office of its own in China and no cargo sales point in any Chinese city. International cargo and charter sales are handled by the Colombo head office and regional sales teams.

Shippers who want FitsAir regional onward carriage or charter capacity should contact its local agent in China or ask us to coordinate. Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited (Goodhope Freight) can check capacity availability at the CMB gateway, connection windows and charter quotations, and arrange both legs under one booking, from the Chinese airport to Colombo and from Colombo to the regional destination. For further help, contact details are on the official website goodhope86.com.

For Chinese exporters developing the Maldives and Bangladesh markets over the long term, we can also provide annual capacity agreements and centralised consolidation: cargo from several Chinese sellers is consolidated in China and shipped to CMB, split by destination in Colombo, and carried on by FitsAir to Male or Dhaka. This suits Chinese cross-border e-commerce sellers and traders with small individual shipments but steady frequency, and lowers the cost per shipment.

Aircraft types

The current FitsAir fleet consists of Airbus A320-200, ATR72 regional turboprops and Cessna 208 single-engine aircraft. International regional cargo relies mainly on the belly hold and combi capability of the A320-200; the ATR72 flies domestic and short regional routes, and the Cessna 208 is used for domestic commuter and charter flying.

Historically FitsAir operated two Fokker F27, one DC-8 and one IL-18 freighter, and also brought in a widebody freighter of about 45 tonnes payload for points in Central Asia and the Middle East such as Kabul, Bagram and Baghdad. All of these types have been retired, and international regional cargo is now flown entirely by the A320-200. From a shipper's point of view, cargo carried beyond the CMB gateway to Male, Dhaka or Chennai uses A320-200 belly capacity, so piece dimensions are limited by the narrowbody cargo door and oversize or overweight pieces must be declared in advance.

As a single-aisle narrowbody, the A320-200 has mainly bulk holds, well suited to onward shipments from China via CMB in the range of a few hundred kilograms to a few tonnes. For Chinese e-commerce parcels, textile accessories, consumer goods and small engineering items, the frequency of this type and the efficiency of connections at CMB beat waiting for widebody mainline capacity. Note that the A320 cannot take standard ULDs larger than LD3, so containerised cargo originating in China must be broken down at CMB and carried on as bulk, a step our partner ground agent in Colombo handles.

China airport service and routes

FitsAir currently has no published direct cargo flights from China and no operating desk or cargo service point at any Chinese airport. All its international cargo points depart from Colombo (CMB), with the network concentrated in South Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Middle East.

Note that the China to CMB leg and the CMB to regional destination leg are operated by different carriers and covered by two separate air waybills. A shipper arranging this alone must deal with both carriers on capacity and arrival information; when we book both legs, we handle the connection in Colombo, so the shipper only provides the origin and the final destination and receives one through rate and one consolidated cargo status. For Chinese exporters entering the Maldives and Bangladesh for the first time, this greatly reduces the complexity of multi-leg cross-border transport.

Service coverage for Chinese cargo via Colombo

FitsAir does not itself fly to China, but its CMB-based regional network covers several South Asian and Indian Ocean markets where Chinese carrier frequency is relatively low. Chinese export cargo connecting through the Colombo gateway can reach the following directions.

This coverage means shippers in China do not need a dedicated direct China route to reach smaller markets such as the Maldives and Bangladesh; one connection at the Colombo gateway completes delivery. Actual destinations and schedules are subject to carrier confirmation on the day of booking.

In trade terms, the Maldives economy rests on tourism and fisheries, and hotel consumables, building and finishing materials, consumer goods and small electromechanical equipment are largely imported, a significant share of it from China; the Bangladesh garment industry imports large volumes of Chinese textile machinery parts, fabric and trims, dyes and industrial chemicals. Direct cargo flights between these markets and China are limited, so onward carriage from the CMB gateway on FitsAir is a practical air channel for Chinese exporters into both markets.

Cargo advantages of onward carriage via Colombo

For cargo shipped from China and carried on through the CMB gateway to South Asian and Indian Ocean markets, FitsAir offers the following connection advantages.

Specialist freight value-added services

For Chinese export cargo moving through the Colombo gateway, FitsAir offers the following regional cargo and charter services.

Regional belly-capacity onward carriage

After mainline carriage to CMB, Chinese export cargo can move on to Male, Dhaka, Chennai, Dubai or Bangkok in A320-200 belly space. The service suits Chinese cross-border e-commerce parcels, consumer goods and industrial consumables, with the final leg coordinated by us. Compared with transit via Dubai or Bangkok, the air distance from CMB to Male is shorter, so transit time from China falls; clearance in the Maldives for Sri Lankan transhipment cargo is also well established, giving predictable pickup after arrival.

Whole-aircraft charters

For Chinese export cargo with a large single shipment, an irregular schedule or an unusual destination, an A320 whole-aircraft charter can be requested. The shipper provides the origin airport (CMB or a third country), the destination and the cargo parameters, and FitsAir assesses capacity and arranges a non-scheduled flight. Project materials, urgent humanitarian lots and out-of-gauge cargo are common categories. FitsAir previously used a widebody freighter of about 45 tonnes payload for non-scheduled flights to Central Asia and the Middle East, so it has charter scheduling and long-haul experience; current narrowbody charter payload depends on the A320 belly and cabin space available and must be confirmed shipment by shipment.

Night operations and emergency lots

FitsAir uses narrowbody night slots at CMB for urgent Chinese export spares, samples and replenishment lots, achieving departure from a Chinese airport, a night connection at CMB and next-day landing in the region. Times are local and subject to carrier confirmation on the day of booking. For time-sensitive cases such as replenishing Maldives resort islands or urgent trim for Bangladesh garment plants, the night connection can cut a working day or more from the overall delivery cycle.

Ground connection at the Colombo gateway

After Chinese export cargo reaches CMB, the FitsAir local team works with the CMB cargo terminal on unloading, temporary storage and pallet build for the onward leg. Because the A320 onward leg is mainly bulk, palletised cargo from China must be broken down, sorted and reloaded in the terminal, and our partner ground agent in Colombo handles this transfer. Cargo carried on to Male, Dhaka or Chennai can be tracked with the mainline cargo under one air waybill system, so the shipper does not deal with two carriers.

These services cover cargo exported from China and entering South Asian and Indian Ocean markets through the Colombo gateway; we can quote belly-capacity onward carriage and whole-aircraft charter options side by side for the cargo parameters.

Booking path from China

FitsAir has no sales office of its own in China, so shippers are most efficient arranging both legs through a specialist freight forwarder. Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited (Goodhope Freight) can provide the following routing and handle consolidation, export clearance and airport handover in China, the connection in Colombo, and clearance and delivery at destination.

The critical point in a two-leg movement is the connection window at CMB. When a shipper books alone, the gap between mainline arrival at CMB and the FitsAir departure is often hard to align, and cargo can sit in Colombo. We confirm both flight times at the booking stage, allow time for breakdown and short transfer at CMB, and send a pre-alert to FitsAir before arrival so the onward leg connects the same day. For cargo that must be cleared at CMB before onward carriage, our local agent handles that too, so the shipper does not need separate agents in Sri Lanka and at destination. If cargo must then move from the Maldives or Bangladesh to outlying islands or secondary cities, we can arrange last-mile road haulage at destination.

Network: Chinese cargo via Colombo to South Asia

The diagram shows Chinese export cargo leaving a Chinese airport, passing the Colombo gateway and moving on by FitsAir to Male, Dhaka, South India and Gulf markets.