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| SriLankan Airlines can bring
you to visit the 1000-year old ruins of Polonnaruwa
and other wonders of Sri Lanka’s 2500 years
of civilization. |
| Photos by Alex Kersis |
Sri Lanka boasts an airline unknown to most U.S.
travelers that regularly provides a high level of
service that American air travelers have long forgotten
ever existed. SriLankan Airlines has recovered from
tragedy to become one of Asia’s best airlines.
The carrier boasts an on-time departure rate of
85-90 percent and a level of service that steadily
wins international recognition.
In surveys conducted by Skytrax, the prestigious UK
research agency, SriLankan Airlines was voted the
“Best Airline in Central Asia” in 2001 and
2002. Skytrax also voted SriLankan Airlines cabin
crews “the friendliest in the world.” Travel
Trade Gazette Asia rated SriLankan Airlines the “Best
Airline in South Asia” in 2002. The German travel
magazine Reise und Preise voted SriLankan Airlines
the fifth best airline in the world out of 48 airlines
for economy class service in 2003. The airline’s
duty free shopping service and in-flight magazine
have also won awards.
“These awards are taking us to the place we deserve,
but it’s still not good enough,” says Chandana
De Silva, SriLankan Airlines’ Head of Corporate
Communications. The airline, he says, has set a goal
of being rated the best airline in all of Asia. That
means SriLankan Airlines will go head-to-head with
such highly regarded large Asian carriers as Singapore
Airlines and Malaysian Airlines.
The SriLankan Airlines story is all the more remarkable
considering where the airline was in mid-2001. On
July 24, Tamil Tiger terrorists struck at Colombo’s
Bandaranaike International Airport, setting off bombs
that heavily damaged the airport and destroyed four
of SriLankan Airlines’ aircraft. That catastrophe
might well have caused the airline to fold, but company
directors and personnel vowed not to let that happen.
The company reorganized its flight schedule, trimming
many long distance flights it could not serve with
its eight remaining aircraft. With Sri Lanka’s
economy contracting that year, the government was
unable to provide financial aid. Emirates Airlines,
which had purchased 40 percent of SriLankan Airlines
shares in April 1998, provided valuable assistance.
Despite some dark days, De Silva says, Emirates Airlines
stood by the recovering Sri Lankan carrier, and SriLankan
Airlines survived.
Emirates Airlines will provide management of SriLankan
Airlines for a 10-year period with a commitment to
renewed growth and profitability. With this arrangement,
SriLankan Airlines expects to firmly establish itself
among the ranks of Asia's top airlines.
The airline since has replaced one of the damaged
aircraft, and now operates a fleet of nine Airbus
aircraft that include four A-330’s, three A-340’s
and two A-320’s. The airline is slowly restoring
long distance flights that it was forced to cut. It
now serves destinations in the UK, France, Switzerland,
Germany and Japan.
Each of the A-330’s and A-340’s offers a
luxury business class and an exceptionally comfortable
economy class service with some of the most advanced
features in international aviation. All seats are
fitted with 17-channel personal TVs and phones, and
fax facilities are also available on board. Video
game facilities are available for all seats on the
A-340 and A-330. Business class additionally offers
individual reading lamps and personal video players
with a selection of 34 video titles to choose from.
All seats also have a 22-channel audio facility.
Air Lanka, as the airline was named upon its founding,
began scheduled operations from Colombo on September
1, 1979, with initial management assistance from Singapore
Airlines (1979-1981) and funding by the Sri Lanka
Government Treasury, Bank of Ceylon and People's Bank.
While its first flight was to Bangkok, other destinations
in its route network at inception were the Maldives,
Madras, Bombay, Singapore, Frankfurt and London.
SriLankan Airlines has grown from flying fewer than
250,000 passengers in its first year to flying 1.6
million passengers in the year ended March 2002. The
airline has increased its air cargo handling from
2000 tons in 1979 to 46,067 tons in the year ending
March 2001. The airline also provides ground handling,
engineering and catering services to other airlines
operating from Colombo.
Currently in its 23rd year of operations, SriLankan
Airlines now flies to 30 destinations in 20 countries
across Europe, the Indian sub-continent and the Maldives,
the Middle East and Asia. In the future, De Silva
says, the airline will add more flights to India,
since Indian tourists are increasingly discovering
the low-cost tourist delights of Sri Lanka. “India
will be a big market for us,” De Silva emphasizes.
With the expected acquisition of another A-340 and
A-320, SriLankan Airlines expects to add more flights
to the UK. The airline then plans to restore flights
to Italy, and will look into providing service to
destinations in China. The airline has inter-line
agreements with U.S. carriers United Airlines and
Continental Airlines. |
