Airliners-India.com

Vik · Member Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

SriLankan Airlines plans flights to Buddhist spots

Mumbai, Jan. 24 (PTI): SriLankan Airlines today said it had held discussions with the Indian tourism department with regard to commencing flights to popular Buddhist destinations such as Bodh Gaya.

"We had discussions last week with the Indian tourism authorities and Bodhgaya definitely figures in our expansion plans in India," Manoj Gunawardena, Head of Worldwide Passenger Sales, SriLankan Airlines, told reporters here.

The island nation's national carrier also had rights to fly to 18 new Tier-II Indian cities, he said, adding Buddhism tourism was very important in the region.

"We are discussing with tour operators to come up with a business plan for Bodhgaya (in Bihar) and if all goes well, we may begin a flight there next year," Gunawardena said.

Elaborating on other plans, Gunawardena said the airline hopes to have 100 flights into India by the year-end.

Beginning February 2, the airline will be launching two flights a day to Mumbai, bringing the number of its flights throughout India to 94.

"We have progressively raised our flights into India from 67 in 2005 to 85 in 2006 to 94 this year," he said.

On the proposed Mumbai flights, Gunawardena said there was tremendous demand for both passenger and cargo traffic from Mumbai "which we are unable to meet, hence the launch of the new flights."

While the average load factor of the airline in India was in the high 70s, there were periods when it was in the high 80s from Mumbai, he claimed, adding there was immense potential in cargo transportation as well.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200701241743.htm

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More flights from Lanka

Manisha Singhal

Thursday, January 25, 2007 00:04 IST

Srilankan Airlines dreams to launch a 100 flights per week to India — that is kind of India-centric focus that Manoj Gunawardena, head of worldwide passenger sales, presented here at a press conference where he announced the airlines’ expansion plans with the launch of double-daily flights to Mumbai from February. Currently, Srilankan Airlines has one daily flight from Mumbai.

Gunawardena, said, “The double-daily service will allow passengers rapid connections in Colombo to Europe, Middle East, Far East and the Maldives.”

The airline is also looking at raising number of flights to 10 major cities in India by 94 flights per week. These will include a daily flight to Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad and two flights to Goa.

The move is also seen as the airlines’ attempt to give Srilankan tourism a shot in the arm through its world-wide network through Colombo as the hub, while simultaneously promoting in-bound tourism to its neighbour India.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1076251

Vik · Member Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

SriLankan adds one more Mumbai service

Mumbai Jan. 24

SriLankan Airlines has added a second daily flight out of Mumbai as it looks to clear the crowd of stranded Indian tourists to Sri Lanka.

"Loads out of Mumbai show that we are leaving people behind," Mr Senaka Fernando, Regional Manager, Indian Subcontinent & Maldives, said.

India currently provides the largest number of tourists to Sri Lanka, with 1.3 lakh tourists visiting the island nation last year, Mr Fernando said.

The airline also plans to use the additional flight to help meet its cargo demand. SriLankan Airlines carried 1 lakh tonnes out of Mumbai last month, 85 per cent of which were fabrics and pharmaceuticals, said Mr Dimuthu Tennakoon, Manager, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The new flights will begin from February 2, departing from Mumbai at 2:55 p.m. and arriving in Colombo at 5:20 p.m. The return flight leaves Colombo at 11:45 a.m. and arrives in Mumbai at 2 p.m. The airline chose to add an additional flight instead of using a larger aircraft for its existing flight to cater to the leisure traveller. With this additional service, SriLankan Airlines will operate 94 flights a week to 10 destinations in India. The flights are part of the airline's campaign to promote tourism in India by using Colombo as the hub. The airline's leisure arm, SriLankan Holidays, is also offering 2 nights/3 days or 3 nights/4 days' packages starting at Rs 9,999 in February.

In addition, SriLankan Airlines has the rights to operate in 18 secondary cities, including Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Varanasi and Patna.

"We are 94 not out and before the end of the year we will be 100 not out," Mr Fernando said.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/01/25/stories/2007012502362300.htm

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SriLankan Airlines commences double-daily services to Mumbai and 94 flights a week to India

SriLankan Airlines, for many years the largest foreign carrier operating to India, is expanding operations with the launch of double-daily flights to Mumbai (Bombay), the country’s commercial capital this February.

The additional flight adding to the present daily frequency to Mumbai will also raise the number of flights throughout India to an unprecedented 94 per week to 10 cities - 15 to Chennai, 13 to Trivandrum, 11 to Kochi, 10 to Trichy, 8 to Calicut, daily to New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore, and 2 to Goa.

Manoj Gunawardena, Head of Worldwide Passenger Sales at SriLankan said: “It will not be long before SriLankan realizes the dream of a hundred flights a week to India! It is our aim to serve as many Indian cities as frequently as possible. Travellers can take full advantage of our rapid connections in Colombo to Europe, Middle East, Far East and the Maldives with the double-daily service from Mumbai increasing the level of convenience.”

Flying time from Mumbai to Colombo is a mere 2 hours and 25 minutes. The new flights are conveniently scheduled to depart Mumbai daily at 2:55 p.m. and arrive in Colombo at 5:20 p.m. The return flights are scheduled to depart Colombo at 11:45 a.m. and arrive in Mumbai at 2:00 p.m.

Senaka Fernando, Regional Manager Indian Subcontinent & Maldives, said: “The increase in flights to Mumbai is the result of a recent bilateral meeting between India and Sri Lanka that reinforces the excellent cooperation that exists between the two nations. India has so much to offer in terms of history and culture and we are spearheading massive campaigns to lure more tourists to this fabulous country”

The launch of additional flights to Mumbai is part of SriLankan’s strategic plan to strengthen its market presence in India which remains the foremost tourism generating market for Sri Lanka. The additional flights will also support the airline’s campaign to promote tourism to India from its worldwide network through the Colombo hub. SriLankan Airlines works in close collaboration with Indian tourism authorities to effectively promote in-bound tourism to India and has a strong marketing partnership with the State Government of Kerala.

http://www.agencyfaqs.com/news/company_news/Corporate/12048.html

VABBy · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 823 Location: DEL

why nt deploy a widebody jet say like A332 or A340 and there by boost capacity rather than increasing flights and sticking to A320,s
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Expeditors- You'd be surprised how far we will go for you www.expeditors.com

Nimish · Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:52 pm Post subject:

Nimish · Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 4:46 pm Post subject: Re: SriLankan Airlines news

Vik · Member Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

Vik · Member Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

SriLankan Airlines plans expansion

Published: Tuesday, 30 January, 2007, 08:33 AM Doha Time

Staff Reporter

After becoming the largest foreign carrier operating into India, SriLankan Airlines is planning to add more destinations, increased frequencies, new wide-bodied aircraft, an improved on-board menu and a host of other attractive benefits for passengers.

“We have started the New Year by offering an array of enhanced services for our Indian customers”, said Lakshman Weerasooriya, the airline’s manager for Qatar. “These include more destinations, better aircraft and improved on-board services.

“Being a South Asian airline, we are acutely aware of the nuances in regional cuisine and have catered for these subtle differences to account for both North and South Indian tastes. Our brand new, state of the art catering facility in Colombo is better able to produce high quality meals of choice for Indian travellers”, he added.

The airline is now the largest foreign carrier operating into India after successfully adding a service to Goa to its schedule last year. With flights to Mumbai increasing to two per day this February, the carrier will now operate a total of 94 scheduled passenger flights to 10 cities each week. Seating capacity has also been increased to Bangalore and Kozhikode, by upgrading existing flights from Airbus A320s to the newer wide-bodied A330s.

“India is a vastly important market for the airline and we will continue to develop new routes in the coming years”, he said.

“In addition to our competitive ticket prices, we also have unique Indian side-trip options for passengers travelling to any of our six Far East cities. For example, passengers can avail themselves of special add-on fares from Colombo to destinations in the North and South of India when travelling to or from the Far East,” he added.

The airline’s award-winning in-flight entertainment programme includes a range of movies, music and television dramas that include features in Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil languages, as well as in English, Cantonese and other regional languages, he said.

The company also believes in paying close attention to its junior flyers and employs specially trained childcare stewardess on every flight.

“To deal with any potential emergencies, we have an onboard tele-medical service, which is always on standby”, he added.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=130196&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Nimish · Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:44 pm Post subject:

Question that came up elsewhere on the forum - why does UL fly to secondary cities like BLR with a 343/332, while flying to a major city like BOM exclusively with 320s (and flight continues onwards to KHI at that!)? Shouldn't it be the other way around - 320s to BLR and 330/340 to BOM/KHI?

Vik · Member Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

karatecatman · Guest

India seems to be an easy market for Sri Lankan.
But UL is in a bit of a tight spot as the management contract with EK runs out soon.
The Lankan Govt. hasnl;t shown any interest.
UL also seems to be seriously considering a move to an all-Boeing fleet.
The current Airbus fleet is currently facing the same nasty reviews that Air India gets. Tattered interiors and non-working features.

Vik · Member Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

Sri Lankan airline's emergency response plan pays dividends

SriLankan airlines says its emergency procedures allowed it and Sri Lanka's main international airport to swing back into action within hours of a temporary closure earlier this week.

"I doubt that any other major airport in the world could have recovered as quickly as we did," Peter Hill, CEO of SriLankan said in a statement.

"I am very proud of the manner in which our staff coped with the challenges of the situation, first assisting in the safe evacuation of passengers, and then working smoothly and efficiently to resume normal operations.”

The airline said within three hours of the incident, its staff was ready to reopen all services at the airport for both inbound and outbound flights.

SriLankan is the sole ground handler at BIA and provides services which include handling of passengers, baggage and cargo, in-flight catering for all airlines.

The airline said its Emergency Response Plan was activated, within minutes of the incidend with key members of the management and staff working to ensure the safety of passengers, assisting stranded passengers, helping relatives searching for passengers, and resuming normal services at the airport and throughout the airline’s global route network.

“SriLankan Airlines staff undergo continuous training in facing just such a crisis, and we were able to minimize the level of disruption to our customers,” Yohan Pathirana, manager of SriLankan's airport service delivery, said.

Srilankan says all passengers were successfully evacuated from the Terminal Building during the Airport closure without any incident.

SriLankan Airlines staff had supported a Singapore Airlines flight, which had been on ground at the time of the attack, to make a delayed departure for Singapore as early as 3.30am.

“Not a single SriLankan Airlines flight was cancelled," Captain Milinda Ratnayake, Senior Manager Flight Operations, said.

"Aircraft that were in the air at the time of the incident were diverted to regional airports, and brought in to Colombo as soon as BIA opened. Departing flights were initially delayed for several hours, but we were getting back on schedule within 24 hours.”

The first SriLankan flight in to BIA, UL192 from New Delhi, landed at 5:53 a.m.

The first departing SriLankan flight, UL155 to Goa, was deliberately held back to wait for transit passengers arriving on delayed incoming flights, and took off at 7:30 a.m.

SriLankan had also launched its new service to Jeddah as scheduled, the airline’s 51st global destination, with the flight taking off from BIA at 3:45 p.m. on March 27.

The airline quoted Sri Lanka's tourism minister Milinda Moragoda, as saying: “I would like to acknowledge the important contribution of SriLankan Airlines, which supported the nation once again during its time of need.”

The airline’s Passenger Assistance Centre at the Airport Garden Hotel, and Crisis Communications Centre at the World Trade Centre, which are activated only during emergencies, were fully operational by 2:30 a.m.

Emergency telephone lines allowed passengers and others to establish the correct situation. Information was supplied to all local radio stations, giving regular updates, and also through e-mail and faxes to other media worldwide regarding the status of BIA and SriLankan flights.

“It was indeed impressive to witness a group of Sri Lankans working together for their country, carrying out countless tasks in the background with amazing attention to detail, according to a set plan," says Hill.

"In addition, calculated decisions were taken by the management of the airline on resuming normal operations, in consultation with other authorities, reopening the airport, bringing back our flights at the earliest opportunity so that passengers would not be stranded overseas.”

http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?newsID=2073900165&no_view=1&SEARCH_TERM=7

vivekman · Member Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 1897 Location: BOM

Very impressive!

I had a chance to experience the Bandaranaike International Airport last year. I can easily say that the airport is miles ahead of even BOM/DEL although it is smaller.

The interiors look absolutely classy and spacious and the glass walls provide a spectacular view of the action outside. The piers with their walkways and neat little departure holds are simply brilliant.

Hope to see it expanding into one of the major South Asian airports one day!

BigTom · Member Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 271 Location: Dubai, UAE

Vik · Member Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

SriLankan Airlines adds freebies for South Indian routes

Posted online: Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 0058 hours IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 11: SriLankan Airlines has added customer freebies this season in all South Indian sectors. The extra care for customer extends from tending the region-specific adult palates to catering to toy delights of child passengers.

In all South Indian sectors menus have been revamped, says Nigel O' Shea, Head, Service Delivery SriLankan Airlines. Even spicy pickles and traditional Indian 'after-mints' of sweet cumin seeds have been provided. Passengers to Thiruvananthapuram and Trichi will find the cold snacks have been replaced with hot items.

According to Jehan Karunaratne, manager Inflight Service Support, improvements are based on careful evaluation of customer feedback and tests with focus groups of passengers.

Business Class passengers on flights to any destination can now savour a range of additional items such as cold canapés, hot savouries and crudités (vegetable dips). Complimentary toilet kits for overnight passengers in Business Class now include a range of brand name items.

Passengers on late night flights who prefer to rest rather than wait for the main meal to be served, may request a light meal introduced specifically for rapid serving, says an airlines release.

Some extra pampering is in for little passengers too. Four types of giveaway packs for children are now carried on board, with different packs for 8-12 years, 5-8 years, 2-5 years, and even a baby pack for infants. All of the packs include toys, activity books, and a SriLankan Airlines branded backpack.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=160895