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3.16 

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Sri Lankan Airlines Reviews

Best In flight experience
Jan 05, 2007 06:43 AM 9183 Views

I flew quite a few times from London to Chennai via colombo since 2001 in Srilankan.


What impressed me most is the consistent high quality service you receive on board.


Lets go step by step.


Reservation - You are better off with a private travel agent as the


srilankan website is invariably overpriced. Southal and Anand travels


in london generally quote cheaper.


Check in - No problems and generally efficient.


Boarding - Its a real pain to walk from check in to boarding gate as


srilankan are usually parked in the far end of Heathrow. I suppose they


pay less to BAA to park in the remote corner and save some money.


Punctuality - They are more likely than British airways of Virgin to held up in a queue and get delayed.


On board - That's where they are clear winners. Srilankan hospitality,


warmth and the service is best I have seen in the 20+ international


flights I have been. Food is really delicious and they are generous


portions.


Entertainment- Though they are not as good as Jet airways, they are


comparable to the rest with few indian and tamil movies. The highlight


is the two cameras fitted in the front of the carrier to give you both


front and downward view all the time. You can't help, but feel like a


pilot.


Price - Its a shame that one of the best airlines is running at loss


because of their domestic situation and political unrest. They are


often the cheapest if you fly from london to chennai or  some parts of


south india.


Kochi India
Mixed Response
Apr 21, 2006 02:22 PM 12557 Views

I flew from Cochin - Colombo - London in Sri Lankan in Sep and returned by Dec. What I have to say is a mixed reaction to their services.


The Cabin crew members are really good. The food is also good.


In flight entertainment - though they claim to have many channels and options, most of them were not working when I travelled.


About a better service from Emirates, both are (owned) managed by same company and cannot expect a wide difference in one of them. They have something called 'Skyward' scheme for frequent flyers.


When I went to their London office, the office staff there were not polite nor helpful to get me a 3 nights visit visa to 'their' country!!!


May be because I am tall - 6'3'' - the leg space seems to be too little, especially for such a long distance flights....


I think, overall, it was value for money travel for me.


Nottingham UK
Worse airline ever!
Apr 13, 2006 04:53 PM 11145 Views

I flew from the Uk to Sri Lanka on Sri Lankan Airlines in Feb 2006 and I have to say it was the worse flight I have ever been on. The plane was dirty and hardly any of the entertainment systems worked and the staff unpolite. For over 5 hours we didnt even see a member of staff! We stopped in the maldives (a stop we werent informed about) and was shocked that despite having over an hour to wait we had to sit on the plane whilst they hoovered around us!


The flight back was when I really began to hate this airline. After being told our flight was delayed and waiting in the airport for hours and being given no more information we decided to ask information desk for information... We where then told that the flight had been indefinietley delayed!!! Thanks for telling us! They sent us to a really poor quality hotel to wait for news of another flight, 27 hours later we got a phone call at 3am to say they had found us a flight, but when we arrived at the checkin they told us it wasnt actually home but to Dubai!! After hours at checkin I started to get angry. I asked why we where waiting so long. Heres a good one... They lost my ticket! Dont ask me how as the girl never left the desk but they did. During this time the staff were very rude and offered no help. They expected me to get onto a plane to Dubai with no ticket to get me to the UK! After some arguing and asking to apeak to a manager, they managed to get me on a flight from Dubai to the UK and gave me a boarding card, but this turned out to be useless.


In the end we made it to Dubai and thats where Emirates took over. It was a welcomed relief to have an intelligent person to talk to with common sense and a polite manner. She managed to get us on a flight to the UK with only an hour to wait in the airport (the one Srilanka offered was another 12 hours!) But there still was the problem of the lost ticket. When it came to getting on the plane they wouldnt let me on, 'no ticket no flight' where the words. In the end I finally made it home on an Emerites flight two days later.


I would advise anyone NOT to use this airline. There where 12 other people in our party (we got married out there) all flying out on different days and each one had problems with this airline....


YOUR RATING ON

Sri Lankan Airlines
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Chennai India
*****Excellent*****
Mar 25, 2006 12:43 AM 4158 Views

I cannot rate anything better than an ''Excellent'' for the Great Service provided by Srilankan .


I was planning on a Vacation to Singapore and Malaysia with my friends and got to know about the cheap fares offered by Srilankan and we booked a return trip. I was told by many that Srilankan was not good and that it was worse than Air India.....etc.


Guys don’t believe these negative stories, Srilankan is way too good...The Food was great , the interiors were clean, the movies were pretty good with a whole lot of selection , games were not bad , the take off and landing was dot on time and last but not the least the crew was gorgeous and their service was way too good. Many air hostesses had a pretty bad artificial smile...but hey they probably have one of the toughest jobs on earth...so many different people from so many places with different attitudes etc...


On my way back from Colombo to Chennai I was particularly impressed by the great service and care that an airhostess by name Ms Niluka took in ensuring that everyone had a pleasant flight.She was enthusiastic, had a very pleasant smile and was very caring to one and all, I never heard anyone crib about anything all the way.


Many more Niluka's can probably get Srilankan to be the worlds best.


Altogether it was one excellent Vacation.


Way to go SRILANKAN


Heaven in the sky
Jan 19, 2006 08:28 PM 4128 Views

Recently I travelled in this airline on the way to Gulf from india.it was superb. the plane started at the right time from trivandrum airport . check in staff were friendly and helpful .


Air hostesses were simply superb.... not only their beauty:) but really helpful , extremely courteous . in traditional srilankan style dress-they welcome you aboard with a smile. cabin announcements are in english and other languages . there is no false prestige unlike in many other airlines where they treat you very badly (Kuwait airways )for example.


food is reasonably good and a good choice --we had srilankan hot prawn curry.


vegeterians had navartna kurma . inspite of a full load of passengers -- all the cabin staff where doing their best.


and this airline is much cheaper compared to other airlines . my fare in tvm-kuwait was 140 KD (20000 rs capprox) while kuwait airways charges much more .


there is a stopover at colombo --at bandaranayake airport which is beautiful .


And a final word about the fellow passengers --- being a mixed bunch of tourists, labourers,businessmen --all travellingt by economy class it was an enriching experience .


overall a great value for money .


if u hav time u can stopver at srilanka for 3 days for nominal cost---maybe nxt time for me :>


Only if some Indians could behave...
Jul 18, 2005 10:40 PM 10107 Views

.....then flying from Colombo to Chennai by Sri Lankan could be a good experience.


I decided to take SriLankan from Colombo to Chennai this July 2005, generally my preference has been Jet Airways. I thought of giving it a try mainly because the flight departure from Colombo was very convenient for me. I could spend almost the whole day in Colombo and take the evening 7pm flight.


I reached airport in time and was surprised to see several check-in counters. Then I realized that they were checking-in for several flights scheduled for the evening. I waited at one counter and the lady behind the counter was extremely slow, so I changed to another counter once again had to wait for 10-15mins before my turn came.


While my boarding pass was being processed suddenly 2-3 passengers just barged in and very rudely asked me to give side as they wanted to check-in a few huge boxes. Initially my politeness was not good enough and then I had to literally shout at them to wait for their turn. Obviosuly the SriLankan staff did nothing to help me.


After I received my boarding pass, I was given a lounge card and I proceeded towards the lounge on first floor. The SriLankan lounge at Colombo is one of the best lounges I have ever seen. It has all the general facilities like snacks, tea & drinks but it also offers something extra :- a complimentary massage, free internet access, free local phone access, two huge wide screen plasma TV sets with remote headphones. It also has a separate smoking room plus it has four day rooms !


When the lounge attendee informed me about the boarding of my flight I proceeded to the aircraft. So far everything was smooth, till I reached inside the plane.


The plane was crowded like a local bus, there were people everywhere carrying huge amount of luggage (mainly big boxes and cloth bags). I was surprised how the ground staff at Colombo airport allowed so much cabin baggage inside. The main pursor of the flight announced that if passengers did not allow him to shift the extra baggage to cargo area, he will not allow the flight to take off. In the process the plane was delayed by 15 mins.


It finally took off and I was feeling really shaky as I was thinking about all the extra baggage on-board.


The in-flight crew was already stressed due to huge misbehaviour of most of the Indian passengers (sorry to say that). Thus the service was not friendly at all. The food was also not packed properly and I opted not to eat. My fellow passenger (was a charming lady from Delhi) did comment that the food was not at all good. She promised not to fly Sri Lankan again.


I requested for a passenger feedback form which I completed and handed over to the flight attendant. Hopefully the ground staff will be instructed now onwards not to allow excess baggage on-board.


As I waited for my baggage at Chennai airport, I saw many of the boxes on the luggage belt in damaged condition. All such boxes contained liquor bottles and many of them were broken and the liquor was spilled all over. It was a really poor show at Chennai and I was really ashamed to be standing among all those people.


I am thinking whether to take Sri Lankan again on this sector, maybe you should think twice .!!


Different
Aug 10, 2004 10:07 PM 7784 Views

I switched over to Srilankan a couple of years back and has been using their


services ever since.


Having done most of the airlines in the European sector, I find the flying


experience to be truly delightful and the best I have done till date.


Child friendly but not family friendly as they could not provide adjacent


seats to us the last time.


They put you in class resorts around Colombo during transit, though you


don't have a choice of hotel. Airport pickup and drop services are average.


The inflight entertainment has a wide range to offer and that helps me a


lot when I travel alone. The personal LCD screens are gentle to your eyes.


The wait between connections at odd hours at Colombo needs to be


reduced particularly during return flights.


Complimentary shower facilities and stay should be made available at


Colombo airport.


Miles are not offered with all flying partners (BMI and Air france for eg)


The aircrafts are well maintained and the decor is lovely. Food and drinks


are served with generosity


Web fares are a lot higher than what is being offered by the travel agents


Not the cheapest to fly to Europe.


Need to have a better choice of refreshments to offer


Most important - we are not treated like cattle !!


Now that they have local flights and a liason office, things are much easier.


Advantage of using Emirates / Srilankan combo for your Skyward miles.


Mumbai India
Excellent
May 20, 2004 05:04 PM 6879 Views

This is a really great airline if you live in South India and want to reach Europe or South East Asia, or if you just want a really great deal including a couple of nights stay in Sri Lanka. Definitely in the league of Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, it must be one of the most underrated airlines I've come across.


Colombo-London and vice versa was an awesome flight, I couldn't have asked for a better one in terms of service, punctuality and food. The IFE was pretty cool, with personal tvs and had a selection of movies, including Bollywood ones as well as Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam radio channels. I found the cabin crew very professional, friendly and polite. Their smiles were genuine and not the robotic ones you often come across on Singapore Airlines.


Also made note of the fact that there were a LOT of other Indians on the flight, maybe they too got clued into the good deals offered. The Indian food was very good - tandoori on the way there and a Sri Lankan dish on the way back :) I was impressed at the way the crew took care of an elderly passenger who was travelling alone, someone was always checking on her from time to time. The flight actually took off on time and landed ahead of time, so that was a bonus.


If anything has to be improved, its Colombo Airport. It's not bad in any sense, just looks very quaint and in need of un upgrade.


Bangalore India
A not-too-happy experience
Feb 05, 2004 04:12 PM 7435 Views

I recently flew with my family on Srilankan from Bangalore to London Heathrow and back.


The factors which made us choose them were-




  • Direct flight from Bangalore, so no hop to Bombay, Delhi etc. Also, saved from the mad rush at these international airports.




  • Srilankan is part owned by Emirates, which made us feel the service would be good.




  • Good price.




  • Colombo has visa on arrival, if you want to visit Lanka.






The trip was surely not upto expectations, and the major shortcomings were -




  • Poor boarding process at Colombo, in fact it was completely chaotic and it was announced that people with small kids should come first and we ended up boarding the plan last.




  • Difference in service provided in flights from Colombo and flights from London. while the London flights are much better serviced to mollycoddle the European passengers not so from Colombo.




  • Colombo airport surely needs an overhaul or better still make a different and much larger airport.




  • Serpentine queues at Heathrow, where we had to stand for long despite arriving well in time before being able to check in.




  • Flight was delayed on both legs.






Still the trip had some bright spots -




  • the resort used by the airline, for a layover in Colombo, Hotel Club Dolphin, is truly international class.




  • the aircraft crew and ground staff were generally quite helpful.






Last but not the least ...


coming in from Colombo means the Indian customs does not bother you much as compared to coming from Dubai, KL etc.


All in all, Srilankan needs to brush up on several service aspects before being even compared with Lufthansa or BA.


Great Airline
Aug 25, 2003 11:37 PM 7115 Views

I flew Chennai to Kuala Lumpur by Sri Lankan via Colombo. I was apprehensive about Sri Lankan because of Mr. Ajay’s Comments. But after traveling with them I was simply impressed. The first point was the crew, they were always smiling and so helpful. And in fact, pretty. I found the crew helping out older pax with bags and done with a smileThe second point is the Aircraft , these are new planes and are so comfortable and quiet. The menu on Sri Lankan is nice and confirms to the local tastes and likings. The ground staff can vary however, from very cheerful to grumpy, but I have always found the former to be prominent. Colombo Airport is not modern, but has a homely taste. Overall traveling with Sri Lankan leaves one looking forward to more flights in future. Giving a thought to Mr. Ajay’s comments, I think they are fake or if true, very , very exaggerated.


San Diego USA
Excellent Service
Jul 01, 2003 06:32 AM 4418 Views

First time I flew Sri Lankan Air Lines on a connecting flight to Sri Lanka from Singapore, then from Sri Lanka to Narita in Japan. That was 2 years ago, and I was so pleased with the air line that this year I specifically requested that my connecting flight to Sri lanka be on Sri Lankan Air Lines. If they would start flying to the USA, I would definitely fly Sri Lanka all the way... but unfortunately this is not the case. I have to say that I was extremely pleased with Sri Lankan Airlines Quality of Service, excellent food, good selection of movies and music, free flowing liquor, and the friendly smiles. I would recommend Sri Lankan Airlines to any one.


A fantastic airline
Mar 11, 2003 07:12 AM 7960 Views

The Sri Lankan Airlines is a relatively new Airline. It is my favourite Airline. Its present name is Air Lanka, also written as AIRLANKA in some of its own publications. It is the Flag Carrier of Sri Lanka, and it reflects the Sri Lankan culture and hospitality. It can compare favourably with any big airline of the world. It is small, and therefore, it is beautiful. Colombo is one capital in South Asia, which I have visited many times, and most of the times I fly AIRLANKA. Its hostesses are charming and graceful in their saree. The other Cabin Staff are quite courteous. Even in the Economy Class, the seating is comfortable. The food served is hot and delicious. Very often we get Sri Lankan Dosa, very similar to the Chakuli Pitha of Orissa, as breakfast. No wonder that the Oriyas and the Sinhalees are from the same ethnic stock. Orissa had sent Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka as the Peace Ambassador. To me, everything in Sri Lanka is beautiful. I have also firm roots in Colombo. The Worldview International Foundation, of which I am a Vice President, has its headquarters in Colombo. In another MS Review, I have written about Sri Lanka. I have also my students here, who used to come to the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, for training.


In comparison to Indian Airlines, IA for short, AIRLANKA is much less bureaucratic and more open. You see more genuine smiles in the faces of its charming hostesses and other staff. The Counter Staff are very courteous and prompt. AIRLANKA are the Handling Agents for IA in Sri Lanka, and IA are the Handling Agents of AIRLANKA in India. You can easily find the difference while dealing with both the Handling Agents. AIRLANLKA are far better and speedier in disposing cases. Once when we landed at Colombo on a New Year's Day, we were treated with Sri Lankan Sweets and were presented beautiful Calendars produced by AIRLANKA. However, IA's SWAGAT is better than its Sri Lankan counterpart, although the in-flight magazine of AIRLANKA is full of very useful information for the tourist. The publicity materials of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board are also very informative.


Parting is always sad, but the AIRLANKA people compensate it by presenting you with small handcrafted packets of Sri Lanka tea, when you come to the Departure area, and the charming hostesses present you with small bottles of Scotch Whisky before landing.


Sanghamitra now belongs to history. Let us send modern Sanghamitras, and welcome pretty Girls from Sri Lanka to establish permanent bonds through marriage. Well, I don't mind having a Sri Lankan daughter-in-law for my 22-year old son. Hope, he gives a nod.


patna india
Better Alternative
Mar 09, 2003 10:30 PM 3584 Views

I in the month of November went to Thailand by Sri Lankan Airlines. We were a group of 20 computer dealers. We were first sent to Colombo from Delhi.The flight was not a good one no recreational facilities inside it.And the stewards were so horrible that Your whole concept of Air hostesses might change.The food served was not enough for a normal person's diet.And they will serve you only one peg of whisky(with no appetisers)if u ask for another peg they might deny it or make so much delay that u might actually forget it.We were ask to stay whole night at Colombo airport,which again is not very good(no food coupons were given in the morning).


In the morning we were sent to Bangkok by a different flight.It was damn good .Every seat had a personalized video, Tv And video game Monitor Showing movies in many languages including Hindi.The breakfast was good.But similar category of Air hostess.But overall this was a good journey


While returning from Bangkok in Night we got the same kind of flight.Food again was not good to Indian Taste and small supply of beverages.However the best part of it was that we were given free one day stay in a very good beach resort in colombo.This really was a great thing as we got the opportunity of visiting Colombo city.


Overall if you have time and can afford to see those kind of females Sri Lankan Airline is a better alternative.


Good value for money
Mar 05, 2003 03:42 PM 3462 Views

Working as a software developer in Singapore. graduated from NUS, Singapore.


I first travelled by Sri Lankan Airlines in Dec 98, when I couldn't get a seat in Air-India or Thai. Since then it has been my choice of airline regardless of any other options. Flying by Sri-Lanka has 2 advantages, the cheapest fares, courtesy of the Tamil Tigers, and secondly first-rate service.


Great food, personal television, and punctual flights, quite a change from our national carriers where the air-hostesses have a way of making one's life(the 6 hr journey from Singapore-Delhi) the most miserable time of one's past one year.


Although SIA is way better(no airline has a better inflight service, not to mention the great looking models :) ) , I would highly recommend Sri-Lankan to anyone who's paying an airfare from his own pocket.


Great.
Mar 05, 2003 01:40 PM 3612 Views

I flew recently economy class with Sri Lankan Airlines from Singapore to Mumbai via Colombo and was pretty much impressed with the service provided on board. I found cabin staff very friendly and quick to serve the passenger's needs. On the first leg to Colombo I was impressed with the efficiency of all the SL staff I met, especially the Cabin Crew.....it was the same from Colombo to Mumbai but Colombo airport could do with some refurbishment (although, Mumbai isn't too flash either). The food was excellent (both western and Indian/Lankan), seats were clean and inflight entertainment excellent. On my flight to Mumbai I was upgraded to business class due to overbooking! The Airbus A330 was clean and new....the flights were punctual and both landing and take-off were soft considering the bad weather situation at the time. I fly at least ten to twelve times a year between India and Singapore/Europe. I have flown British Airways, Air India, Lufthansa, Emirates and Singapore Airlines. In comparison, Sri Lankan airlines beats many of these in several respects; service, food, punctuality, hospitality...I would say they are equal to Singapore Airlines. I always try to avoid any European/American carrier when flying anywhere overseas - there is no comparison when it comes to professionalism with Asian carriers.....all in all I can really recommend SL Airlines - and for the price paid the pleasure is even greater.


Chennai India
....pretty damn good
Feb 12, 2003 07:09 AM 5186 Views

I recently flew SriLankan to Colombo from Thailand and then onto Chennai in economy, having flown with them several times before. The aircraft flown was a youthful A340. One thing that really does impress me about SriLankan is the modernity and cleanliness of its entire fleet which gives the passenger some reassurance with regards to safety.


I found the SriLankan staff to be absolutely wonderful. Beautiful, friendly, helpful and very smiley. Food served was amongst the best meals I've experienced in economy - high quality and deserve to get 4 or 5 stars award, and I could choose between Western and Sri Lankan food. They came around frequently offering drinks which other airlines do only once. I have to give the inflight entertainment system a special thumbs up. Personal TV screens were large with a good selection of movies, documentaries, sitcoms, music etc which kept me busy for most of the flight.


If you get the chance, fly with SriLankan to India and see the difference compared to Air India or domestic carrier Indian Airlines. I will be flying with SriLankan in the future.


Departure


Outward flight from Bangkok and Colombo departed on time, Check in at Bangkok great.


Seating / Cabin


A340 - seating very bright and clean, looked very modern. Seating is good - lots of leg room - PTVs!


Food


Food and bar service on both flights were excellent.


Service


Bangkok Colombo with excellent, friendly crew. Colombo to Chennai was the same.


Arrival


In Colombo - on time. Luggage at claim areas quickly. In Chennai, arrived a few minutes before.


Verdict: Overall excellent flights.


Bombay India
Nice!
Feb 06, 2003 08:04 PM 3729 Views

Well what a great airline Sri Lankan Airlines is. This is what one would like Air India to be like. I travelled from London to Colombo and Colombo to Bombay recently and gotta say this airline is far beyond the the maharaja experience!


London-Colombo was on a brand new plane, and get this, with personal inflight TVs. It got better, the entertainment was available in Hindi (bollywood movies and songs, computer games), the food was great (excellent inflight meals for EY class - 3 choice hot meal!). Arrival and departure were on-time, and the air hostesses were so nice - smiling, efficient and courteous. You get to see the take off and landing from the pilot's point of view through your personal tv which is pretty incredible. Colombo-Bombay was equally good.


Can't believe that I haven't heard from this airline before....the standard of service is on par with airlines like Singapore airline and Cathay Pacific which I have flown.....I am not exaggerating. And I will be flying this to India from now. Why can Air India try and upgrade its services? Sri Lankan Airlines puts Air India to shame. I would definitely recommend flying this airline to anyone.


We even got to stay for 2 free nights in Colombo, if you do that make sure you visit Odel which has good clothes for very cheap prices. When I was there, 1 Indian Rupee = 2 Sri Lankan Rupees.


birmingham united kingdom
A delightful surprise....Sri Lankan Airlines
Dec 10, 2002 11:25 AM 7342 Views

On our trip to Europe, we debated between many airlines, when the travel agent asked us to try Sri Lankan because of the hugely discounted fares...after much thought and consultation about this previously unheard of airline, we booked our tickets at an incredible price.


Bombay to Colombo was good, the food was kind of Indian but a little different..and the airhostesses extremely polite, soft spoken and gracious. We transited at Tamarind Tree which was beautiful for a night and were then on our way to Paris. Again the checkin staff were welcoming and the flight good. I enjoyed their inflight selection of movies...Beautiful Mind and Monsters Ball and Monsoon Wedding and so many more...there were Hindi movies and even Tamil ones! I guess many people in Sri Lanka speak Tamil or they have a lot of Tamilians on their flights (I dont mean all Sri Lankans are Tamilian in response to the email I got).


While returning, we stopped at the Male airport for around half an hour and it was mind boggling...the landing strip has sea on both sides and nothing else, and the airport is on an island and Male on another one....our minds were made up to have the next holiday in Mauritius.


We were booked on this Sri Lankan offer which had accomodation free for three nights at a hotel in Colombo...we stayed only a night at the Galadari and did some sightseeing...


This was a huge difference from Air India, almost like Thai Airways, the flights were dot on time, really sweet air hostesses, good food, great baggage claim and checkin...and our trip a very pleasant surprise...


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