SriLankan Air to fly new destinations

SriLankan Airlines, the largest foreign carrier into India, plans to increase the number of flights and destinations. The airline currently operates 95 weekly flights to 10 destinations in the country.

Samatha Nagahawatte, manager-Kerala, of the airline, said, "We already have 95 flights to 10 Indian destinations. We look forward to increasing the number and are sure to touch 100 soon. However, we don't intend to stop at the 100-mark. More services will be added as and when the need arises." While more flights will be added to existing destinations, new destinations will also be considered in the future, he said.

The airline, meanwhile, will incorporate the fuel surcharge into the airfare from April 1. The decision is in line with the recommendations of the industry governing body, International Air Transport Association (IATA), said Nagahawatte. SriLankan Airlines will implement this change to most destinations, and this will enable clarity and simplicity of air fares, he added. However, government and airport taxes would continue to be collected separately, he pointed out.

The airline, in its bid to encourage internet bookings, has also an offer for Indian passengers where they can book their tickets to destinations like London, Paris or Frankfurt for as little as Rs 17,000, said Asha Subramaniam, sales manager, SriLankan Airlines.

The offer is the latest in a line of limited time 'internet only' offers and is valid for all the bookings made between March 20 and April 10 for travel to any of these three European destinations in May or June this year, she added.

The airline had recently launched a series of vacations in Sri Lanka for Indian travellers during the months of March and April. The offer includes a 2-night-and-3-day stay for fare starting from Rs 9999, Subramanian added.

Significantly, the last two years have seen Indians come on the top of the leisure travellers list to Sri Lanka, Nagahawatte pointed out. "There has been a huge inflow of Indian travellers, especially holiday travellers from Mumbai, into the island nation," he said.

SriLankan Airlines currently operates 13 weekly flights to Thiruvananthapuram, 11 to Kochi and 8 to Kozhikode.