Srilankan Airlines turns 33

The national carrier of Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines celebrates its 33rd anniversary this month. This milestone will be marked with religious ceremonies for the staff commencing from the first week of September.

SriLankan took flight on September 1, 1979 as Air Lanka, its former name, with a humble fleet of two leased Boeing 707300B jetliners. Air Lanka’s preliminary route network spanned destinations such as Frankfurt, London, Paris, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bahrain, Dubai, Male, Mumbai and Chennai. In 1994, Air Lanka celebrated its 15th anniversary by being the first carrier in Asia to introduce the Airbus A340 aircraft to its fleet.

Three brand new A340s would soon have the airline operating long-haul services previously not possible to several of its destinations. Four years later, a ten-year deal forged with Dubai-based Emirates would have Air Lanka soaring to new heights, under its new moniker – SriLankan Airlines.

Today, SriLankan’s fleet has expanded to 21 Airbus A320, A330 and A340 aircraft, with some being brand new, delivered just this year and its network extends to 58 destinations in 33 countries in Europe, North America, Canada, Australia, Far East, Middle East and the Indian Sub-Continent.

In 2011, the airline carried over three million passengers, and the numbers indicate a growth for 2012, which is in line with the thriving tourism industry. The first half of this year saw a 27 percent growth in the number of passengers that travelled on SriLankan, over last year’s first half.

The airline is also in a phase of undertaking massive product enhancements starting with its fleet, with the acquisition of brand new A320s and the refurbishment of exist- ing A330 and A340 aircraft, incorporating plush leather interior, flat bed seats on Business Class and state-of-the-art IMS Rave entertainment systems.

In line with modern trends in global air travel, SriLankan now offers its Business Class passengers a quick check-in facility with the ‘Silk Route’ service at the Bandaranaike International Airport.