SriLankan Airlines generated record passenger uplift out of Dubai in May, with figures up nearly 40 per cent over the previous monthly record.
Local ticket sales also hit all-time highs, up around 25 per cent, while flown revenue for the month rose 40 per cent compared to the same period in 2004, and another record was set for passenger uplift to Trivandrum.
Airline officials claim the results underline the success of its campaign to restore business and tourism links with Sri Lanka in the wake of the tsunami disaster last December. In addition, it further strengthens the positions of both Dubai and Colombo as regional air traffic hubs.
“Our three-phase development plan to boost traffic to and through Sri Lanka has reaped positive results, and I am pleased to see that leisure travellers are now regaining their confidence in the quality and reliability of the tourism product we offer,” said chief executive, Peter Hill.
“Working with the tourism ministry, we have focused on boosting its ‘Bounce Back Sri Lanka Programme’, and while we do not expect instant success, news of results such as those recorded by the Dubai office in May underline the fact that we are beginning to see a return to normality.”
New flights are being added to the buoyant Middle East and Indian sub-continent region this summer, including daily A330 services from Colombo to Abu Dhabi, three of which will continue on to Bahrain with the remaining four serving Doha.
In addition, the airline is adding services to Kuwait and Dammam, with nine weekly flights to the former and three to the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, and there will also be a further three early morning departures from Colombo to Dubai, bringing the weekly total to 28, including codeshare operations with Emirates.
“As the major commercial and tourism hub for the region, Dubai remains our premier destination in the Middle East and these May figures demonstrate the vitality of the market, and we expect this to continue particularly given the new codeshare arrangement with Emirates on a joint Dubai-New York service,” concluded Hill.
Editors’ notes
SriLankan Airlines was created in April 1998 when Air Lanka, was privatised following the establishment of a strategic partnership with Dubai-based Emirates Airline. The agreement saw Emirates take a 40 per cent shareholding in the company and undertake a 10-year management agreement, during which time SriLankan has been established as southern Asia’s preferred international carrier.
Following its transformation, SriLankan has won a string of international aviation awards including Best Airline in Central Asia from UK’s Skytrax Research for four years in a row, (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), underlining its new reputation as a world-class carrier.
In 2003, SriLankan was voted as having the friendliest cabin crew by Skytrax, and also won the award for Best In-flight Entertainment (for a fleet size of 20 or less) at the annual World Airline Entertainment Association’s Avion awards in the USA.
Meanwhile, the airline’s sky taxi service has revolutionised domestic air travel in Sri Lanka, offering transfers between the airport and Colombo and Kandy, Koggala, Bentota, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura and Hingurakgoda – flight times from Bandaranaika International Airport are just 30 minutes to each town except for Trincomalee, which is a 45-minute transfer. The network incorporate most major tourist sites, from the beach resorts on the west coast around Bentota and Galle (Koggala), as well as Polonnaruwa (Hingurakgoda), Anuradhapura, Kandy and Trincomalee.
