EXCEL: SriLankan Airlines will bounce back to achieving the pre COVID-revenue levels from the Colombo London flights said Regional Manager SriLankan airlines for Europe and Americas, Chinthaka Weerasinghe.
Speaking to Daily News Business during the sidelines of the WTM here he said that this could be achieved before the end of this year. He also said that there is strong demand for SriLankan since it’s the only airline that offers direct flights to Colombo and the fact that they are offering very competitive airfares. He said that they currently operate 9 flights per week with two each on Saturday and Sunday. He however said that the passenger’s figures are moving up steadily and the numbers would be matched to pre COVID levels early next year.
“We are also keen to increase frequency as we see an increased demand for the season. This is because British tourists are now keen to visit Sri Lanka as the country’s situation is very favorable for tourism.”
He explained that due to heavy traffic experienced in London Heathrow Airport they are unable to get extra slots to increase capacity. “However we are still trying for this and if it fails we may look at flying to some of the other London City airports from next year. Commenting on the cargo factor he said that they maintain 80% from Colombo to London. However the load factor from London to Colombo is low. He also said that the national carrier is a preferred airline among the Barmy Army cricket fans and a large 200 plus visitor team is expected to fly to Colombo next month to play two matches in Galle on November 22 and 23.
SriLankan Airline also offered complimentary Colombo London return air tickets to few foreign journalists who attended Sri Lanka’s press conference on Tuesday. Meanwhile an official from British Airways who also operated direct flights before the COVID pandemic said that they may look at resuming Colombo London flights from next year.
