The Hindu : SriLankan Airlines begins flights to City

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

SriLankan Airlines begins flights to City

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE July 15. Bangalore is connected to one more international destination: Colombo. SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka's international carrier, touched down at the Bangalore airport on Monday morning. It was the maiden flight of the airlines' direct thrice-a-week schedule between the City and Colombo.

Bangalore is the sixth Indian destination connected by the airlines. On its agenda are two more direct flights, to Bodhgaya and Kochi, which are likely to commence in November this year. A flight to Hyderabad is on the cards next year. The airlines operates 30 flights to India, including 12 a week to Chennai, three to New Delhi and Mumbai, five to Trichy, and one to Thiruvananthapuram.

Later, addressing presspersons, the Sri Lankan Tourism Minister, Gamini Lokuge, said the airlines was mainly targeting leisure travellers and "IT traffic" from Bangalore to Colombo. "From Colombo, we are hoping to attract approximately 100 passengers a week to Bangalore on SriLankan Airlines flights every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday,'' he explained.

Sri Lankan passengers, he said, were mainly leisure travellers, pilgrims, and students. "Thrice-weekly direct flights to Bangalore is expected to significantly enhance traffic between the two nations,'' he added.

He said that last year, there were 34,000 arrivals from India. This year, till June, the number had touched 37,000. It was expected to double by the year-end. The increase, he explained, was mainly because of the special offers and Indian tourists looking for alternative destinations other than the West. The target was way below the high of 90,000 arrivals in 1982.

The Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Daya Pelpola, said Bangalore was an important destination, as many Lankans used the route to travel to Puttaparthi and Udupi.

The airlines reckons that more than 1,000 devotees of Sri Sathya Sai Baba come to Bangalore every month to visit Whitefield on the outskirts of the City. Besides, about 500 Sri Lankan students are studying in colleges here.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Board Chairman, Paddy Withana, said that with the commencement of the direct flight, Colombo would be only 90 minutes from Bangalore. "The outbound travel in Sri Lanka is more than the inbound travel to the country. India could exploit this,'' he felt.

Introductory offer

SriLankan Airlines, as part of an introductory three-month programme, has launched an attractive holiday package with the punchline: "You pay for your ticket, we pay for your holiday.'' Passengers could buy two economy class tickets from Bangalore at Rs. 12,620 each, and get a free holiday for two in Sri Lanka on a first class package. A deluxe package is also available for Rs. 14,620.

Valid till October 27, the offer includes visa on arrival, three nights/four days holiday on sharing basis, and star class accommodation including three breakfasts, return economy-class airfare from Bangalore to Colombo, transfers from Colombo airport to hotel and vice-versa (up to Negombo, Colombo, Kalutara, Beruwala, Bentota, and Ahungalle).

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