Feb 05, 2004 04:12 PM
7410 Views
(Updated Feb 05, 2004 04:12 PM)
I recently flew with my family on Srilankan from Bangalore to London Heathrow and back.
The factors which made us choose them were-
Direct flight from Bangalore, so no hop to Bombay, Delhi etc. Also, saved from the mad rush at these international airports.
Srilankan is part owned by Emirates, which made us feel the service would be good.
Good price.
Colombo has visa on arrival, if you want to visit Lanka.
The trip was surely not upto expectations, and the major shortcomings were -
Poor boarding process at Colombo, in fact it was completely chaotic and it was announced that people with small kids should come first and we ended up boarding the plan last.
Difference in service provided in flights from Colombo and flights from London. while the London flights are much better serviced to mollycoddle the European passengers not so from Colombo.
Colombo airport surely needs an overhaul or better still make a different and much larger airport.
Serpentine queues at Heathrow, where we had to stand for long despite arriving well in time before being able to check in.
Flight was delayed on both legs.
Still the trip had some bright spots -
the resort used by the airline, for a layover in Colombo, Hotel Club Dolphin, is truly international class.
the aircraft crew and ground staff were generally quite helpful.
Last but not the least ...
coming in from Colombo means the Indian customs does not bother you much as compared to coming from Dubai, KL etc.
All in all, Srilankan needs to brush up on several service aspects before being even compared with Lufthansa or BA.
