SriLankan Airlines, or UL for short, is the National Airline of Sri Lanka. Its base at Colombo's Bandaranaike Airport gives it the strategic advantage of being able to provide international services to major indian cities and beyond. UL recently also joined the Oneworld Alliance in 2014 and has ever since provided Oneworld travellers an alternative option when the need arises to travel to India.
This trip report today focuses on the ground experience and inflight experience aboard SriLankan Airlines Flight UL309 from Singapore to Colombo.
Singapore has 3 Terminals, of which Terminal 1 has the most amount of Oneworld carriers operating out of. UL however, decides to operate out of the magnificent Terminal 3 at Changi, the flagship home of Singapore Airlines. Check in was at row 10, away from the hustle and bustle of SQ's check in counters. The ground support was handled by DNATA services. In no time, i was handed my Boarding Pass for the flight, and the Lounge Invitation for the DNATA lounge, a contract lounge.
Passing through customs was a breeze, and in no time i was airside. First stop was the duty free to pick up my Jo Malone Perfume as mine had run out previously during my travels. If you were wondering, i use the 154 Scent and it works beautifully on my skin!
After the product is on my hands, it was time to go to the lounge. Normally for UL passengers, the contract DNATA lounge is the one to go to, but i knew better. Given that UL s a Oneworld carrier, and i hold a Oneworld Emerald card, i am entitled to entry to any OW lounge in Singapore. So i headed over to Terminal 1 via the sky train and accessed the British Airways Lounge (for its champers). Here are some pictures of the lounge.
An hour prior to departure, i made my way to the gate, which is a short walk from the lounge give that it was at the 'T1' end of T3. Security was done at the gate and in no time i was in the aircraft awaiting departure.
Today, i am seated in seat 6A, the first row of Economy, a bulkhead seat. As with all bulkhead seats, the pitch was tight, but added bonus is that there is no one reclining into your personal space.
The seat upholstery was pretty comfortable, but the leather seat has seen better days
Soon thereafter, the doors were closed and safety video shown. It was interesting that they started off the announcements in Singhalese and Tamil, but progressed onto English and remained that for the entire flight. After the Warm UL welcome, it was time to buckle up and take off into the night sky, Colombo bound!
Shortly after takeoff, Menus were distributed. It was a nice touch for Economy as there is no need for such frills. The FA distributing the Menus had a stack of them with different languages, and it was a nice personal touch for the FA to distribute a menu of your own language to you.
Without further ado, let us peruse the menu for this evening! :D
The Singapore to Colombo leg Menu
The Economy meals were distributed in a single tray concept consistent with every other carrier i have flown in.
We start of with the Starter - Potato Salad with Mayonnaise. This was inedible and i left it there.
For the main course, i chose the Fish with Sweet and Sour Sauce. The fish was adequately tasty, but not the rice noodles so i left that untouched too. Its a very nice touch that UL provides metal cutlery in Economy class. Definitely ups the premium feel! :D
For dessert, it was the Apricot Mandolino with Vanilla Sauce. This was very tasty and it was the only item on the try empty at the end of the meal service (the other empty item being the wine glass of course)
Delicious Ceylon Tea was served shortly after by the wonderful Flight attendants in traditional Sari, which happens to be the Cabin Crew Uniform for females too!
Descent into colombo was stock standard, although the pilot did put the plane through a few turns, probably in a holding pattern due to aerodrome congestion. We touched down in Colombo Airport soon after with a smooch on the runway.
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Verdict
SriLankan Airlines
4.4/10
Cabin4.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi3.0
Meal/catering2.5
British Airways Lounge
7.5/10
Comfort7.0
Meal/catering7.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Services7.0
Singapore - SIN
8.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness10.0
Colombo - CMB
5.0/10
Efficiency8.0
Access4.0
Services4.0
Cleanliness4.0
Conclusion
SriLankan is a nice carrier, not a spectacular one, but does the job pretty well. The inflight service was nice, and the Flight attendants were warm and friendly, but there was no Oneworld recognition by the Purser other than the initial inflight welcome over the PA system. The food selection in Economy leaves a lot to be desired as well. In all i would give a pretty average rating.
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Wow, only a 4.8/10? You guys in Asia are too spoiled with good airlines. Here in the US we would never dream of printed menus and a hot meal on 4 hours flight in Economy, lol...just peanuts (if that) and Buy-on-board $10 sandwiches :-P So yea, to me this seems like really good service. Who is you OW Emerald status from, QF? Thanks for sharing!
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4 Comments
So yea, to me this seems like really good service. Who is you OW Emerald status from, QF?
Thanks for sharing!
Yeah the OWE is from QF. Seriously QF has spoiled me so much on service, as much that i rate carriers upon QF's solid benchmark!
I can't believe 4 hours without a hot meal, i will start getting disappointment all around haha :(
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