This journey by Sri Lankan Airlines began on 31st August, the day after my parents and I arrived in Mumbai. In my previous article, I commented on the British Airways component of the trip from London to Mumbai. In this article, I will be discussing my personal experience on the Mumbai to Colombo (the commercial capital of Sri Lanka) part of the journey.
Mumbai to Colombo
In this part of the journey by Sri Lankan Airlines, my parents and I flew to Colombo in Sri Lankan Airlines’ business class. Unlike British Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines does not accept Avios. In order to get an upgrade, what you can do is bid for a business class seat, whereby the highest amount offered by the bidder is accepted. Sometimes, however, the lowest bid is accepted, as it was in our case, if there is less demand. Nevertheless, even the lowest bid can be quite hefty. In our case, for a relatively short hall flight from Mumbai to Colombo (approximately 2 hours) cost was £100 per person per flight for an upgrade. However, some people may consider it simply to have the Sri Lankan Airlines business class experience.
The Sri Lankan Airlines business class experience began at the check-in. This was a smooth start where we were served by a customer service agent as opposed to the automated machine offered by British Airways, which we needed assistance to operate. The initial experience was therefore a good start to our journey with Sri Lankan Airlines. The next part was the Sri Lankan Airlines business class lounge, where we got to sample a wide range of Asian cuisine as well as delicious desserts. I even got to sample Hyderabadi biryani, which was nicer than the biryani I had in Hyderabad when I went back in February.
The flight part of our journey by Sri Lankan Airlines also went well. Drinks were offered before takeoff. Also, a full meal was offered as part of the package on board during the flight. This meal was a privilege offered for Sri Lankan Airlines business class customers as opposed to the snack offered for economy class passengers. Three possible choices were also given out of which I chose a mutton curry with rice, which was accompanied by a starter and dessert. This was impressive given the fact that the flight was only 2 hours long.
Colombo to Mumbai
Th Sri Lankan Airlines business class experience continued on the return flight. Check-in, however, took longer than expected as there were delays in staff arriving at the check-in desks. Similar to the Mumbai to Colombo part of the journey by Sri Lankan Airlines, a meal was offered on board, with me opting for a mutton biryani this time. In terms of the seating, there was no opportunity to turn the seat into a bed, like with British Airways. However, the space was significantly more than what was available in economy class, and all seats were forward-facing with less intrusion into privacy than what we found on the British Airways flight. The experience of having a seat that turns into a bed may only be possible on long-haul flights, as on the Sri Lankan Airlines website, it is a facility that is offered on its A380 Airbus aircraft.
On the whole, therefore, our journey by Sri Lankan Airlines was a good experience. However, the experience did come at a price. Some people might say that incurring as much as £100 per person per flight for a two-hour journey may not be worthwhile. Nevertheless, you do get perks such as access to the Sri Lankan Airlines business class lounge (although my parents felt that the Colombo Serendip lounge had fewer choices than on previous visits). It may be that the airline should develop a system that makes upgrades more accessible. We have to wait to see how this progresses.
Have you ever flown with Sri Lankan Airlines? Share your experience in the comments.
