Summary
- SriLankan Airlines signs interline partnership with Emirates, providing seamless connections to 30 routes in Asia and the Middle East.
- Passengers can access Emirates’ network through Colombo and Dubai, with added advantages including baggage transfers.
- SriLankan Airlines customers gain direct connections to fifteen cities operated by Emirates, expanding travel options and supporting tourism growth.
After a horrible few years where its future looked unsure, SriLankan Airlines is throwing off the gloom and doom by signing a brand new interline partnership with Emirates that can encompass 30 routes. Passengers from each carriers can now seamlessly access destinations around Asia, the Middle East and beyond with only one ticket.
Seamless connections through Colombo and Dubai.
On Tuesday, Emirates announced it has signed a reciprocal interline agreement with SriLankan Airlines, aimed toward boosting connectivity for passengers of each airlines. The partnership, which is already bookable, will give customers access to one another’s network through their Dubai and Colombo hubs with the convenience of bags transfers.
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Emirates passengers may have 15 additional destinations, including two recent ones in India, Madurai and Tiruchirapally, and Gan Island within the Maldives. Other Asian destinations include Cochin, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Malé, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Guangzhou, Seoul and Tokyo. Emirates Chief Industrial Officer Adnan Kazim said the agreement will give its customers more selection and access to additional destinations to suit their travel plans.
“This partnership enables customers to seamlessly fly to unique destinations in India and the Maldives via Colombo. We look ahead to further developing our cooperation within the near future and enhancing advantages that customers can enjoy when travelling with Emirates and SriLankan on one ticket.”
A world of connections for SriLankan passengers
Direct access to the worldwide Emirates network and direct connections to fifteen cities operated by Emirates beyond Dubai is a significant boost for SriLankan Airlines’ customers. They’ll enjoy partnership advantages on Emirates flights to Bahrain, Amman, Dammam, Medina, Cairo, Muscat, Nairobi, Moscow, Tel Aviv and various US cities, reminiscent of Latest York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and Houston.
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Richard Nuttal, CEO of SriLankan Airlines, said the airline is committed to providing connectivity to Sri Lanka from around the globe, and it really works with many partners to access cities it doesn’t presently fly to. He added:
“Emirates is a really global airline and has a protracted history in Sri Lanka and it gives us real pleasure to work with them. The partnership provides more options to connect with and from Sri Lanka, assisting each Sri Lankan passengers at home and abroad, and supports tourism growth to the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.”
Emirates has been operating in Sri Lanka since 1986 and in those 37 years has carried greater than eleven million passengers to and from Colombo. From Dubai International Airport (DXB), Emirates operates two direct each day flights to Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
The Middle Eastern carrier also operates an extra each day service to Colombo via Malé, which also utilizes the Boeing 777 widebody. Emirates is the one international airline that serves Sri Lanka with the selection of a top quality cabin, and typically the 777-300ERs on the route are configured with 360 seats, including eight in top quality, 42 in business and 310 within the economy cabin.
Fleet data from ch-aviation.com shows that SriLankan has an all-Airbus fleet of 23 aircraft that it operates to major cities in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and the Far East. The fleet includes seven Airbus A330-300s, 4 A330-200s, 4 A321neos, one A321-200, two A320neos and five A320-200s.
While the interline partnership was only announced on Tuesday, it’s bookable on each airlines’ web sites and is effective immediately.