OneWorld announced this week that SriLankan Airlines is their newest member elect, and is expected to join OneWorld late next year.
Now, the first major frustration is just how long the process of joining an alliance can take. As I posted about last June, Malaysia Airlines is expected to join OneWorld, though that still hasn’t happened. Here they’re saying it will be 18 months before SriLankan joins OneWorld, and that seems to be the best case scenario.
That being said, this is a huge gain for OneWorld, if/when it happens. I think regional carriers are generally underestimated when it comes to alliances, especially ones that serve markets that otherwise don’t get much service.
I’ve flown SriLankan five times now, and they’re actually one of my favorite carriers. The service is very exotic, and while they might not have the most modern product, there’s something fun about flying with them.
In terms of their route network, this opens up several new destinations. For one, it opens up Colombo. While Sri Lanka isn’t at the top of most peoples’ list of places to visit, some of the lowest premium cabin fares in the world can be found out of Colombo, so this is great for positioning.
Furthermore, Sri Lanka is only an hour flight from the Maldives, and SriLankan Airlines has frequent service.
So this will be a great new option for travel to the Maldives, be it an award ticket, or the ability to credit miles to a OneWorld partner airline. I flew SriLankan last year from Delhi to Colombo to Male to Colombo to Mumbai, and it sucked not earning any miles. I can’t wait to either redeem miles for the same routing next time, or at the very least earn miles for it.
Oh, and there’s one other interesting thing about SriLankan Airlines. They win the award for most awkward lounge massage in the world. They offer complimentary 15-minute massages in their business class lounge in Colombo. However, expect them to literally have you take your clothes off in the lounge and be massaged in “public” while mostly undressed. Fun stuff…
(Tip of the hat to The Wandering Aramean)
"I am sure (I sure hope anyway) there is a less convoluted routing from SFO to the Maldives… Otherwise I guess I am not destined to visit…"
Sigh.... Me too, me too. I'm just not up for that sort of travel torture any more. lucky says he does it for business, so he gets excused. But GLeff does it for fun, just for a long weekend, and calls it "aspirational".
I'd start with the...
"I am sure (I sure hope anyway) there is a less convoluted routing from SFO to the Maldives… Otherwise I guess I am not destined to visit…"
Sigh.... Me too, me too. I'm just not up for that sort of travel torture any more. lucky says he does it for business, so he gets excused. But GLeff does it for fun, just for a long weekend, and calls it "aspirational".
I'd start with the first two letters of that, and go off in another direction, focusing on fatigue. But of course, they both are going FC, with lounges everywhere, and highly relaxing hotels on stopovers. And in some cases World Class FAs....
ahem India report pending ahem ;-)
Yes, I was trying to highlight the challenges of using Sri Lankan air to actually get to the Maldives...
One thing that did not come through in my post that some of the stopovers were longer than one day (stopover in HKG or KUL I think).
So, no, unless I could use my AA miles and book that whole thing in F or C, I wouldn't dream of it. Even in F or C it...
Yes, I was trying to highlight the challenges of using Sri Lankan air to actually get to the Maldives...
One thing that did not come through in my post that some of the stopovers were longer than one day (stopover in HKG or KUL I think).
So, no, unless I could use my AA miles and book that whole thing in F or C, I wouldn't dream of it. Even in F or C it would be a long trip...
I am sure (I sure hope anyway) there is a less convoluted routing from SFO to the Maldives... Otherwise I guess I am not destined to visit...
@Lark "You and your weird routings took you on this airline, on an itinerary that no normal person (read: no non-mileage / travel junkie) ever would have taken."
Then you post an 8 segment economy itinerary, with 2 instances of flights originating in the wee hours of the morning, one of which is followed by a 4 hour wait for the next flight. Another is an afternoon departure with an 8 hour waitover for the...
@Lark "You and your weird routings took you on this airline, on an itinerary that no normal person (read: no non-mileage / travel junkie) ever would have taken."
Then you post an 8 segment economy itinerary, with 2 instances of flights originating in the wee hours of the morning, one of which is followed by a 4 hour wait for the next flight. Another is an afternoon departure with an 8 hour waitover for the connecting flight, which arrives after midnight local time. And the HKG-SFO segments taking 14 hours, and 12.5 hours, of economy class agony.
All of this in economy, all of this in places where no "normal person" would qualify for lounge access.
Pardon me, but as exotic as these destinations may be, this sounds like a trip from hell while in transit, and recovering therefrom.
Unless this intinerary was meant as sarcasm...Pot calling the kettle black.... :)
@ Lark -- Often there are reciprocal mileage agreements before an airline formally joins an alliance, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that. I wouldn't count on it, though, and I expect it won't be for another year or so, if at all.
Hey Lucky -
Realize my last post came across a little too harsh. I guess any new airline is better than no new airline in to an alliance... And OW needs to to everything they can to try and catch up with *A! ;)
When will you be able to credit (a Sri Lankan flight) to a OW airline? Only after they are an official member, or do you think crediting to another airline...
Hey Lucky -
Realize my last post came across a little too harsh. I guess any new airline is better than no new airline in to an alliance... And OW needs to to everything they can to try and catch up with *A! ;)
When will you be able to credit (a Sri Lankan flight) to a OW airline? Only after they are an official member, or do you think crediting to another airline may happen sooner?
Found this beauty for just under $3K in Economy! :) (Hope the formating is clear)
SFO-HKG
Cathay Pacific 879 Dep: 1:35PM Arr: 6:45PM
Layover in HKG Wed, Sep 19
HKG-KUL
Cathay Pacific 791 Dep: 1:30AM Arr: 5:10AM
KUL-CMB
Sri Lankan Airlines 319 Dep: 9:00AM Arr: 10:00AM
Layover in CMB
CMB-MLE
Sri Lankan Airlines 115 Dep: 1:45PM Arr: 2:40PM
MLE-CMB
Sri Lankan Airlines 110 Dep: 10:10PM Arr: 12:05AM
Layover in CMB Wed, Oct 3
CMB-KUL
Sri Lankan Airlines 318 Dep: 1:15AM Arr: 7:30AM Layover in KUL
KUL-HKG
Cathay Pacific 720 Dep: 9:25AM Arr: 1:10PM
Layover in HKG
HKG-SFO
Cathay Pacific 870 Dep: 2:05PM Arr: 11:35AM
Uh, Lucky, this really is not that exciting...
As Seth said: "It is less clear what the immediate benefits are to the alliance, with nearly all of the destinations covered."
You and your weird routings took you on this airline, on an itinerary that no normal person (read: no non-mileage / travel junkie) ever would have taken.
Current destinations:
East Asia
People's Republic of China
Beijing – Beijing Capital International Airport
Guangzhou...
Uh, Lucky, this really is not that exciting...
As Seth said: "It is less clear what the immediate benefits are to the alliance, with nearly all of the destinations covered."
You and your weird routings took you on this airline, on an itinerary that no normal person (read: no non-mileage / travel junkie) ever would have taken.
Current destinations:
East Asia
People's Republic of China
Beijing – Beijing Capital International Airport
Guangzhou – Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Hong Kong - Hong Kong International Airport
Shanghai – Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Japan
Tokyo – Narita International Airport
South Asia
India
Bangalore – Bengaluru International Airport
Chennai – Chennai International Airport
Delhi – Indira Gandhi International Airport
Kochi – Cochin International Airport [6]
Mumbai – Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
Thiruvananthapuram – Trivandrum International Airport
Tiruchirapalli – Tiruchirapalli Airport
Maldives
Malé – Malé International Airport
Pakistan
Karachi – Jinnah International Airport
Sri Lanka
Ampara – Kondavattavan Tank * (charter)
Bentota – Bentota River Airport *
Castlereagh – Castlereagh Reservoir * [7]
Colombo
Bandaranaike International Airport Hub
Kelani River-Peliyagoda Waterdrome * (charter)
Dikwella – Mawella Lagoon *
Kandy
Victoria Reservoir * (charter)
Polgolla – Mahaweli Reservoir * (charter)
Koggala – SLAF Koggala *
Hambantota
Bandagiriya Tank*
Mattala International Airport Secondary Hub [begins 18 November 2012]
Nuwara Eliya – Lake Gregory Waterdrome * [8]
Tissamaharama – Tissa Tank * (charter)
Trincomalee * [9]
Southeast Asia
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur – Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Singapore
Singapore Changi Airport
Thailand
Bangkok – Suvarnabhumi Airport
Southwest Asia
Bahrain
Bahrain International Airport
Kuwait
Kuwait International Airport
Oman
Muscat – Muscat International Airport
Qatar
Doha – Doha International Airport
Saudi Arabia
Dammam – King Fahd International Airport
Jeddah – King Abdulaziz International Airport
Riyadh – King Khalid International Airport
United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi – Abu Dhabi International Airport
Dubai – Dubai International Airport
Europe
France
Paris – Charles de Gaulle Airport
Germany
Frankfurt am Main – Frankfurt Airport
Italy
Milan – Malpensa Airport [ends 28 October 2012]
Rome – Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport
Russia
Moscow – Domodedovo International Airport
United Kingdom
London – London Heathrow Airport
@ John -- Unfortunately they don't fly to the US. They're more of a regional airline, though they do have longhaul flights to Europe.
What cities does Sri Lankan fly to in the U.S.?
They also have a small room in the front right corner (seen from the entrance) of the lounge for the massages.
If you have left-over currency when leaving Sri Lanka you can also spend it there at decent rates ;-)
Emirates was the largest external shareholder and had a very active operational role in the business until couple of years ago. This must have done the airline and it's product quite some good :)
Looks like OneWorld is making some inroads into Asia...