SriLankan Airlines to join OneWorld!

Published: June 10, 2012

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)

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Robert Hanson Diamond

June 12, 2012, 6:42 pm

"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....

‼ 0

Divyesh Guest

June 12, 2012, 10:05 am

ahem India report pending ahem ;-)

Lark Guest

June 11, 2012, 8:46 pm

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...

June 11, 2012, 4:57 pm

@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.... :)

lucky OMAAT

June 11, 2012, 3:26 pm

@ 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.

SriLankan Airlines to join OneWorld!

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