KLM resumes flights to Colombo after nearly 20 years

At the start of the 2016 winter schedule, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will resume direct services to Sri Lanka’s Colombo International Airport from October, the airline said in a statement last week.

The first flight to Colombo is scheduled to depart on Monday, 31 October 2016. This marks KLM’s return to Sri Lanka after an absence of almost 20 years.

KLM suspended service to the Sri Lankan capital (then served via Abu Dhabi) in 1997 as the war escalated.

“Sri Lanka has been a safe and stable country since the civil war came to an end in 2009. Since then, the economy – tourism in particular – has grown exponentially. Sri Lanka’s per capita income doubled in the past ten years and the island is a popular tropical leisure destination for Europeans, the Amsterdam-based airline said.“

Throughout the winter season, KLM will operate twice-weekly service to Colombo, departing from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Mondays and Fridays, and returning from Colombo on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The flights will be operated with the latest addition to KLM’s intercontinental fleet: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has 30 seats in World Business Class, 48 seats in Economy Comfort and 216 seats in Economy Class.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size widebody, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Its variants seat 242 to 335 passengers in typical 3-class seating configurations. It is Boeing’s most fuel-efficient airliner and is a pioneering airliner with the use of composite materials as the primary material in the construction of its airframe. The 787 was designed to be 20% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 767, which it is intended to replace. The 787 Dreamliner’s distinguishing features include mostly electrical flight systems, swept wingtips, and noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles. It shares a common type rating with the larger Boeing 777 to allow qualified pilots to operate both models.

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Austrian Airlines now fly to Sri Lanka.

The Vienna Colombo route is currently tagged as costing 684 euros return.

“In addition to the Maldives and Mauritius, Sri Lanka is yet another destination in the Indian Ocean“, explains Andreas Otto, Chief Commercial Officer of Austrian Airlines. ”In this way we are increasingly focusing on long-haul tourist destinations which are particularly in demand during the winter months.”

Also known as the Spice Island, Sri Lanka is mainly of interest to tourists who want to enjoy the local culture, relax on the beaches or get to know the country and its people within the context of an active or adventure holiday.

Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines is Austria’s largest carrier and operates a global route network of round 130 destinations. That route network is particularly dense in Central and Eastern Europe with 39 destinations. Thanks to its favourable geographical location at the heart of Europe, the company’s hub at Vienna International Airport is the ideal gateway between East and West. Austrian Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest airline group, and a member of the Star Alliance, the first global alliance of international airlines. The flight operations of the Austrian Airlines Group have been bundled at its 100% subsidiary Tyrolean Airways since 1st July, 2012.

Star Alliance
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. The integration of Avianca Brasil is currently in progress. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries.

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