SriLankan lures more biz with unique ‘book now pay later’ online move

SriLankan Airlines Manager E Business Development Ajith Weerasekera, Chief Executive Officer Captain Suren Ratwatte, Head of IT Chamara Perera, Chief Commercial Officer Siva Ramachandran and Sampath BankDeputy General Manager Aruna Jayasekara

SriLankan Airlines has unveiled its newly revamped website www.srilankan.comwith vastly improved features that are aimed at providing an enhanced customer service experience from the very first moment a person visits the site.

The launch of the new website to the media on Wednesday was uniquely in-flight experiential at the plush Empire Cineplex at The Arcade at the Independence Square. 

The national carrier hopes to increase internet bookings to around 20% from the current 14% within a year. 

SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ajith Dias said: “Our new website with its advanced features is one of several initiatives which we have launched in recent months to improve the efficiency of our service to our customers. 

We are confident that it will contribute significantly to make SriLankan Airlines a preferred airline among discerning travellers.”

Chief Executive Officer Captain Suren Ratwatte said: “SriLankan Airlines takes great pride in providingall of our passengers with a completely delightful experienceon the ground and in the air. 

Keeping this in mind, our website is very often the first point of contact for our passengers, and our new site is designed to be the start of that experience.”

SriLankan is the first airline to introduce Sinhala and Tamil as language options for the online booking process, as well as English. It is to be further improved to become a fully multi-lingual site that offers all preferred global languages. The website will be available in native languages – French, German, Italian, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Thai, and Russian – apartfrom Sinhala and Tamil. All language options will be in operation within the next several weeks.   

Dedicated native home pages are available to users in all countries which SriLankan Airlines operates to, as well as Australia, USA and Canada. Users experience rapid speeds at which the site interacts, with streamlined content distribution from multiple geographic locations.

The site adapts to any interface – desktop, laptop, tab or smart phone – socustomers can easily manage various aspects of their flights. Or they could download the SriLankan Mobile App for easier access.

The new site has been designed to the highest global compatibility standards and is connected across all major social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, You Tube and Instagram – sothe airline constantly interacts with its passengers to provide a more personalized digital experience.

A key feature of the new site is the ease with which customers can purchase tickets online and manage their bookings through its simplified user interface to check-in, pre-order meals, ask for child care or special assistance, make purchases from the duty free collection, etc. The new site is designed to learn from its engagement with each person, and makes smart suggestions for their travel.

The site’s revolutionary new ‘Book Now Pay Later’ facility provides online offers even to those who do not possess a credit card and make payment through online portals of four of Sri Lanka’s leading banks – Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank, HNB and Bank of Ceylon – orat over 2,700 bank branches and ATMs nationwide. This feature which takes the airline beyond the cities in Sri Lanka and expand its reach island-wide, will be operational within the next few weeks.

A new ‘Group Booking’ facility allows further convenience by helping customers complete the payment process with partner banks, saving their credit limits on cards for actual trip usage.

A special new section provides details of discounts and deals, global travel bargains, extra baggage allowances, upgrade offers and other incredible opportunities, all updated in real time. Details of SriLankan’s latest on-board entertainment system, frequent flyer program FlySmiLes, SriLankan Holidays and much more are also just a click away.