Emirates to increase flights from Colombo next month

•  Airline adds three more flights from Colombo to meet rising demand

• With expansion from 30 June, number of flights will rise to 31 per week with 4 daily on select days

Emirates will increase capacity on its services to Colombo from 30 June 2013, with the addition of three more flights per week, the airline announced yesterday.

The addition of three more services, which will operate between Dubai and Colombo on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays, will increase the number of flights between the two cities to four each day on those days, and take the total number of weekly Emirates flights serving Colombo to 31. The additional Colombo-Dubai flight EK 655 will depart Colombo at 1410hrs and arrive in Dubai at 1655 hrs. The returning Dubai-Colombo flight EK 654 will depart Dubai at 0645 hrs and arrive in Colombo at 1245 hrs.

“The increase in capacity to Colombo demonstrates Emir-ates’ continuing commitment to the destination,” said Chandana de Silva, Emirates Area Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Emirates...

“The demand for seats on the Colombo-Dubai sector is increasing, and these additional flights will enable more UK and USA bound passengers to connect with Emirates services out of Dubai. The additional capacity will support the Sri Lankan Government’s efforts to increase tourist arrivals towards the declared target of 2.5 million by 2016.”

The new flights offer Emirates’ passengers especially convenient connections to flights departing Dubai for New York, London, Manchester, and the Middle East.

The three new flights will be operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in two class configuration, adding 126 Business Class and 1,158 Economy Class seats each way per week on the route, as well as 23 tons of additional capacity for cargo per flight.

Both cabins are equipped with Emirates’ award-winning ice entertainment system with up to 1,400 channels on-demand entertainment to choose from, including movies, television programs, games, audio books and music from across the world.

As with all Emirates flights, passengers on the new Colombo-Dubai services will enjoy the extra generous Emirates baggage allowance of 30kg in Economy Class and 40kg in Business Class. The additional services also provide more opportunities for members of Skywards, the award-winning frequent flyer program of Emirates Airline, to earn Skywards Miles on their travel.

One of the world’s fastest growing airlines, Emirates commenced services to Colombo in April 1986. The schedule includes a triple daily service from Dubai – with one stopping in The Maldives, and a daily flight from Singapore. The winner of more than 500 major international awards, Emirates currently serves 133 destinations in 77 countries including 35 destinations in Europe and 11 destinations in North and South America.