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SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines (SIA), will commence flights to Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo on 8 April 2017.
SilkAir will operate three flights per week, taking over SIA’s SQ466/SQ467 service. SIA will continue to operate its daily night flight SQ468 and return flight SQ469.
The addition of SilkAir to the Singapore-Colombo route will optimise the utilisation of the SIA Group’s resources and present a better match of capacity to demand. It will extend the SilkAir network to 53 destinations across 15 countries.
The new service to Colombo, MI428, will be scheduled on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with a same-day return flight operating as MI427, similar to the current SIA timing. The services will be operated with Boeing 737-800 aircraft, featuring both Business Class and Economy Class cabins. Customers will be provided with a full-service experience, including in-flight meals, in-flight entertainment on SilkAir Studio, baggage allowance of 40kg and 30kg for Business and Economy class, respectively, as well as through check-in if they are connecting to or from another SilkAir or SIA point via Singapore.
Commenting on the launch, SilkAir Chief Executive Foo Chai Woo said: “Colombo is a fitting addition to our network. SilkAir is happy to continually bring our customers to more unique cities in the region, and increased connectivity via Singapore.”
As a gateway to explore Sri Lanka, Colombo is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural city and also the most populous city in Sri Lanka. Similarly, Colombo has wildly varying architecture that span centuries and depict many styles. Some of the attractions of Colombo include the Gangaramaya Temple, which demonstrates an eclectic mix of Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian, and Chinese architecture, Viharamahadevi Park, the oldest and largest park in Colombo, and the Galle Face Hotel, a historic landmark on the southern edge of the Galle Face Green promenade.
Beyond Colombo, Sri Lanka also offers many other tourist destinations such as the magnificent cave temples of Dambulla, the tea plantations of hilly Kandy, and colonial towns along the southern beaches of Galle.
Flights will be made available for booking through the SilkAir website, call centres and travel agents progressively. Customers who have made advance bookings to fly the Singapore-Colombo route on Singapore Airlines will be re-accommodated on SilkAir’s new services or alternative Singapore Airline services.