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Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
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With 54,000 Chinese travellers choosing the national carrier to travel to the island in 2013, the airline, due to the high demand from the sector, expects a total of 120,000-140,000 Chinese travellers to visit and experience the country by the end of this year. For the first four months ending 30 April, the number of travellers from China to Sri Lanka on SriLankan Airlines was 36,000.
Announcing the latest operation to the media, SriLankan Airlines CEO Kapila Chandrasena noted that the charter flight would start operation from 1 July, with the first flight scheduled to depart Colombo at 1:30 a.m. to arrive in Chongqing at 9:15 a.m. Departure is at 10:30 a.m. from Chongqing to arrive in Colombo at 4:05 p.m.
“The plan is to commence operations from 1 July to late November; and then again from January to March,” Chandrasena said. “As we mature in the market, we will look at the demand and possibly increase the frequencies.”
The network expansion is part of the airline’s focus to spread out its network in Asia, notably in China. Currently the carrier operates 15 weekly flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong. With this initiative, SriLankan will be making its mark in South-Western China as well.
“Having identified China as one of our key markets, we are constantly looking for new avenues to expand our operations in the region through increasing frequencies to new destinations. With the latest introduction, we will be catering to a new segment of passengers who will, no doubt, enjoy the convenient and hassle-free travel with a touch of traditional Sri Lankan hospitality.”
Chandrasena assured that China is very much part of the long-term strategy of SriLankan to evolve its network.The agreement was signed three months since the initial discussions. As per the agreement, Chongqing Huapont International Travel Services have guaranteed the sale of all seats in the weekly flights, he added.
Representing Chongqing Huapont International Travel Services, Iris Huang promised to promote Sri Lanka in a higher level in the coming months with different and vibrant communication methods. “We hope to strengthen the relationship between the countries and the companies through this initiative,” Huang said.
Chongqing Huapont International Travel Services is exclusively represented in Sri Lanka by Walkers Tours.
In April this year, SriLankan Airlines started operating eight direct flights a week to Beijing and Shanghai; out of which four flights depart from the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. The airline has also operated charter flights to Kunming and Chengdu in the past, making this its third sequel of charter operations to China.
