In an effort to boost the inflow of Saudi tourists to the island, SriLankan Airlines has appointed Unique Choice International as its franchise operator for SriLankan Holidays- the holiday package wing of the airlines - in the Kingdom.
A formal agreement for the opening of a franchise office for SriLankan Holidays was signed in Riyadh between Riza Yusuf, SriLankan Airlines manager for Saudi Arabia, and Zawfir Ziard, general manager of Unique Choice International, in the midst of a distinguished gathering at the new headquarters of the Unique Choice in the Saudi capital.
Others who were present at the signing ceremony included the airline’s manager for Central Province Fawzan Fareid, Unique Choice International Director Product Development Mohammed Wazeer, manager for Western Province Chintaka Bandara, Mohammed Wazeer and Munshif Hussain, chief executive officer of Colombo-based Life Skills.
Unique Choice International, Worldwide accommodation specialist and global travel operators, has its offices in Doha, Cairo, Sharjah and Kuala Lumpur. “We selected Unique Choice to take care of Sri Lankan Holidays by way of its years of experience in providing first class service to holiday-makers,” Riza Yusuf said, adding that that Unique Choice has become a household name among holidaymakers from the Kingdom.
“Wherever your tastes and preferences may lie, we can take you through the limitless boundaries of the Sri Lankan experience, and pick out a holiday that is tailor-made for you,” Yusuf said. “Our tours cover all this and more, providing comfort, warmth, luxury and holiday fun from the moment you touch down at the Colombo airport, as we link you to the finest hotels in the island, at the finest locations.” The airline operates six flights a week, two each from Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.
“These direct outgoing flights to Colombo provide the fastest connectivity to Far East and south Indian destinations where the connection time is less than 90 minutes and provide the same connection time on the return journey.” Whereas most of the other airlines connection time is not less than 3 hours or sometimes it is more than 4 to 5 hours,” he added. Speaking on the occasion, Ziard said that with his company’s rich experience in the travel trade, Unique Choice would promote tourist destinations such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Maldives and south India through SriLankan Airlines.
“We have a large clientele of customers for SriLankan Airlines to various destinations for their summer holidays. He said that the company offers more than 30 travel packages to those who are going out for their summer holidays.” With the excellent in-flight service of SriLankan Airlines coupled with hospitable airline ground staff, Unique Choice will be at a vantage position to sell SriLankan easily. “We provide special services to Arab passengers. On-board announcements are made in Arabic too and even the menu card is available in Arabic,” Fawzan Fareid said pointing out that plans are under way to serve them with Arabic coffee and dates as a welcome gesture. “We have also deployed a team of specialized child care crew to look after babies on board.”
This is in addition to the ultramodern airport facility in Colombo, which include the state-of-art lounge facility, prayer room, restaurants, coffee shops and duty-free shops. He stressed that SriLankan Holidays will make every visitor to the island feel at home through its unique hospitality. To entertain the Arab passengers, there is an audio-music channel in Arabic in flights to and from Colombo.
The airline has introduced an online check-in system from Colombo through which passengers could get their boarding pass through the Internet. “This would greatly benefit the families to avoid the rush at the airport,” the manager said.
The island’s national carrier now flies to 54 destinations in 28 countries across the globe. Its modern fleet consists of Airbus A340, A330 and A320 aircraft, and it has in recent years won such prestigious titles as World’s Best Airline in a survey of Economy Class passengers, World’s Friendliest Cabin Staff, first runner-up for World’s Best Cabin Staff, Best Overall In-flight Entertainment (small fleet), and World’s Most Efficient Operator of Airbus A330s (small fleet).
Lately , SriLankan Airlines has added a host of mouth-watering new items to its in-flight meal service, which are guaranteed to spice up your flight! “We are delighted to introduce a number of new entrée items, snacks, desserts, and drinks on board our flights to Colombo and other destinations in India, the Maldives and Far East,” an airline officials said. “We are confident that this initiative will further enhance our passengers experience with us and I am happy to note that we have already had a lot of excellent feedback from passengers.”
Passengers on the airline’s flights to and from European cities are savoring Elephant House Wonder Bites, the enjoyable ice cream snack that is highly popular among Sri Lankan consumers.
Jehan Karunaratne, manager, In-Flight Service Support, said: “We continuously study the preferences of different types of passengers in each region that we fly to, and evaluate their suggestions. The changes to our meal service reflect all these inputs. For example, passengers in the tropics tend to be thirstier than those in Europe.”
Passengers on flights in the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent now find a can of Coke or Pepsi on their meal trays, as well as a larger 200ml bottle of water. They are also served a welcome drink of fruit juice in a tetra pack when they board.
Several innovative snacks have been introduced between meals. The airline’s shortest flights, to and from Trichy and Trivandrum, now have delicious savory snacks served - from puff pastries to folded pizzas, heated on the aircraft and served warm. Fresh fruits are also served between main meals on all flights.
Business Class passengers are devouring the airline’s range of delightful hot desserts that has just been introduced on flights to and from Europe, such as peach & almond bake, bread & butter pudding, and walnut brownie with ice cream. After Eight mints are served on all flights. Passengers on Business Class to and from Europe who prefer to have a quick bite, perhaps to get a good rest on a long flight, can avail themselves of the Quick Meal Service, which includes thick soups, and pies, that are a meal in themselves.
SriLankan, which has a global reputation for caring, warm and friendly service, revamps its menus every two months, to add new items and innovations. The airline has won accolades such as World’s Friendliest Cabin Staff, and World’s Best In-flight Entertainment. SriLankan Catering won medals at the recent Hong Kong International Culinary Classic, and a Mercury Award in the Food & Beverage category from International Flight Catering Association.