Message from SriLankan Airlines Country Manager
Message from SriLankan Airlines Country Manager
SriLankan Airlines is pleased to be of service to Indonesia
and has been a long-standing member of the Jakarta community.
Our operating schedule has changed over the years but in the
year 2000 we took a conscious decision to increase our presence
in Indonesia, adding 50 percent more capacity with the
introduction of our third weekly flight.
To further meet the needs of our customers, one flight
operates to Colombo via Singapore while the other two fly direct
from Jakarta to Colombo.
Our Colombo services are geared toward both leisure and
corporate travelers, and we have excellent connections to other
destinations on our route networks in Europe, the Middle East,
India and the Maldives.
All Indonesian services are operated with state-of-the-art,
wide-bodied Airbus A330s and A340s, and all flights feature in-
seat video entertainment systems in both the business and economy
class cabins.
Sri Lanka is at the beginning of a major tourism growth cycle,
with harmony returned to the country mainly due to the success of
the peace talks, now one year old. The year 2002 was a record
year for SriLankan Airlines and we recorded the largest ever
number of Indonesians visiting solely for tourism purposes. We
are gearing up for an increase in the number of tourist arrivals
and this year are offering no less than 37 choices of touring
options through our Indonesian travel agency partners.
We also believe we have assisted the Indonesian community by
bringing foreign tourists to Indonesia. The year 2002 saw a
dramatic increase in Indian tourist arrivals and this is an area
we plan to further cultivate in 2003.
SriLankan Airlines, formerly Air Lanka, is now a revitalized
flag carrier after privatization, when Emirates, the Dubai-based
airline, become a major shareholder. After our re-branding,
SriLankan Airlines has won numerous service quality awards.
In fact, we just received the TTG Asia award as the Best
Airline in South Asia. We are proud of this and our many other
awards, but our goal is to become the best airline in South East
Asia and we will not rest until our dream is a reality.
We are the first to realize that consumer loyalty cannot be
purchased, as some other airlines seem to believe possible, and
therefore we are resolved in our mission to offer quality
services at affordable prices.
As the SriLankan Airlines brand continues to mature we will
continue to grow, and we hope that in the not too distant future
we will be able to advise you of a fourth weekly flight to
Jakarta.
Lakshman Weerasooriya
Country Manager - Indonesia
SriLankan Airlines