Mihin to increase frequencies

Shirajiv Sirimane

Mihin Lanka is to increase their frequency to three destinations in the South Asian Region from next month.

Head of Commercial, Mihin Lanka, Rohana Perera said these additional flights would be to Trivandrum, Trichy and the Maldives. The airline already operates five flights a week to Trivandrum, four to the Maldives and three to Trichy.

"We are anticipating an increased demand for the winter season and this is the reason we have decided to increase frequency," he said. Both the two Indian flights have connections from Dubai and this too is one reason for the increased demand. In addition many Sri Lankans are also using the competitive airfare to fly out of Colombo.

They would be temporary terminating the Bodhgaya flights from December, 16. The climate in this period is far too cold and people are reluctant to fly during the time. This weekly flight will resume from February 1. The airline is to launch their holiday arm soon. "We would be targeting Singapore and Bangkok first and later extend our service to other destinations," he said.

The holiday arm would be later extended to Indian destinations and the Maldives. The airline is now in the process negotiating with travel agents and hotels to get the best deals for Sri Lankans.

The airline is also looking at introducing holiday packages to Sri Lanka as well. Mihin Lanka is looking at getting their third aircraft and launching flights to Europe starting with Italy mainly targeting the Sri Lankan expatriate community. Mihin Lanka also flies to Dubai and it's their seventh destination.