SriLankan launches 'Smiles':

Emirates pull out, no hinder

Shirajiv Sirimane

SriLankan airlines will function smoothly with effect from March 31 even after the Emirates management pulls out from alliance, said Head of Worldwide Passenger Sales, SriLankan, Manoj Gunawardena.

He said however they gained valuable knowledge from the Emirates management which was with the airline for a decade.

He said this experience gained from Emirates would help them to carry on the operations smoothly and the new local management would be able to do better job from April 1 than past.

The airline would not change the name and is expected to keep on managing the catering and ground handling sectors.

Asked about the merger with Lanka's budget airline, Mihin Lanka he said that this is something that cannot be done practically. "The main reason for this is that share holders of both parties do not blend," he said.

However the airline would keep on sealing more Code share agreements with airlines in the region. Asked if the new management that would take over from April 1 would reduce routes, he said that it was a decision that would be taken in the near future. "From time to time any management would review its operations to decide the new routes that should be introduced newly and to scrap routes running at a loss. "Some destinations were cancelled even when Emirates was operating," he said.

With the Indian Aviation sector expanding rapidly most of the SriLankan pilots and staff were offered lucrative contracts and some have already left. This drain is now being addressed by the SriLankan HR Department and it would not be an issue in the future," he said.

Commenting on the launch of Smiles frequent flyer programme he said that this is the replacement for the 'Skywards' which ends on March 31 with the SriLankan management changing hands.

The Skywards members would not be penalized in anyway as they can join the Smiles programme keeping their skywards miles intact and enjoy more benefits.

"All the benefits enjoyed by the Skywards members would be retained in the Smiles programme as well. A unique feature of the Smiles frequent flyer programme would be that once used, it would not have an expiry period," said head of Smiles, Mahamed Fazeel.

"SmiLes will be introducing a number of partner airlines and other companies which will offer members a choice to both earn and burn miles for a variety of goods and services. These will range from hotel stays to bank services, retailers, and especially Sri Lankan Holidays - the airline's leisure arm."

Becoming a member of Smiles is as simple as filling out a form which will be available at any SriLankan ticket office in Sri Lanka or overseas, At Bandaranaike International Airport, on board flights, on the SmiLes website www.flysmiles.com, and at the airline's corporate site www.srilankan.aero.