SL’s Economic, tourism boom key for BA’s re-entry

Shirajiv Sirimane

The strong and fast expanding Sri Lankan economy and increase in British arrivals to Sri Lanka were two key points for British Airways to add Colombo to their radar after a lapse of 17 years, said Keith Williams, Chief Executive Officer, British Airways.

In an interview with Daily News Busienss he said that they were looking at emerging economies in Asia and said that both Seoul and Chendu in China were added as new destinations recently. “With more customers wanting to travel to and from Sri Lanka for both business and leisure made the reentry necessary.”

British arrivals to Sri Lanka last year increased by 17% last year and this trend is expected to continue. Total arrivals were 117,000. He said that in addition the acquisition of British Midlands Airlines had given them 40 additional slots at Gatwick airport which enabled them to look at new destinations.

He also said that they would also offer special concessions for the SME sector and would even go to the extent of business match making with the British SME sector as a commitment to this sector.

“With the arrival of our flight BA2043 on Tuesday and our return to Colombo, we celebrate an exciting new chapter in our commitment to increasing our presence in South Asia. We see tremendous opportunities coming and we are delighted to reopen our long-haul route between Colombo and London Gatwick and look forward to enhancing the travelling experience of our customers from this market.”

“British Airways’ B777-200 aircraft will be operating three times a week between Colombo and London Gatwick via Male. The flights will operate on Monday, Thursday and Saturday with a three-class configuration offering 48 flat beds in Club World, 24 premium economy and 203 World Traveller plus and World Traveller seats with a total 850 seats per week.

He said that Gatwick is considered more of a transfer point and the traffic from both Colombo and the Maldives is more point to point and this was the reason for them to operate from Gatwick which is just 20 miles from apart.

He also said that Heathrow airport operates with two runways and the British government is looking at building another airport in London. “Around 50% of our flights operate via Heathrow.”

Commenting on the new airport in Mattala he said it was a timely move since the Colombo airport is operating over its capacity. “We will seriously look at operating to Mattala in the future,” he said.

He said that while promotional fares are offered , British Airways has introduced attractive return fares between Colombo and London starting from less than Rs. 100,000 until April 21, 2013 for outbound travel before July 31, 2013.

British Airways has a worldwide route network that covers more than 150 destinations in 75 countries. In September 2011, British Airways won the accolade of “Best European Airline” for the 11th consecutive year, as voted by readers of Business Traveller Asia Pacific. At the Business Traveller Awards 2011 held in London, British Airways was also chosen by readers as the “Best Airline” and its Executive Club was awarded “Best Frequent Flyer Programme”.

The airline voted as the second best brand in UK after Apple is also looking at arrivals of the A380 in two months and the Dreamliner aircraft soon.

A water salute from fire trucks greeted British Airways’ Boeing 777 aircraft marking the airline’s grand return to Sri Lanka and Minister of Economic Development, Basil Rajapaksa and Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Bhashwara Gunarathna, along with other senior officials were present at Bandaranaike Airport for the inaugural betel leaf ceremony and a traditional dance performance.

Chairman, Hayleys, GSA for British Airways speaking at the reception at Kingsbury said that they are also confident that the presence of British Airways will also have a significantly positive impact on the entire aviation industry in Sri Lanka.

“As Sri Lanka is being positioned as a hub for aviation and commerce in the region, excellence in connectivity becomes crucial, British Airways’ extensive global network and value added services will certainly help in achieving this goal. It will no doubt lead to tremendous benefits to Sri Lanka’s tourism, trade and investment”

“Britain is Sri Lanka’s second highest source of tourist arrivals, Sri Lanka’s second most significant export market and has been an important source of Foreign Direct Investment into Sri Lanka over the years. With the revival of tourism, trade and investment in post war Sri Lanka, the resumption of British Airways online services to Sri Lanka is indeed timely.”