Kerala residents flying home from the Middle East onboard SriLankan Airlines are in for a treat on September 5 2006, as the airline will serve Payasam, a sweet and tempting porridge, to celebrate Onam, Kerala’s most popular festival.
“India is a big part of the SriLankan Airlines family, and we want to give a taste of home for everyone flying with us,” said M. Fazeel, SriLankan Airlines Regional Manager - Middle East and Africa.
The airline has introduced a number of onboard comforts to cater to the Indian nationals flying SriLankan Airlines, like serving Indian cuisine and the latest movies and music.
Regular flier, Bashkar originally from Kerala and now based in Dubai was delighted with the news: "Food is an important part of our celebrations and this is a clever addition by the airline which will go down well with its customers.
"Payasam is a delicious, sweet food which is traditionally eaten or drunk by most Keralites at Onam. I am sure even those not from Kerala will enjoy a taste of our culture."
SriLankan Airlines is the largest foreign carrier in to India, with 82 weekly flights to nine key destinations there. Later in October, Goa will become its tenth destination when SriLankan starts operating twice-weekly flights to this popular resort town.
“Celebrating Onam festival is a simple gesture from SriLankan Airlines to everyone flying with us on the fifth of September,” Fazeel said.
SriLankan Airlines was created in April 1998 when Air Lanka, was privatised following the establishment of a strategic partnership with Dubai-based Emirates Airline. The agreement saw Emirates take a 40 per cent shareholding in the company and undertake a 10-year management agreement, during which time SriLankan has been established as southern Asia’s preferred international carrier.
Following its transformation, SriLankan has won a string of international aviation awards including Best Airline in Central Asia from UK’s Skytrax Research for four years in a row, (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), underlining its new reputation as a world-class carrier.
In 2003, SriLankan was voted as having the friendliest cabin crew by Skytrax, and also won the award for Best In-flight Entertainment (for a fleet size of 20 or less) at the annual World Airline Entertainment Association’s Avion awards in the USA.
Meanwhile, the airline’s sky taxi service has revolutionised domestic air travel in Sri Lanka, offering transfers between the airport and Colombo and Kandy, Koggala, Bentota, Trincomalee, Anuradhapura and Hingurakgoda – flight times from Bandaranaika International Airport are just 30 minutes to each town except for Trincomalee, which is a 45-minute transfer. The network incorporates most major tourist sites, from the beach resorts on the west coast around Bentota and Galle (Koggala), as well as Polonnaruwa (Hingurakgoda), Anuradhapura, Kandy and Trincomalee.
