After nearly two years, I finally managed to step on to an aircraft , an A330 to be specific. However , this time, for the first time in my life, I flew business class. It was a Srilankan Airlines flight from Chennai to Colombo, a beautiful 60 minute journey down south. I was fortunate & honoured to go to SriLanka as a part of a Mega Famtrip organized by Srilankan Airlines. (More on this later in a different blog post. Let’s dive into the Srilankan Airlines Business Class review.
It was truly one of the most joyous & royal feeling to fly in such a luxurious way, in the award winning Srilankan Airlines.
Business Class Check-In
One of the biggest advantages of the business class seats is priority, separate check-in counters with hardly anyone. This easily avoided the long economy queue that may have well costed me easily 45 mins.
In Srilanka’s Colombo airport, you have a private entrance, just 20 metres before the main entrance called Silk Route Departures. This gives business class passengers a separate entrance. It avoids all other queues and a dedicated hassle free check-in in less than 5 minutes overall.
Lounge Access
As goes without saying, the business class tickets came with a free lounge invitation in the international terminal. The Lounge offered a wide array of Indian and multicuisine buffet food along with free alcohol to go with it. The lounge also comes with a good list of magazines, newspapers , Wifi and a good view of the airport terminal . Most importantly offered very comfortable seats for the 2 hour wait until you checked in
You can also avail a Silent room at the Srilankan Airport Lounge, which allows you to lie down and relax completely.
A330 Seating Configuration
In the A330 that I got to flew (in my onward trip), the first 5 rows of business class comes with a wall divider with and has a 2-2-2 seating configuration. In Some sectors they also fly a A320 (which comes with a 2-2 configuration) , something similar to the domestic flights in India.
The seats come in with a massive leg space and also a placeholder to rest your leg on a horizontal platform (Note : Since I flew from Chennai , it was only a 60 minute flight, hence the smaller version of the aircraft)
Generally in longer duration flights, they come with a full flatbed and a private entertainment center , consisting of lots of good movies & shows.
Baggage Allowance
Unlike other airlines, that generally offers only 20KGs, Srilankan Airlines offers 30KGs for economy class passengers and 40KGs for business class passengers. Trust me, it came in really handy after all that heavy shopping we got to do in Srilanka
Food
Despite a short flight, I was treated to a delicious meal , minutes after the seatbelt sign was taken off. My Veg meal consisted of a fruit platter, a lasagne with a dip , Cheese & Bun, a fresh juice and a coffee/tea. (of course, longer duration flights have champagne and a larger meal plan, so this will vary)
My Srilankan Airlines Business Class review
Right from the breezy checkin to priortized boarding , the whole start gave me the perfect vibes for a wonderful vacation. The crew members were super friendly, warm and very helpful to say the least. From helping me out with the food details or to point out key locations (like Rameshwaram-Danushkodi) and giving tips on places to visit in SriLanka , there was definitely a feeling of a warm aura ,(all the while checking if I needed anything).
For the first time, I kinda felt, the whole flight could have been more than the short 60 minutes distance allowing me to enjoy all the luxury around me. Be it the joy of flying again after 2years, the comfortable leather pushback seats or the hospitality shown to me or the delicious food served, the whole experience was quite overwhelming
Will I fly again soon? Hopefully and also wishing it can be Srilankan Airlines again for yet another beautiful international destination.
Do let me know in comments your favourite airline flown so far and why so.
I have also written a detailed Srilankan Airlines Strategy & Fleet Details in an earlier post. Do check
Disclaimer : Masks were used throughout the journey, along with other Covid protocols. Only for photography purposes, removed it for 5 seconds. Plus also had a RT-PCR negative certificate + Double Vaccinated certificate prior boarding the flight
