SriLankan Airlines starts charter flights to Chongqing, China
View(s):SriLankan Airlines, the newest member of the oneworld alliance, in a move to meet the increasing demands for air services between China and Sri Lanka will soon be operating scheduled charter flights to Sichuan province, China.
Starting from July 1, 2014, SriLankan will be operating a weekly flight to Chongqing from Colombo, returning via Bangkok with the collaboration of a Chinese travel company. The signing of the agreement between Chongqing Huapont International Travel Service Co. Ltd. and SriLankan Airlines was held on Thursday in Colombo for this purpose, the airline said in a statement.
The national carrier currently operates a total of 15 weekly flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong and with this initiative, will be marking its presence in the South-western China as well.
SriLankan Airlines, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kapila Chandrasena said, “With the introduction of charter flights to Chongqing, we will be catering to a new segment of passengers who will no doubt, enjoy convenient and hassle-free travel with a touch of traditional Sri Lankan hospitality.”
SriLankan Airlines, Chief Marketing Officer, G.T. Jeyaseelan said, “After Beijing, Shanghai and Guan Zhou, where we have already made our mark, we have identified Sichuan province as a potential market in the mainland China. This comes into being after various evaluations we have carried out, and many tourism promotional activities conducted in the region by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotional Bureau. We are of the opinion that operating a scheduled charter flight is a good way of testing the waters before starting scheduled operations.”
alkers Tours will exclusively represent Chongqing Huapont International Travel Service Co. Ltd. in Sri Lanka, Vasantha Leelananda, EVP, Head – Destination Management Sector, John Keells Group stated, “We are delighted to associate ourselves with Sri Lankan Airlines and Chongqing Huapont International Travel Service Co. Ltd. to promote Sri Lanka from South West China. This will give us an opportunity to open a new hub out of Chongqing. This is the first time that a regular weekly service on a charter basis has been undertaken by an operator with Sri Lankan Airlines and it is a very exciting project”.
In April this year, SriLankan Airlines started operating eight direct flights a week to Beijing and Shanghai and out of which four flights depart from the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. Additionally, the airline has operated charter flights to Kunming and Chengdu in the past; making this its third sequel of charter operations to China.