Since I heard, SriLankan airlines economy class has great service, I decided to select Sri Lankan airlines to visit Singapore with my father in the economy class. I flew many times in SriLankan airline economy class a few years ago but this is the most recent traveling with Srilankan airways.
SriLankan Airlines is the national carrier of Sri Lanka[Ceylon] and SriLankan airlines have a global route network of destinations in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Far East, North America, Australia, and Africa.
SriLankan airlines were the first airlines in the Indian subcontinent to join Star Alliance. Further, it was also the first to provide in-flight WiFi in the Indian subcontinent.
You would not only learn about Srilankan Airline Economy Class in this review, but you will also gain knowledge and advice you require, to consider seriously before selecting a flying partner:-) like Srilankan.
Table of Content of this Srilankan airline review
1. How to Manage your Booking online
2. Seat Review and Leg Spaces/ Gaps of SriLankan Airlines Economy Class
3. In-Flight Entertainment System of Economy Class
4. Food Menu – Food and Drink of SriLankan Airlines Economy Class
5. How to Pre-order your Meals
6. Cabin Crew and Service Review
7. Toilets and its Facilities
8. Final Verdict of SriLankan Airlines Economy Class
9. SriLankan Airlines Awards 2017 & 2018
SriLankan Airlines is striving hard to earn the position of being the best economy class in the world.
I have, however, traveled many times on SriLankan airlines to a few destinations; namely London, Singapore, Malaysia, and India in the past few years.
I advise you to read this Blog post on SriLankan Airlines Economy Class carefully before you purchase a ticket.
Believe me! this is not a biased review of SriLankan airlines even though I am a Sri Lankan.
SriLankan airlines Airbus A320-200 Flying from Colombo to Singapore. I took this photo prior to boarding the plane
SriLankan Airlines Airbus A320-200
SriLankan airlines fleet of Airbuses at the Bandaranaike International Airport – Sri Lanka
Srilankan Airlines Seat Review & Leg Space/Gap
The Srilankan airlines economy class seats are similar to those seen on Qatar Airway or Singapore Airlines and have good leg space /gap between seats.
According to my experience, SriLankan airlines economy class leg space/gap is quite good even though I did not find flip-up footrests in this Airbus A320-200 (320) V1 aircraft, but you do find flip-up footrests in long haul flights to London or other destinations according to some of the recent blog post on the web.
Flip-up footrests is a very rear facility, which was not available on this flight A320 airbus.
SriLankan airlines, Leg Space/Gap between seats in Economy class of Airbus A320-200
The seats aren’t the most attractive that I’ve seen, but they are relatively comfortable and were sufficiently wide.
Due to a leather padding on top of the entire seat, it does not look very attractive but it serves the purpose.
Srilankan Airlines, economy class seat arrangement 3-3: Airbus A320-200
The seats are organized in a 3-3 configuration. Each one is 18 inches (45 centimeters) wide with a pitch of 32 inches (81 centimeters). This Airbus A320-200 (320) V1 could accommodate 121 economy class passengers and 12 business class passengers.
You would be able to get more details about the entire seat plan configuration from https://www.seatguru.com.
According to my experience, the common and most obvious issue that you face is that, if you board the plane late, you would find someone already occupying your seat. Have you had this experience recently?
I found this experience every time when I travel, whether it is in Asia, Europe, or Latin America.
The cabin crew has to intervene to solve this issue. It is not fair to look down on the airline or cabin crew when an issue of this nature is faced. These are tough issues to be dealt with, therefore cabin crew act very firmly and professionally. These issues occur in mostly all airlines.
Confirm your seat number with a cabin crew before you place your luggage, in order to avoid a hassle-free journey.
Make sure, you obtain a Cabin luggage space allocated for you above your seat. It is your right and you can demand a space if you do not get it.
Do not keep your hand-carry bag behind you, it should be kept in front of you so that you could monitor it.
if you are an economy class passenger, you are entitled to a generous 30-Kg baggage allowance, and more if you’re a Gold or Platinum Oneworld member.
The carry-on bag or Laptop bag limit is 7 kilograms.
You may need to pay extra if you need to carry more weight in your carry-on bag.
SriLankan Airlines, economy class seat arrangement, and in-flight cabin bags placement space. Make sure you place your luggage in the allocated luggage space above your seat
Modern In-Flight entertainment System (Wi-Fi)-SriLankan Airlines Economy Class
When you compare with the rest of the airlines, seat-back entertainment touchscreens are rather small, and selecting a movie would take great effort on the touchscreen.
However even in other airlines, although the touchscreen is bigger it is not all that user friendly.
I seldom or never watch movies on a flight as I prefer to read a book or do some work on my laptop but there is gate-to-gate viewing and the movie selection is surprisingly current and latest.
I checked with the Cabin crew about the movies and they said that there were 59 movies plus TV series, games, playlists, and BBC news bulletins.
SriLankan airline economy class in-flight entertainment system. On your left is the USB cable where you can charge your electronic devices.
SriLankan airline economy class Airbus A320-200 Entertainment system
If you do not like the movies, you could read the in-flight magazine, Serendib, which is mostly in English (there are two articles in Sinhala and Tamil as well). There is good resources about Sri Lanka if you wish to acquire the information provided.
One of the best things is that there is a place to plug your USB cable so that you can charge your mobile or any devices which can be plugged into the USB slot.
I did not find this option when I traveled to Colombo from Doha on Qatar Airways Economy class 🙂
There’s Wi-Fi connectivity, from $US4 for 20 minutes, on some SriLankan airline flights but not on this flight.
The in-flight Wi-Fi facility is available for purchase on the new A330-300 and A320/321 Neo fleet, therefore, please contact the Cabin crew for more information
Food Menu of SriLankan Airlines Economy Class – Food and Drink
Menu cards were presented soon after takeoff, which was definitely a personalized touch of hospitality. Menu cards are simple and quite similar to that of Qatar’s airway menu cards.
First, the cabin crew serves drinks followed by the meal which was quite a delight. Drink selections go beyond Orange or Apple juice.
They serve spirits like Cognac, Whisky, and Rum, if you prefer wine, you can select Red or White or you can request for international brands of Beer.
I suggest that you select a Lion Beer if you have not tried it before. It is one of the best brands in Sri Lanka and I highly recommend it.
One thing to remember is that, if you fly in the morning, and served breakfast, you will not be served any of Spirits or Wine but just juices and sodas.
I did not get these when I was flying from Colombo to Singapore in the wee hours of the morning, but I was delighted with all these when I fly back to Colombo from Singapore at night.
Of course, I do not consume hard liquor therefore I had a glass of red wine and it was excellent.
Please note that in-flight drinking is a kind of social drinking, therefore do not think that you are in a Pub or Bar and order liquor without a limit.
For breakfast, on my way to Singapore, I selected Cheese Omelette with Herbal Cream Sauce. It came with a Chicken sausage and Zucchini fritters.
SriLankan airlines economy class Colombo to Singapore Breakfast meal : Cheese Omelette with Herbal Cream Sauce
Closeup photo of SriLankan airlines economy class: From Colombo to Singapore, Breakfast meal
Menus that were given to me from Srilankan airline
I ate the Omelette and some of the Zucchini Fritters!
It was a good meal but my father did not enjoy it, as he was expecting a meal comprising of rice. He is 77 years old and his taste buds are different than ours.
On my way back to Sri Lanka, I selected Marinated Chicken with wok-fried vegetables. Jasmine Egg fried Rice was good.
I really enjoyed the dinner on SriLankan Airlines Economy Class.
SriLankan airline economy class: From Singapore to Colombo, Dinner meal. You can see my glass of wine, Marinated Chicken with wok-fried vegetable and Jasmine Egg fried Rice
Closeup photo of Srilankan airline Dinner meal, Marinated Chicken with wok-fried vegetables. Jasmine Egg fired Rice
Russian style mixed vegetable salad was good and it was fresh.
The croissant/bun was fresh and soft, and the yogurt was very fresh and tasty.
All meals were accompanied by a cup of freshly brewed Ceylon tea or coffee.
Meals Pre-order
I never pre-ordered my meal when I flew with SriLankan airlines. According to the official website, you can pre-order your meal but you have to pay for it. Please check this with the reservation. I always pre-order my meal when I fly with Qatar airway economy class but, never pay for it.
This is the link to pre-order your meal with SriLankan airlines: https://www.srilankan.com/en_uk/flying-with-us/meals
SriLankan Airline Cabin Crew and Service Review
As you make it to the airplane entrance door, you are greeted with true Sri Lankan hospitality.
Usually, there are two flight attendants who greet you with Ayubowan [English meaning of this is : “Have a long life”] and they place their hands together in a prayer-like manner close to their hearts.
That means welcome on board in Sri Lankan culture and style.
A SriLankan airline crew member with a decade long service record beautifully comments – “Do you know Sir what makes us unique? The smile 🙂
Sri Lankans are naturally born with a smile”. If you come to Sri Lanka, just walk on the street and see how many people smile with you if you also carry a positive outlook.
The warmth and smile of these excellent, well-trained crew truly promise to take care of you as if ‘YOU are their WORLD’.
Special note, sometime, if you are a Sri Lankan national, you may not get the same warmness from the cabin crew due to many reasons.
My experience says, when Sri Lankan board our national airline, we expect cabin crew to serve us like kings and queens hence Sri Lankan does not perceive warmness due to unreasonable expectations.
I had the same feeling but if you remove your ego and compare the service with the other airlines, you would really feel how excellent they are.
All SriLankan Airlines Economy Class female cabin crew dress the iconic Osariya or Kandyan saree (a form of traditional three-piece Sri Lankan saree with a frill at the waist) as uniform – which has an oriental charm, yet is very distinctively modern and contemporary.
Singapore Airlines crew uniform is the best according to my experience and perception but the SriLankan crew uniform is very attractive and charming.
Hats off for the crew service of SriLankan Airlines Economy Class!
Toilets and its Facilities
The lavatories were very clean and also mouthwash was offered, as well as a moisturizer.
Verdict – Strongly Recommended
Please note that all thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely mines. All information is provided on an as-is basis and every part of it belongs to me.
I have experienced more luxuries, better gadgets, and amenities in other airlines than the Srilankan airline economy class.
However, when it comes to hospitality and Food, SriLankan airlines economy class can match any top carrier with its warm hospitality with Smile.
I truly believe that, Whether you fly business or economy class, the staff make sure your journey is comfortable and memorable.
SriLankan airline slid from 81st to 95th place in this year’s Skytrax ranking, the world’s largest annual passenger satisfaction survey of the world’s top 100 airlines in 2018, but that doesn’t show in the passenger experience at all.
I’d be more than happy to fly with SriLankan Airlines again anytime not because I am a Sri Lankan but because of the in-flight service, food and entertainment is par with any airlines in the world
How to Manage Your booking Online with Srilankan Airlines
SriLankan Airlines has an excellent online booking website. Passengers could do everything relevant to their flight, from buying tickets, booking seats, order specific meals, online check-in, check airline miles, and points.
My personal advice is to book your seat and meal preference online well in advance before flying.
SriLankan airline’s online system is extremely reliable and secure. Most of the time, you may find offers of discounted tickets online and I had the experience of one such discounted ticket offer when I purchased a ticket to London in 2016. Therefore make sure to check the online prices before exploring any other alternative.
Check List to follow before Purchase any Airline Ticket
There are a few things that you need to check if you want to be a frequency flyer of SriLankan airline or any other airlines
- Safety measures and compliance of the airlines. To get a better idea read a few recent articles posted on the web.
- Check your route and determined the aircraft that been assigned to that route, then check whether that aircraft is very old or the latest.
- Check the fleet of aircraft of that airline. Some airlines have old aircraft, as old as 20 years :-). do not fly with these airlines. The most latest aircraft is assigned for the most popular route, for example, if you fly from Doha to Paris, you would be able to fly in an Airbus 380 but if you fly from Srilanka to India or vice versa, you may get a different aircraft.
- Read some good blog post reviews about the airline or Youtube reviews of popular channels
- You get more discount when you purchase online but check with the local official airline about the price before you purchase as Local airline office has discounted prices more than what online offers. I often get at-least USD 100 discount when I purchase a ticket on Qatar Airways from the local Qatar Airways office than online.
SriLankan airline Airbus Fleet at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA)
Closeup Photo of SriLankan airlines Airbus Fleet at Bandaranaike International Airport ( BIA)
SriLankan Airlines Awards 2017 & 2018
2017
Best Full-Service Airline in Central and South Asia- Future Travel Experience Awards 2017
Innovation in Commercial Airline Cabins- Inflight Asia Pacific Awards 2017
Gold Award MICE Promotions – Golden City Gates Awards, ITB Berlin 2017
Asia’s Leading Airline to the Indian Ocean- World Travel Awards 2017
Leading Cultural Airline in Asia – World Travel Awards 2017
Best Airline in South Asia – Top Travel Awards 2017
APEX Award – 4-star rating in the Major Regional Airline category – 2017
Best Business Class Cellar – Highly Commended award – 2017
Best Business Class Sparkling – Highly commended award – 2017
World’s Leading Airline to the Indian Ocean-World Travel Awards 2017
2018
First Star Campaign Category- Golden City Gate Awards, ITB Berlin 2018
Second Star Campaign Category-Golden City Gate Awards, ITB Berlin 2018
Second Star TV/Cinema spot Category- Golden City Gate Awards, ITB Berlin 2018
