SriLankan Airlines said this week it is discontinuing its policy of ‘involuntary’ upgrading Economy Class passengers to Business Class. “We have decided that Business Class seats will be provided only to passengers with fully paid Business Class tickets and members of our customer loyalty programme FlySmiLes who qualify for upgrading. All our country managers and airport managers have been instructed to follow this policy,” Nishantha Wickremasinghe, Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, said in an airline statement.
In a bid to increase revenue from the front end (Business Class) of the aircraft, Mr Wickremasinghe said, “While we are also adding value to our Economy Class cabins, the demand for Business Class will mean that some of the privileges enjoyed by Economy Class passengers in terms of involuntary upgrading will be suspended.”
He said Sri Lanka is being positioned as a destination of choice among global tourists and SriLankan Airlines is attracting many more passengers who prefer to pay the premium rate for the luxury of Business Class. “We are therefore increasing our focus on Business Class to provide our passengers with the best value for money.”
The airline is transforming and enlarging the Business Class cabins in its A330 and A340 wide-body aircraft. The upgrading of comforts includes the installation of Flat Bed Seating and the most sophisticated Audio-Video-On-Demand (AVOD) entertainment systems. By the end of 2011, each A330 will have 18 Business Class seats, and each A340 will have 24. |
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