SriLankan Airlines partners with Virgin Australia
SriLankan
Airlines
has
entered
into
a
first-ever
interline
partnership
with
Virgin
Australia
that
will
strengthen
the
airline’s
network
in
Australia
and
offer
customers
extensive
connections
across
the
land
down
under
and
beyond.
The
new
partnership
reaffirms
SriLankan’s
commitment
to
Australia
and
will
present
customers
the
convenience
of
adding
select
Virgin
Australia
domestic
or
international
connections
to
their
SriLankan
Airlines
booking
and
managing
a
multi-airline
itinerary
under
a
single
ticket.
Dimuthu
Tennakoon,
Head
of
Worldwide
Sales
&
Distribution
of
SriLankan
Airlines
commented
on
the
partnership
by
stating,
“Australia
has
one
of
the
largest
Sri
Lankan
diasporic
communities,
which
makes
our
Australian
routes
incredibly
popular
all
year
around
and
particularly
with
people
travelling
to
visit
friends
and
relatives
or
in
pursuit
of
higher
education.
This
partnership
will
help
us
make
further
inroads
in
the
Australian
market
through
improved
connectivity
and
a
range
of
other
benefits
for
our
valued
customers.”
SriLankan
Airlines
currently
operates
daily
from
Colombo
to
Melbourne
and
from
Colombo
to
Sydney
on
a
thrice-weekly
basis.
The
partnership
will
enable
passengers
flying
SriLankan
to
Melbourne
or
Sydney
to
connect
to
the
Australian
cities
of
Adelaide,
Brisbane,
Canberra,
Cairns,
Darwin,
Hobart,
Hamilton
Island,
Launceston,
Gold
Coast
and
Perth
with
Virgin
Australia.
Passengers
will
also
have
the
option
of
flying
beyond
Australia
to
New
Zealand,
Samoa
and
Fiji.
It
is
a
win
for
Sri
Lankan
and
Indian
Australians
living
in
these
cities
too
as
they
can
now
fly
out
from
their
local
city
to
Sri
Lanka
or
India
with
a
single
SriLankan
Airlines’
booking.
What’s
more,
passengers
can
enjoy
a
seamless
journey
with
a
single
check-in,
including
for
baggage,
at
the
departure
airport
and
beat
transit
check-in
queues.
The
introduction
of
domestic
and
international
interline
flights
options
with
Virgin
Australia
would
improve
the
accessibility
to
Sri
Lanka
for
Australian
outbound
tourists
as
well.
An
important
customer
group
for
SriLankan,
the
partnership
will
unquestionably
help
develop
Australian
leisure
travel
to
Sri
Lanka.
It
will
also
provide
easy
connections
for
SriLankan
Airlines’
passengers
flying
to
Australia
via
Colombo
from
the
Maldives,
India,
Nepal,
Pakistan
and
Bangladesh.
Since
relaunching
flights
to
Melbourne
in
October
2017
and
Sydney
in
June
2020,
close
to
a
million
passengers
have
travelled
with
SriLankan
Airlines
to
Australia.
The
new
partnership
will
enhance
SriLankan
Airlines’
service
to
Australia
as
the
airline
prepares
to
cruise
to
new
altitudes
above
the
land
down
under.
