Find cheap SriLankan Airlines flights

The national carrier of Sri Lanka is a member of the Oneworld alliance and has a network that connects travellers across Asia and Australia. While it has suffered financial problems in recent years, the airline still offers extremely hospitable inflight service and a comfortable inflight product.

What is holding the airline back is its outdated hub airport that offers only average facilities for both departing and transit passengers. Still, SriLankan Airlines carries a significant amount of passenger traffic to points in and around the Middle East, Indian subcontinent and beyond. If you find yourself travelling this small, but mighty, airline, here’s how to make the most of your trip.

Navigating its hub airport in Colombo

The capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, and Bandaranaike International Airport, serve as the airline’s primary hub. The airport dates back to the late 1960s, and its poor layout has made the airport less attractive for connections when compared to others in the region.

A new terminal is expected to open in 2025, and it will give the hub a new lease on life making transfers a more pleasant experience. Until then, travellers undergo security control at each gate, which requires them to be at the gate much earlier than normal and to leave behind bottles of water and other liquids they may be carrying for the flight.

The new terminal will also have one gate accessible for the A380, which provides a big threat to SriLankan Airlines, an airline that already carries a lot of traffic to the Middle East. This new gate will allow competitors, like Emirates or Etihad, to enter the market with their biggest aircraft.

For now, flights depart from a mix of jet bridges and bus gates. In between flights, passengers can enjoy the airport’s shops, lounges and duty-free areas. There is also an incredibly cheap transit hotel for those with long connections, but I have slept on the lounge sofas overnight many times without problem.

Sri Lankan Airlines lounges

The airport has two lounges for the airline, and these are in addition to several other airport-operated facilities. The Serendib Lounge is Sri Lankan’s main lounge, and it is shockingly disappointing for an airline’s flagship facility.

While the staff tries their best, and the hot buffet is tasty, the quality of the furnishings is poor. I choose this lounge because it is easier to find than the other airline lounges and has some natural light.

The Serenediva Lounge is the smallest of the airline’s two lounge facilities and is truly compact. You will be dodging other people’s suitcases as you search for a seat. It has no windows or natural light, but at least has a few choices for hot food and refreshments.

When transiting Colombo, I usually opt for one of the Priority Pass-accessible lounges because they have more light and food choices. But, their furnishings are equally deplorable. Let’s hope all of this changes when the new terminal opens.

The airline’s network

The Oneworld alliance was interested in bringing SriLankan into its fold because of its geographic position to bridge the gap between the Middle East and Asia, a region where the airline group needed more coverage. SriLankan’s network does that although Qatar Airways and new-member Oman Air complement it.

SriLankan has a limited long-haul network of flights to only London, Paris and Frankfurt in Europe as well as several cities in northeast Asia (like Tokyo) and Oceania (like Melbourne and Sydney). The rest of its network is centred around regional routes within a few hours from its hub.

These include cities around the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East like Abu Dhabi, Chennai, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Karachi, Kathmandu, Kuwait City, Mumbai and Riyadh. It also flies a lot to southeast Asia serving Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore among many others.

Many of SriLankan’s flights operate as codeshares for its other Oneworld partners, and this gives it greater access to more global passengers to feed into its network. Passengers travelling around the region can make shorter connections using SriLankan than having to backtrack to other Oneworld hubs to make a connection.

A small fleet for SriLankan Airlines

SriLankan Airlines has a small fleet of less than two dozen Airbus A320, A321 and A330 aircraft that it uses around its route network. The newest planes are the A320 and A321neo aircraft, which have entertainment screens at every seat. All of the widebody A330s have lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 layout in the business class cabin and a 2-4-2 layout in economy class.

These, too, have entertainment screens at every seat; only the airline’s oldest planes lack these. The A321neos also have onboard Wi-Fi for a fee.

This generous seating configuration makes its aircraft particularly comfortable in all cabins because it means everyone in economy class is only one seat away from the aisle. Business class passengers always have direct aisle access. On narrowbody planes, it is 2-2 up front and 3-3 in the back.

The airline used to offer a water taxi service featuring a pair of float planes to smaller cities in Sri Lanka, but these are no longer in operation. You will see SriLankan’s logo quite frequently at the airport in Male, Maldives, which is just south of Sri Lanka. It offers several daily flights to the island paradise.

Some helpful hints when flying SriLankan

There are a few pointers that can save money, time and stress when flying the national airline of Sri Lanka.

Take advantage of its location and the competition

One of my favourite tips when telling travellers about the Maldives is pointing out SriLankan’s frequent flights to the destination. Often, if you are looking to redeem miles to get to the Maldives, it can be tough to find award seats. But, when you look for a redemption to Colombo, it can be easier to use miles for a free ticket.

Once you reach Colombo, you can purchase one of the many cheap tickets from there for the one-hour hop to the Maldives. Not only does SriLankan ply the route, but it also competes with numerous other airlines that fly fifth-freedom flights where they can sell tickets between two international points.

These include carriers like China Eastern, Gulf Air and Emirates, all of which fly between Colombo and Male, often undercutting the price of tickets charged by the SriLankan national carrier. It’s a great way to save cash and frequent flyer miles.

Just remember that you will need to save time between flights because many airlines will not send checked bags onward if it is a different ticket. You may have to go to baggage claim to retrieve them and recheck them for your new flight.

Oneworld redemptions are not always easy to find

Do not rely on Oneworld partners to make frequent flyer redemptions on all carriers very obvious when searching online. I suggest calling the airline where you have your miles to have an airline agent search specifically for flights on SriLankan if it fits your travel needs.

For example, I know that American’s website will not always show all the available frequent flyer seats on SriLankan, but British Airways’ website might. It is best to call your main airline and have them check flight by flight. I have often uncovered some redemptions that were not at first obvious this way by calling American where I have most of my miles.

Bid for an upgrade

If you end up buying a cheap ticket on SriLankan in economy, consider its bid-for-upgrade program. On the airline’s website, you can name your price for how much you are willing to spend to upgrade to business class. The website will give you a minimum price as a guide, and it will even suggest when your bid is too low.

Out of the dozen flights I have taken on SriLankan, very few of them have been full. This means that even a low-ball bid may result in an upgrade, but it depends on your level of risk.

I typically bid just a little above the lowest option and have only missed it once. This is a great way to sit up front at a bargain price even when you cannot find a mileage redemption. If you don’t want to pay for an upgrade, you can always pay extra for an extra legroom seat in economy class.

Inflight service

SriLankan hospitality is excellent, and the majority of my flights have had extremely friendly crews. But, the airline does cater to a largely regional clientele. If you enjoy the region’s food, you’re in luck, but if you want to guarantee a particular option (like vegetarian or low-sodium), I recommend ordering a special meal in advance.

For a country famous for its tea, I appreciate the wide selection available in business class. My favourite is the Ceylon Earl Grey, and the presentation is elegant with the tea served from a small pot on a silver tray left at your seat. Small details like that make a big impression.