Srilankan Airlines Flies Bangkok-beijing Route

[george]

Tapping traffic on Bangkok-Beijing route

BANGKOK: -- Excellent service awaits passengers flying the A340 on Bangkok-Beijing route.

SriLankan Airlines is confident that the introductory three-month offer for its recently launched tri-weekly flights on the Bangkok-Beijing route will appeal to business and leisure travellers.

Hussain Jayah, its country manager for Thailand, Vietnam and Burma said the introductory offer, priced at 7,500 baht either way, is being marketed by travel agents in Thailand who specialise in organising holiday tours to China.

An estimated 285,000 Thais travel to China annually, while 780,000 Chinese visit Thailand which makes the route extremely lucrative. Flights on the Bangkok-Beijing route were inaugurated June 15. Since then the airline has been flying there on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with flights departing Bangkok at 7:45am and arriving in Beijing at 1:20pm, while on the return leg they leave the Chinese capital at 2:20pm and arrive in Bangkok at 6:50pm. The flights to Beijing originate in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. The airline is using Airbus 330 and 340 on the route.

It marks the first time for Sri Lanka's national carrier to fly to a Chinese city. The Colombo-Bangkok-Beijing connection should facilitate tourist traffic between the three capitals. SriLankan Airlines also expects to tap into the traffic generated by its connections to 10 Indian cities.

Since the inaugural flight on June 15, the response has been promising, said Mr Jayah, as the airline has seen a steady rise in passenger traffic either way, and particularly to the high-end tourist destination of the Maldives.

Asked about the prospect of increasing flight frequency on Bangkok-Beijing route from three times a week to a daily basis, Mr Jayah said that would depend on demand, and more importantly on the availability of aircraft as SriLankan Airlines already serves 49 destinations in 27 countries.

Elaborating on the introductory offer, Mr Jayah said there were two tour packages that have proved particularly popular among visitors. The first is a four-day/three-night package costing 14,500 baht per person and includes meals, transportation, four-star accommodation (twin-sharing) and a tour of Tiananmen Square, the Summer Place, the Temple of Heaven, the Shuiguan Great Wall, the Ming Tomb, Wangfujing and shopping at Russian Street.

The second is a five-day/four-night package priced at 16,500 baht per person and includes all that is mentioned above plus a visit to Baita Lama Temple, the Underwater World and the Forbidden City.

Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines now also connects Bangkok and Colombo with daily flights.

One of the most popular destinations in Sri Lanka for Thai Buddhists is Kandy, the highlight being Dalada Maligawa, where the Sacred Tooth of Lord Buddha is enshrined. There are many shrines and temples in and around Kandy, where visitors can admire rare paintings, frescoes, wood and stone carvings.

Mr Jayah invited Thai tourists to visit Sri Lanka during the annual Esala Perahera festival when a replica of the casket holding the relic is taken out in a procession accompanied by exotically costumed drummers, dancers and about 100 elephants. This glittering festival, held in August, runs for 10 days.

Kandy is a beautiful hill station boasting of rivers, lakes, cascading waterfalls and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

The city is also promoting itself as a golf destination. From October 12 to15, it will play host to the SriLankan Airlines International Golf Classic which will tee off at the Victoria Golf Club. For more details about the tournament visit srilankangolf.com.

For information on Bangkok-Colombo travel packages, visit www.srilankan-holidays.net

--Bangkok Post 2005-07-07