German travellers say SriLankan service is among finest in the sky

ACCOLADE: German travellers have voted SriLankan Airlines as among the finest in the sky for inflight service, close upon the heels of a similar accolade from British tourists.

An online poll by the respected German travel magazine Reise & Preise

(Travel & Price) ranked Sri Lanka’s National Carrier 5th globally. Singapore Airlines was placed first, followed by Cathay Pacific, Malaysian Airlines, and Thai Airways.

CEO of SriLankan said Peter Hill,: “It is indeed gratifying to receive such a vote of confidence from our passengers. We began winning global accolades several years ago, rubbing shoulders with the world’s best airlines, and we have strived to develop our service even further.”

A recent survey by the UK’s Daily Telegraph placed SriLankan Airlines among four runners-up for Best Asian Airline. Interestingly, British travellers also voted for the same top five airlines as Germans did.

Germany is one of the Sri Lanka’s traditional tourism markets. SriLankan is also one of the most preferred carriers of German tourists into the Maldives, where it is the largest operator among all airlines.

Large numbers of German travellers also use SriLankan’s one-stop service from Frankfurt to 10 cities in India, where it is the foreign carrier with the most number of frequencies with 95 flights per week.

Reise & Preise is a quarterly magazine with a circulation of 123,000 printed copies, and is also available online. The “Airline Hit Parade” poll, now in its 16th year, asked readers the basic question “Which airlines do a good job?” in several categories, including inflight service.

Readers judged all aspects of service on board such as attention, friendliness and co-operation of cabin crew, inflight shopping, and comforts. SriLankan has a global reputation for Warm and Friendly service, qualities that are inherent in the Indian Ocean island’s culture.

SriLankan Airlines has in recent years won such prestigious titles as World’s Best Airline in a survey of Economy Class passengers, World’s Friendliest Cabin Staff, first runner-up for World’s Best Cabin Staff, Best Overall Inflight Entertainment (small fleet), World’s Most Efficient Operator of Airbus A330s (small fleet), Best Airline in Central Asia for four consecutive years, and Best Airline in South Asia three times. Sri Lanka’s National Carrier now flies to 51 destinations in 28 countries across the globe.