New Country, New City, New Premium Cabin

I am certainly doing everything that I like for the Big 30! It does seem like all the stars line up for this! I will be flying with SriLankan Airlines for the very first time. I was actually supposed to fly on Singapore Airlines after deciding to go to Sri Lanka for my birthday trip. But after taking too long to deliberate, the ticket was sold out. I was so close to pulling the trigger for a commercial ticket on Jetstar before redeeming this. This is thankfully given the chaos with Jetstar. I chanced upon the Avios sale and even availability for SIN – CMB tickets on Qatar. I didn’t want to wait for my miles to come in from Citi and ended up buying them at a 60% bonus. That led to a ticket costing me around 473 SGD, including the cost of the miles and taxes. Pricing is pretty good compared to Singapore Airlines. They cost 22,000 Avios for this route. It ended up being a great way to kick-start the trip by trying out a new premium cabin and adding it to my list. It will also allow me to visit all the nice Oneworld Lounges in Changi. Let’s see how it is! 

Checking In

While Srilanka Airlines offers online check-in on their website, it is as good as useless since they do not provide an e-boarding pass. You will still have to stop by the airport to collect them. They also do not do any early check-in at the Jewel facility. Check-in is strictly three hours before your flight departure, so you can check in at the airport. SriLanka uses Terminal three and check-in row number two. For vehicle arrivals, drop off at door one or door two for closer access. It is rather weird for Srilanka to be in T3 since the bulk of Oneworld is over in T1. They are also being sly by offering access to a contract lounge.

I got to the airport at about 4.45pm. I wanted to check in once the counters open to maximise my time at the airport. I got to run some errands and then spare more time for the Oneworld Lounges. There are priority lines for business class and status holders. I was immediately helped by a friendly staff member. Sadly, there is a last-minute equipment change, and we got one of the older business class seats on their A330-200 with a 2-2-2 configuration. Ouch! I love the vibrant red colour of the boarding pass there. 

Boarding Process

Boarding is assigned for 7pm. I really hope that it is a delay. I need more time for the amazing oneworld lounges here. I will not be covering them this time around. You can find my previous review of the Qatar, Qantas, and BA lounges over here. We got gate B1, one of the cluster gates, where they have a mini centralised security system. It took quite some time for it. I really wish that they had a priority line. 

Boarding in reality only started at 7.45pm with those needing assistance and then business class/status holders. We were warmly welcomed by the friendly crew and were then ushered over to our seats. It is very refreshing to see this business class cabin, even though it is one that is older. It is always nice to try new stuff. The crew were absolutely a gem and very friendly. I love their vibrant uniform, which they wear in their traditional costumes. Similar to Singapore Airlines, the colour differentiates the crew. The in-flight manager or purser came by to personally welcome us and extend a very warm welcome. This is a very nice touch. Something non-existent even on SQ. 

On the seats, you can already find a plush pillow. This is actually pretty nice. There are also blankets left on the seats and some extra amenities such as shades, slippers and a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. Soon, the crew came by to offer welcome drinks. There was a choice of water and some juices. They do not offer champagne on the ground. The crew promised to be on one later after takeoff. Hot towels were also offered. While on the ground, the crew also presented the menu and took meal orders. 

Business class today was pretty light, with only 7 of us in total. We were well taken care of by the crew. The door closed at around 8.10pm, and we pushed back shortly. After a very long taxi ride on the ground, we lifted off at 8.30pm.

SriLankan Airlines Business Class Review

These are their older generation seats. The business class is in a 2-2-2 configuration with a total of 18 seats in 3 rows. There are 6 seats in each row. The best seats will be in the first row with extra space. While these are very dated and have little privacy, the space is awesomely generous and wide. It is actually very good if you are travelling with a partner. I certainly won’t go for the window seats if I am travelling solo. Crossing over someone for the bathroom is a no-no in premium cabins. 

The seats were pretty plush and comfortable. Left on the seats are some blankets and pillows. The pillows were really high-quality and comfortable. The headrest can also be adjusted. The same goes for the armrest, which can be put fully down if you want to convert it into a fully flat bed surface. 

In the middle of both seats, you can find an upholder as well as a very wide armrest. The seat controls are of the older era, but they are intuitive enough. I love that they had some preset modes and individual controls. Somehow, the seat becomes very high when you are reclining. They also make a lot of noise when doing so. Clearly, these should be gone asap. 

The table comes up from the armrest in the middle. It is a very wide surface for dining or working. 

There are several storage spaces in the seat here. Right in front of you, there is a bottle holder. There are also some compartments where you can find some amenities. This includes an eye shade, slippers and socks.  There is also a noise-cancelling headphone that was pretty comfortable. 

Power outlets are in the middle.

The leg space is super generous, which you can see in any modern business class seat. You can fully stretch out. It was a struggle to even reach the ottoman in front of me when your seat is fully upright. It forms part of the bed when fully flat.

The seat also comes with a television right in front of you. The size is a little bit smaller on the site, but it works pretty well. The IFE does come with a pretty good number of movies and TV choices that should fit your requirements well for this short flight. No wifi is available on this flight.  

The seats were definitely showing their age. Some aspects of them are dropping here and there. Even the headphone jack wasn’t working very well. 

The toilets are basic too, with Lora amenities. Extra amenities can be requested from the cabin crew. Do also note that they do not provide any amenity kit for this short sector. 

Meal Service

While on the ground, the crew presented us with the menu and took meal orders. It is quite a flimsy menu, but they still provide a great selection of 4 mains to choose from. The drink options are a little bare, though. You can check out the menu here. 

Service was very warm and good, perhaps even one of the better ones that I have encountered. They were very hospitable and genuine. The crew are also very proactive. Crew ratio is also very good since there are only 7 of us. If you need any assistance, they will immediately come over to assist you. What I also like about it is the personal touch when they come over to introduce themselves. This is something that a lot of top-tier airlines do not provide. Service started immediately upon levelling off. They provide after take-off drinks of your choice and some nuts. I got some champagne; they were pouring a rather basic Joseph Perrier, refills were offered, and they were very proactive. I just wish that the champagne were kept a little more chilled. I do love the seat side pours. 

This was then followed by the proper meal service. Everything was served via a tray, given the short duration. We started with the appetisers, which were a Brinjal Salad. For my main, I went with the masala prawns. I figured that I got to try out something local from Sri Lanka, and it was so good. I love the flavours and mopped it all off. The meal was pretty good and way above my expectations. I really enjoyed the dish. It goes so well with the basmati rice. The desserts were unmemorable.

You can also check out the imperial chicken meal course. 

I ended the meal with some Sri Lankan Ceylon tea. We have about 3 hours to go after the meal. The crew came by to give out water bottles after the meal service. 

Conclusion

What a great way to kick-start the celebrations. It is so special and nice to try out a new airline on the way to visit a new country and city. While Lankan Airlines is definitely not on the top 10 list or what, I am still very keen to give them a try. It is sure novel to fly with them. It is a very good and comfortable flight. The service is very warm. I really appreciate the crew service and great catering. Those masala prawns are one of the best meals that I had on board. The presentation is simple but top-notch in terms of flavours. The seats are wide and spacious enough. It clearly belongs to the previous era. I would love to try out their flagship product on the 330 the next time. They certainly exceeded my expectations. I do wish that they could do early check-in and e-boarding pass in the future. To prepare for landing, they came around with another round of hot towels. I was shocked to get a 2-hour nap on board.