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SriLankan Airlines has joined oneworld, which means its flights are now bookable with US Airways, American Airlines, and British Airways miles.
SriLankan award space is now searchable and bookable at ba.com. To book award space found on ba.com with American Airlines or US Airways miles, you’ll have to call those airlines’ award booking phone numbers.
SriLankan’s hub is Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city on the west coast of the island.
- Where does SriLanakan fly?
- How is SriLankan’s business class product?
- How is SriLankan award space?
- How can you book SriLankan award space?
- In what region on the US Airways and American Airlines chart is Sri Lanka?
- Is British Airways collecting fuel surcharges on SriLankan flights?
Where SriLankan Flies
SriLankan flies to all of these destinations.
European destinations are:
- London
- Paris
- Frankfurt
- Rome
Flights to other oneworld hubs are:
- Doha (Qatar)
- Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific)
- Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
- London (British Airways)
- Tokyo (Japan Airlines)
How is SriLankan’s Business Class Product
Most (if not all, it’s hard to get updated information) of SirLankan’s longhaul flights feature a top-notch fully flat Business Class product, featured in this passenger’s YouTube video: (The bed is at the 4:00 mark.)
I would happily fly this product on a longhaul.
How is SriLankan Award Space
On my award searches between Colombo and Europe, if I found economy award space, there were always three seats available.
If I found Business Class space, there was one seat available.
Frankfurt, London, and Paris were pretty easy to find economy award space several days a week. Rome had much less award space in economy.
Frankfurt had the most business class award space, but even then, only had space about once a week. The other three had less award space.
I also searched Colombo to other oneworld hubs.
To Tokyo, award availability was rare on the four-times-weekly flight, and I found no business class space.
To Kuala Lumpur, space was wide open on SriLankan and Malaysia Airlines flights.
To Hong Kong, award space on the SriLankan flight is rare, but space is wide open on the daily Cathay Pacific flight.
To Doha, award space is wide open in economy on the SriLankan flight and three-daily Qatar flights.
Every time I tried to book business class award space, I got this error message:
But US Airways, American Airlines, and British Airways phone reps had no trouble booking the award space.
How Can You Book SriLankan Flights with Miles?
SriLankan flights are now bookable with British Airways Avios, American Airlines miles, and US Airways miles.
With Avios
You can book SriLankan flights on ba.com.
British Airways IS collecting modest fuel surcharges on Sri Lankan flights depending on distance. European destinations have fuel surcharges of $152 each way, and Asian destinations have fuel surcharges as low as $30 each way. International taxes departing Colombo are $85.
British Airways is offering their fantastic new Cash & Avios awards I wrote about here on SriLankan economy awards. I call them “30%, 1.1 cent” awards because you only need 30% of the normal Avios and can pay for the rest of the ticket at a 1.1 cents-per-Avios rate.
The Cash & Avios option allows you to purchase Colombo to London one way in economy for only 7,500 Avios and $437 instead of the normal 25,000 Avios and $237.
The price of awards booked with Avios depends on the distance and cabin of each flight. The flights between Colombo and Europe are 25,000 Avios in economy and 50,000 in business each way.
Flights within Asia range from 4,500 Avios to some destinations in India like Chennai all the way to 25,000 Avios one way in economy to Tokyo.
With American Airlines
American Airlines and US Airways both have region-based award charts instead of British Airways’ distance-based one. (More on the differences and strengths of each.)
American Airlines places Sri Lanka in Asia 2 with the rest of Southeast Asia. I was a bit surprised to find it in Asia 2 instead of India’s region, but I think this is generally good news, since Asia 2 is cheaper to reach from America than the Indian Subcontinent on American’s chart.
One implication, though, is that you can only route to Sri Lanka via the Pacific and not via the Atlantic on an American Airlines award from the United States.
American Airlines charges 35k/55k/67.5k miles each way to Asia 2 from the United States in economy/business/first.
To book American Airlines awards with SriLankan segments, call 800-882-8880 and be prepared to pay the $25 phone booking fee per person. American Airlines does not collect fuel surcharges on SriLankan award segments.
With US Airways Miles
US Airways places Sri Lanka in the South & Central Asia region, which includes Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. As I explained the other day, US Airways agents will let you route to anywhere via pretty much anywhere else.
US Airways charges 80k/120k/160k roundtrip in economy/business/first to South & Central Asia. It is one of the few regions that is more expensive on US’s chart than on American’s.
By the way, right now, you can get 40,000 bonus US Airways miles after first purchase on the US Airways MasterCard.
To book a US Airways award with SriLankan segments, call 800-622-1015. There is no phone ticketing fee for US Airways awards that can’t be booked online. US Airways does not collect fuel surcharges on SriLankan award segments.
Recap
The oneworld alliance is growing rapidly, adding TAM, US Airways, and now SriLankan Airlines in the last few months.
SriLankan flies from SriLanka to destinations throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia with easy connections at other oneworld hubs.
Award space is very good in economy on many SriLankan routes, though I haven’t seen a single date/route with more than one business class seat on what looks like a solid, flat-bed product.
SriLankan award segments are searchable at ba.com and bookable with American Airlines, US Airways, and British Airways miles. (British Airways is collecting modest fuel surcharges on SriLankan flights.)
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AA award can’t route via Altantic. It’s such a crappy rule. There’s direct flight between IAD and CMB on Sri Lankan Airline. I was hoping to book an IAD-CMB-Mle award when Sri Lanka joins one world.
There is no IAD-CMB flight that I am aware of or that I can find by searching wikipedia or kayak. If there were, you could fly it as one award because direct flights are always allowed.
Yes, just double checked. Have to stop at Abu Dhabi.
You can do it, but it will price as two awards, which is way more expensive. It’s a dumb policy I wish AA would change.
where can i see best the availability on sri lankan
ba.com does not show all award space
especially from combinations like fra-cmb-bkk
Search ba.com one segment at a time.