HAMBANTOTA (Sri Lanka): On June1, Sri Lankan Airlines, the country's national carrier will complete one month since its first flight flew out of Colombo on May 1 under the "oneworld" banner.

For "SriLankan" which traces its origin back to 1947 the new beginning as part of the "oneworld global airline alliance" comes with the promise of a world class experience when tourist season picks up from July and peaks towards the end of the year.

The blue waters, golden beaches, coconut tree clad landscapes and the endearing hospitality high on sea food makes Sri Lanka a popular destination. As part of its tourism strategy Sri lanka has set a target of 2.5 million tourists by 2016.

The entry of "SriLankan Airlines" in the global alliance makes it the first carrier to be part of "oneworld" in the Indian subcontinent and is yet another sign of how fast the small island country is trying to make its presence felt on the international platform.

The airline's addition to the alliance brings two new destinations on to the network- India's Tiruchirapalli and the picturesque Hambantota in Sri Lanka along with its Colombo base as a new oneworld hub.

With "SriLankan", the one world alliance launched 15 years ago now serves 1000 airports in 150 countries with 14250 daily departures; serving more than 500 million passengers a year on a combined fleet with other alliance partners of about 3,300 aircrafts.

Some of the other alliance partners include Asia Pacific's cathay pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Australia's Qantas, British Airways, Finnair, Qatar airways and American airlines among others.

With an extensive schedule serving southern India and as the leading international airline serving the Maldives, SriLankan now also strengthens oneworld's presence throughout South Asia, one of the world's fastest growing regions for air travel demand.


Srilankan Airlines chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe shares the goals that his team seeks to achieve. "With the world airline industry ncreasignly focused on alliances, joining "oneworld" is one of the most significant developments to date for SriLankan Airlines. The alliance has put Srilankan more firmly on the global aviation map. It will vastly improve Sri Lanka's connectivity with the rest of the world, which is vital for our country's trade and tourism."

When Sri Lankan entry in "oneworld" alliance was announced on April 30, the government of the island nation chose to showcase before the worlds its brand new Mattala Rajapaksa International airport in Hambantota. This airport with its world class infrastructure is awaiting a deluge of tourists from this year.

Through this new airport Sri Lanka seeks to encourage tourists to visit Sri lanka's south and East coasts and Hambantota sea port. The ongoing construction work at the airport shows the government plans to cater to more flights in the future.

Hambantota District lies in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Referred to as an underdeveloped area at one point of time it was hit hard by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Now the district is witnessing a lot of development works and major development projects. The Mattala international airport is one of the key projects that forms part of the government's plan to transform Hambantota into the second major urban hub of Sri Lanka, away from Colombo.

Climatically speaking, travel reviewers suggest the best seasons in Sri Lanka are from December to March for the west coast, the south coast and the Hill Country, and from April to September for the ancient cities region and the east coast. December through March are also the months when most foreign tourists visit the island.

Sri Lanka's climate means that it is always the 'right' beach season somewhere on the coast. The weather doesn't follow strict rules, though - it often seems to be raining where it should be sunny, and sunny where it should be raining. Rainfall tends to be emphatic - streets can become flooded in what seems like only minutes.