SriLankan Airlines, the National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a
member of the oneworld alliance, has welcomed aboard the global media
icon Richard Quest of CNN during his journey from London to Colombo recently.
He also spent many memorable moments at the Airlines Headquarters
subsequently, exploring the operational areas and interacting with staff, thus
gathering fascinating facets of the SriLankan story for his much coveted CNN
Business Traveller programme which will be premiered on January 8, 2020 at
1230 pm Eastern Time Zone.
During his journey from London to Colombo, Mr. Quest was interacting
with the passengers with much enthusiasm and shared experiences with the cabin
crew and the pilots. He was fascinated by the various aspects of the Airlines
inflight service, which included serving the trademark Ceylon tea.
Sharing his thoughts on the onboard experience, Mr. Quest
said, "The service onboard was excellent. From the choice of meals to juices it
was a very good experience. The Aircraft with 1-2-1 configuration is quite
spacious. I travel a lot and the reverse herringbone formation in that
particular configuration provides you ample legroom which is ideal for a long
journey."
Commending the services of the cabin crew, he added, "What
really comes out is the pride of the crew. They are proud to wear the SriLankan
uniform. They are proud of the job that they do, which is not only about
serving the Airline but also the country. They all could all be working for
gulf carriers and be earning more money, but they choose to work for the
National Carrier."
The operating crew of the flight included a female first
officer and Mr. Quest complemented the Airline for its stance as an equal
opportunity employer. "There was a female first officer onboard, which really
enforced that the Airline takes gender equality seriously. "
His visit to the Airline Centre began with an interview of
SriLankan Airlines CEO, Mr. Vipula Gunatilleka, followed by a session at the
Airlines Simulator Centre, where he was symbolically presented with wings
after a successful simulator ride, much to the admiration of the instructors.
This was followed by a visit to SriLankan Aviation College, the training arm of
the Airline, where he visited several classrooms in progress and shared his
thoughts with the students and instructors.
Mr. Quest visited the Airlines flight kitchen at SriLankan
Catering which caters to all airlines that operate out of BIA with a production
capacity of over 21, 000 meals a day. He was treated to a spread of Sri Lankan
inspired delicacies and given a tour of the flight kitchen. At the end of the tour
at Catering, he was presented with a memento, a 3D printed replica of a CFM
56-5C engine.
The afternoon session saw him taking part in a crew safety
drill at the slider and the pool, followed by the days last segment at the
Aircraft Hangar, which turned out to be his personal favourite.
The purpose of Mr. Quests visit to Sri Lanka to see the
recovery efforts of Sri Lanka post Easter.
Sharing his plans to explore Sri Lanka during his stay, Mr.
Quest revealed that he would like to go to the South Coast, which he
experienced very briefly during his previous visit.
A great fan of seafood, he was also fascinated by the
countrys culinary experience, even though he confessed that chilli is not his
most favourite spice.
"From fine dining restaurants that serve excellent seafood
to the street sellers in the Galle Face green, Sri Lankan cuisine is a great
experience."
Speaking of his most favourite Sri Lankan dish, he added,
"My favourite (dish) is the egg-hopper. I am a strong believer of breakfast and
the egg-hopper is like the Sri Lankan burrito that you can fill with curries."
As a veteran journalist specialized in commercial aviation,
he opined that operational and structural changes, be it network
rationalization or privatization, are needed for the Airline. "Fundamental
structural changes need to take place at operational level. But at the
passenger level, I think SriLankan Airlines is excellent."
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