WARSAW, August 2019: Starting this winter season, Poland’s flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines will fly from Warsaw to Sri Lanka with flights being operated seasonally, with three weekly flights between November 3 and March 28, on its modern fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, the airline said in a statement.
With the new series of seasonal flights, Colombo becomes the sixth Asian long-haul destination in the growing network of LOT and the first regular seasonal winter service opened for Polish tourists seeking an exotic winter vacation. The first take-off is scheduled for November 3 2019. The flights will be operated until March 28, 2020 three times a week, according to the following schedule: LO 069 WAW-CMB 15:35-05:15(+1) Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays and LO 070 CMB-WAW 08:05 – 14:00 Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays. The convenient schedule will guarantee the shortest travel to Sri Lanka to passengers not only from Poland but also from across many other European countries.
“We decided to start a regular connection to Sri Lanka due to the very high tourist potential of this direction. Annually, more than 1.8 million passengers travel between Europe and Colombo. Our convenient schedule guarantees passengers from all of the cities in Poland, Western Europe, Baltic States served by LOT, as well as from Prague, Zagreb or Budapest short travel time to Colombo with convenient transfers via Warsaw Chopin Airport. Flights from Warsaw to Sri Lanka will take about 9 hours,” LOT Polish Airlines CEO Rafał Milczarski said.
Over the recent past, South Asia has become one of the most frequently chosen destination for an increasing number of passengers travelling from many European countries. Sri Lanka in particular has emerged as one of the region’s most attractive destinations given its kilometres of sandy beaches, lush greenery, ancient architecture and outstanding cuisine.
Analysts see this as another shot in the arm for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry that is now fast recovering from the April Easter Sunday terror attacks. Sri Lanka welcomed 2.33 million tourists in 2018, bringing a revenue of $4.4 billion. Sri Lanka is aiming to attract 2.1 million tourists by the end of this year, and is targeting $3.5 billion in tourism revenue. India, China and Britain are the leading markets for the country’s tourism industry.
LOT’s announcement follows a report that Ukrainian-based SkyUp Airlines, a low-cost air carrier, which belongs to SkyUp LLC, plans to launch twice a week flights from Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv to Colombo from October 1 for an unlimited period.
“LOT Dreamliners have been used on charter services to many popular exotic destinations in the world for a number of years, thanks to the perfect cooperation with tour operators. I am glad that we can take another step today and announce the launch of the first regular long-haul service, which will be operated in the winter season for tourists from Warsaw and other European cities. It’s the shortest and most convenient way for them to get to the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka,” Milczarski added.
The new connection will be operated using the most modern wide-bodied aircraft Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Each aircraft offers passengers the choice between three service classes: LOT Business Class with armchairs unfolding to form a flat bed position and with cuisine like from the best restaurant; LOT Premium Economy Class with a larger, individual space, comfortable seats with footrests, thigh rests, cocktail tables and a rich menu, as well as LOT Economy Class with modern armchairs with individual on-board entertainment screens and USB sockets as well as fresh and varied meals served during the voyage.
On the decks there will also be products containing regional elements, including an Asian-style menu.
The launch of the new connection between Warsaw and Colombo is part of the profitable growth strategy that LOT has been implementing since the beginning of 2016.
LOT is constantly expanding its fleet. In December last year, the operator received subsequent new aircraft: additional four Embraer 190s (LOT already operates 34 Embraer aircraft of four types) also another Four more B787 Dreamliner will join the fleet by the end of this year growing its fleet to 15.
LOT carried a record number of over 8.9 million passengers in 2018, more by 2 million than a year earlier. This year Poland’s flag carrier will take on board 10 million passengers. Currently, LOT uses 80 modern aircraft every day. The carrier already offers 111 scheduled connections on three continents in its scheduled offer.
Tickets for a new LOT flight to Colombo are already available in all sales channels, including lot.com, LOT Contact Centre, LOT Travel offices and agents.
