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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

New Era for SriLankan Airlines


New traditional interiors and addition of flat beds

Passengers on SriLankan Airlines UL 312 to Singapore, were the first to enjoy a new flying experience, as the first refurbished aircraft, an A 330 took off on the 9th of December.

The airline has embarked on a complete transformation of its cabin interiors on its entire fleet, scheduled to be completed by July 2012. The new look will add a subtle, traditional Sri Lankan look and feel to its plush interiors, as well as a new, state of the art entertainment system.   In addition, travelling Business Class on SriLankan Airlines becomes a luxury in the skies with the introduction of flat bed seats on business class cabins of its wide bodied A330 and A340 aircraft.

The flat bed seat is essentially one that offers passengers the dual option of  working at leisure and sleeping in comfort. It has a 'buddy seat' in front, which enables another to sit opposite and engage in a discussion or even an in-flight meeting. Fitted with individual power adapters for laptop charging, one can work in comfort on this 'buddy' seat which also doubles up as a stool for propping up one's feet, for added comfort.

When the seat is fully reclined into a flat bed position, it extends its full length up to the 'buddy' seat, thus making it a firm full length bed in 180° position, with a seat pitch extending 79" inches. To create absolute privacy, seats can also be separated with a screen, which can be closed by either passenger. The seats seamlessly combine the work-relax-sleep experience on board.

"The underlying idea of the business class cabin upgrade is primarily to modernise our cabins and create a tranquil atmosphere in a traditional warm ambience of a Sri Lankan home in the sky" said SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Kapila Chandrasena.

The seats developed by AVIO Interiors of Italy are covered with earthy terracotta coloured premium quality soft leather, in a deep rust tone. They are fitted with individual in-seat massage units and a pneumatic lumbar support system for comfort.  The carpet is soft, high-pile in black, with specks of terracotta, inspiring a warm, cosy atmosphere.

Complementing this is the aisle carpet and headrest cover, which are both derived from the famed Dumbara designs – rust coloured with black motifs. The design of the curtains and the bulkheads are from traditional 'batapellala' (bamboo) tats. At the back of the cabin, are scenes from Sri Lanka seen through in black and white glory.

The new cabin interiors were designed by a Sri Lankan design team led by Architect Madhura Premathilleke of Team Architrave and Fashion Designer, Gihan Nanayakkara of Orient Design.   The new Business Class In-Flight Entertainment is the state-of-the-art RAVE IMS system with the latest Audio / Video On Demand (AVOD) function with games. In the pipeline are more games with Nintendo type game controls and 'play your own music' features. Complementing this facility are the 15.4 inch wide screens with high resolution picture quality for infinite sharpness.


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The Expeditionist

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