SriLankan Airlines

Outward trip Heathrow to Colombo. IFE is fairly new to me so impressed by choice and selection to start of film. Seating ok. Service ok too. Return trip way worse. Why on earth do they allow passengers to tilt seats back? 11 hours of cramped seating next to the window leads to wild thoughts of jumping out just to feel comfortable (for a short time). Woken by cabin lighting nine hours into trip - for a hot towel and the worst meal I've ever had on a plane. Staff seemed more intent on making their duties easier - not keeping us comfortable. At the end when descent (as always) makes my hearing go I was being asked to do something by a stewardess - turns out she wanted me to raise the cover of the window behind me. Not my job or problem. IFE mostly Asian language films but enough there to do some distracting from the awful legroom problem. On loop system. Cabin tatty. So ok out - poor return.

Rome to CMB. Generic lounge below par at Rome and boarding chaotic with no separate lane for premium passengers. Then things change. A very warm and gracious greeting at aircraft door and met at seat with more smiles. Jacket taken with no request and purser introduces himself with a chatty welcome to every passenger. Menu excellent and food well presented. Attentive and warm cabin crew with proactive service. Flat bed great but lacks a cover and duvet. Good amenity kit. Silver tea service the good old fashioned away. Flight on time. AVOD good but needs more film choice. Will be up there with SQ and CX if only they can improve boarding procedure give noise cancelling headphones and I think a more extensive wine list. For price paid an outstanding service and flight. Cannot wait to use again.

On 14 Nov flew flight UL 205/161 MCT-CMB-TRV in Business Class. Wonderful experience compare to airlines in/around Indian sub-continent. Apart from an hour delay (unavoidable technical glitch) the A320 flight experience was superb and commendable. Wish to congratulate the Crews for their presentable personable manner in which they served the passengers (a mixture of business class passengers - I mean some are freely upgraded from Economy) but all received that warm welcome and sincere services. The FA's keep smiling and all requests are met and well attended too the food was delicious and in good quantity with plenty of softies and drinks served without hesitation. The minor lags to point out is no IFE and seat non-reclining to a half bed to keep up with modern luxury of travelling but its ok for a four hour trip. Even the toilets were kept clean and full of amenities stored and presented a personal amenity kit to Business Class passengers. To be honest it is my first experience with SriLankan Airlines and I am fully satisfied with their services.

Singapore to London business class. It was a wonderful experience. the staff were gracious helpful and very attentive. Food was amazing. The flat bed was luxury plus and I slept for several hours.

I flew Business Class from Colombo to London. I have used the airline several times in the past and have always had a pleasant flight but this exceeded my expectations of Business Class. The crew were gracious and attentive. The food was superb and beautifully presented. The comfort of the seats enabled me to sleep peacefully for a few hours something I normally can never do on a long haul flight.

I flew from Colombo to Hong Kong with a short stop in Bangkok for one hour where we had to stay on the plane. Strangely enough for some reason they did a roll call on the plane while we were in Bangkok but I had my Bose noise cancelling ear buds in plus I was sleeping while waiting for them to get ready to go again. I didn't hear anyone calling my name and this would not be a concern regardless since I was just continuing on to Hong Kong. Because the head crew guy for the flight attendants didn't get a response from me he had my checked bag pulled off the plane and also found my bag in the overhead and pulled that also. I was then rudely poked in the shoulder to wake me up and asked if the bag they just brought back on the plane was mine and then they put it back in the overhead bin. Then the main guy came and informed me that they had to delay the flight had pulled off my luggage and then somehow realized I was on the flight - go figure - and had to put everything back. I was shocked and was being treated as if this was somehow my fault. Totally hilarious and crazy. We left half hour late and continued to Hong Kong where my checked luggage showed up. I was worried actually. Otherwise the entertainment system worked great and the plane was a pretty new one. The service was good otherwise.

LHR-CMB return. Outbound flight on newer A330-200. IFE functional but no AVOD so choice rather limited. Crew friendly food good and drinks free-flowing. Toilets spotless throughout. Inbound flight on older A330-200 which was showing it's age- seats barely had any cushioning left and overhead CRT monitors flickering but otherwise well maintained. Crew more surly and absent for long periods of the flight. Again food excellent but had run out of options half way through the dinner run. IFE again rudimental but functional. Both flights on time. Overall the only direct option and a reasonable proposition for the price. Marred only by outdated IFE and inconsistent crew.

London to Colombo return airbus 330-200. Aircraft's were a bit tired but clean and on time. Seats are hard and uncomfortable and beware the window seats with IFE underneath in boxes if you are tall. Food is average and service slow. Return flight: Inflight entertainment did not work for window seat or aisle passengers in many cases - tried to get cabin crew to fix this- eventually it was done but very late. First choice meals for second meal ran out and some did not get a meal for a long time while crew ran around trying to find something for them to eat. To be fair our particular cabin crew were very polite and helpful. Both flights full.

I have flown Sri Lankan many times and had little to complain about. However this flight was a nightmare. I flew from Colombo to LHR and back. The entertainment system was not working properly (No Volume). This I brought to the notice of the cabin crew member who changed my headset 3 times with no result. Then I was told that the flight was full and that if they could not get the system working it was "hard luck" which is not the answer I expected. I managed to get it working by gently kicking the box under the front seat which I know now is something to do with the entertainment system. I usually stay awake on my flight to London as it helps me to overcome jetlag when in London. However due to this I was always trying to sleep as the entertainment system kept malfunctioning and as a result had a lousy stay in London for the 1st 2 days. The food too was not what it was and was mediocre. However ignoring the reply I got regarding the entertainment system the service was very good. The aircraft's need to be changed as they are old and this was the case on my return flight as well. All in all I see a deterioration in the quality that was offered by Sri Lankan and gives me the indication that I need to look at other options. Another issue is the price of the tickets fluctuate greatly which is not the case with other better known airlines.

Our flight from Heathrow to Colombo was without doubt the worst flight experience I have had. I don't sleep on long haul flights so distractions and entertainment are absolutely essential for me. It soon became apparent that there was a problem with our system in our window side seats with the entertainment system we alerted a cabin crew member who said they would reset the system no follow up communication was received and the system still did not work and after food had been served staff were not very visible and as the flight deck also operates the call button this was not an option either as it was not working. Eventually a second flight attendant was alerted and again we were told that it would be reset again nothing was done. A third member of staff was told of this and yet again nothing was said or explained to us. 9 hours had passed during this time and I was going stir crazy no sleep and not even able to read as the controls also operate the reading light. Eventually it was time for our second meal and we made one last attempt to resolve the problem and this time the staff member had the guts to admit that it was not working and would not do so for the flight and that several other people were affected as well. 11 hour flight with no entertainment whatsoever no way to read or call a flight attendant they were rarely present between meals and the only way to get there attention was hope someone else used the call button. No offer of refreshments between meals and fairly surly staff this is not acceptable treatment for human beings trapped in a metal tube for such long periods of time and should be taken very seriously by the Airline. I was praying that it would be over and have never been so relieved or eager to leave an Aircraft. In defence all of our short flights were fine and the return flight from Colombo to Heathrow was such a staggering opposite to the original that I find it hard to believe that they are the same airline unfortunately the first experience was too terrible.