SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, launched its inaugural flight to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, joining its parent carrier in serving the route. With the launch of this thrice-weekly flights, SilkAir's route network is now extended to 53 destinations across 15 countries.

The inaugural MI428 flight departed this morning at 8.50am from Singapore Changi Airport and arrived at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport at 10.05am where it received the traditional water cannon salute. Due to the airport ceremony, the return flight will depart at 11.45am instead of the scheduled 11.05am, and is expected to land in Singapore at 6.10pm in the evening (all times local).

The thrice-weekly flights to Colombo are scheduled on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with same-day returning flights operating as MI427. The flights will be operated with Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with both Business Class and Economy Class cabins. Customers onboard the flight will enjoy a full-service experience, including inflight meals, in-flight entertainment on SilkAir Studio, as well as baggage allowance of 40kg and 30kg for Business and Economy class respectively.

This new SilkAir service will complement Singapore Airlines' current daily flights to Colombo. Together, SilkAir and Singapore Airlines will offer a total of 10 round-trip services a week.

To commemorate this special occasion, passengers on the first Colombo-bound flight out of Singapore were presented with exclusive SilkAir gifts, as well as inaugural flight certificates signed personally by Chief Executive Mr. Foo Chai Woo and Commander of the flight, Captain Krishnakumar Narayanan.

"Colombo offers a rich heritage and a variety of experiences to travellers to explore the beauty of Sri Lanka. The launch of the Colombo flight route as our 53rd destination presents an opportunity for SilkAir to continually provide our customers with increased connectivity to the region via Singapore. We are confident that this will be a destination that will interest many travellers as they embark on their Sri Lankan adventures," commented SilkAir's Chief Executive, Mr. Foo Chai Woo on the route's launch.

Flights will be made available for booking through the SilkAir website, call centre and travel agents. Detailed flight schedules to Colombo are as follow, all times stated are local:

- Travel Daily News Asia