After 30 war-torn years, Sri Lanka is on the rise in Southeast Asia tourism. Thousands of travelers visit the taprobane island each year to explore its amazing tea plantations, colonial townscapes, waterfalls, golden beaches and breathtaking views. Being a native of Maldives, I often get to travel to this beautiful country for various reasons, which will always be my second home. Here is my in-depth review of Mihin Lanka’s economy class from my recent flight.
Date: 12 March 2016.
Flight Path: Colombo – Malé .
Seat: Window.
Class: Economy.
Fare: USD 161/- (Malé – Colombo return)
Alliance: oneworld
CHECK IN: Fast and well-organized. I traveled with three other friends, one of them was a Platinum member in oneworld airline alliance, so all three of us managed to check-in swiftly from the Business class counter at Bandaranaike International Airport.
PLANE: Airbus A321. Seats were pleasant and comfortable for a short-haul flight, with 188 seats in economy and 12 in business.
The front-row seats of the economy cabin looked comfortable with plenty of leg space.
I was not seated in the front-row, but had sufficient leg-room with a seat-pitch of 29 inches.
Briefly after we boarded, the crew finished the head count and demonstrated the safety protocol in accordance with the country’s Civil Aviation Authority and soon the flight took off on schedule and the cabin lights were dimmed.
ENTERTAINMENT: Mihin Lanka being the Sri Lanka government’s low-cost carrier didn’t have any type of on-board entertainment for the point-to-point operation in economy class, but they had a wonderful team of crew who were very helpful and kept smiling throughout the flight.
The inflight duty free magazine featured a limited variety of items including cigarettes, spirits, tech gadgets, perfumes and cosmetics at attractive discounted prices.
FOOD: The airline does not provide meals for this particular point to point operation, but could pre-booked with prices starting as low as USD 2/-. I didn’t book any meals, since it was a 1 hour 15 minute flight, but they a complimentary juice packet (200ml/tetra) which was more than enough for the short flight. This is something most budget carriers do not offer or provide.
The front-seat pocket contained a menu which had plenty of snacks, light spirits and beverages available for purchase on-board at reasonable prices.
SERVICE: The crew were dressed smart and were very courteous. The males were in shirts with pants while the females were attired in dark blue sarees (traditional Sri Lankan dress). The crew began serving meals momentarily after the aircraft reached the cruising altitude to passengers who had their meals pre-booked and the captain kept updating along the way.
CONCLUSION: I enjoyed the short flight with Mihin Lanka. I would certainly fly it again and will recommend it to anyone. If you are a member of the oneworld airline alliance, Mihin Lanka is a code-share partner of SriLankan Airlines. Additionally, Mihin Lanka is usually a cheaper option to fly, and ideal if you often travel to Colombo or do not mind connecting via Colombo.
I flew at my own expense.
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