BEIJING, Jan. 13, 2015 (Antara/PRNewswire) -- Air China will commence nonstop service from Chengdu to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, on February 10, 2015, giving travelers easy access to a magical and romantic tropical land.
Air China will operate its Chengdu-Colombo service CA425/6 with Airbus 330 aircraft. The four flights a week will be offered on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The outbound flight departs from Chengdu at 18:30 Beijing time and arrives in Colombo at 21:50 local time. The inbound flight departs from Colombo at 23:10 local time and arrives in Chengdu at 06:40 of the second day. The new nonstop route will be Air China's fourth one to Southeast Asia after the launch of the routes to Kathmandu, Mumbai and Bangalore by the carrier. It will spare passengers who travel between southwest China and Sri Lanka the trouble of having to make flight connections in cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore, thusly cutting the travel time from 10 hours to 5.5 hours.
Air China will introduce a number of services on the route. First Class/Business Class passengers who fly to Colombo from Chengdu are entitled to free chauffeured transfer between the airport and downtown in Chengdu; passengers with flight connections in Chengdu within 24 hours are entitled to free hotel stay and free transfer between the hotel and the airport; First Class/Business Class passengers on international flight segment with flight connections in Chengdu are entitled to free stay in a five-star hotel.
China and Sri Lanka have been friendly neighbors for many centuries. Recent years have seen the relationship between the two countries develop very rapidly. Now, China is Sri Lanka's third largest trading partner, and more and more Chinese tourists visit Sri Lanka. Statistics of 2013 suggest that China has become the country's largest source of tourists in East Asia. The friendly exchanges and cooperation between Sichuan province and Sri Lanka have been developing at a fast pace. Now, Sri Lanka has opened its consulate in Chengdu, and the cooperation between Sichuan and Sri Lanka in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education and tourism is becoming closer and closer. The new route will further facilitate the exchanges between the two regions.
Sri Lanka boasts a long history and world-class tourism resources. Seven of its historical sites have been named World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Its four 2,300-year-old national parks are well known around the world. Zoos and botanical gardens are everywhere. Sri Lanka deserves its reputation as an "Island of Gem" since it's the world's largest mine of precious stones. Its eastern coast, hailed as "Golden Coast," impresses with its aquamarine water and deep sea fish species, best for surfing, swimming, diving and deep sea fishing enthusiasts.
Chengdu - Colombo route is the first of the kind linking the two cities and represents one of the important moves of Air China to make Chengdu its regional hub of operations. It will solidify the position of Chengdu as a center of traffic in South Asia, and is part of Air China's endeavor to make Chengdu an international hub of commercial aviation.
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