In continuation of its expansion in South Asia, GoAir – Asia’s most trusted, punctual and fastest growing airline – has announced its new direct flights from Colombo to Delhi and Colombo to Bengaluru. GoAir’s maiden flights to the capital city of Sri Lanka will commence from 20th March 2020. The airline has introduced these two new routes with attractive return fares starting at LKR 35,512 for Colombo-Delhi-Colombo flights and LKR 24,900 for Colombo-Bengaluru-Colombo flights.

Delhi and Bengaluru offer direct connectivity to the popular pilgrimage – ‘The Buddhist Circuit’ that includes places such as Bodhgaya, Vaishali, Rajgir in Bihar and Sarnath, Shravasti, Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. GoAir has direct flights to Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Patna (Bihar) from Delhi and Bengaluru.

Speaking on the new flight announcement, Mr. Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir, said: “Our entry into Sri Lanka is in line with the growth strategy that we adopted since 2018 for international markets. GoAir has placed a firm order of 144 A320neo aircraft and we will be receiving one aircraft every month on average for the next 7-8 years. GoAir has been rated amongst the top 10 most punctual airlines in Asia by Cirium and we have earned four-out-of-four star ratings from 1.4 million passengers in the US-based APEX survey. The passengers rated GoAir as the best overall in-flight experience, cabin service, seat comfort, cleanliness, and food & beverages. Customers from Colombo will now experience the same superlative service and comfort when they fly GoAir.  I would like to thank the Government of Sri Lanka, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, the officials of Bandaranaike International Airport, and last but not least our GSA partner Aitken Spence for the strong support that we have received in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Rohan Fernando, Director and Head of Business Development and Plantations, Aitken Spence Plc said “Royal Spence a fully owned subsidiary of Aitken Spence is extremely pleased to be associated with this airline partnership of GoAir marking Sri Lanka as its 10th international destination. Aitken Spence has been in the business of representing Airlines for over 40 years with representations in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh. As you may know, Aitken Spence has built its business foundation on partnerships when its founding partners began business 150 years ago. Today, the company is one of the leading, most financially stable and diversified conglomerates in Sri Lanka operating in the sectors such as Hotels, Travel, Maritime Services, Logistic Solutions and Power Generation in Sri Lanka. The Company has significant interests in Plantations, Insurance, Financial Services, IT, Printing and Garments. We are confident that this partnership will grow to serve the local market and serve the growing demand for India as a destination.”

GoAir is the aviation foray of India’s 283-year-old Wadia Group that comprises leading brands including 156-year-old Bombay Burmah, 140-year-old Bombay Dyeing, 101-year-old Britannia Ltd., 65-year-old National Peroxide Limited, the decade old Bombay Realty and many others. GoAir currently operates 300+ daily flights and the airline has carried 80 million passengers since its inception in 2005.

GoAir flies to 36 destinations that include 27 domestic destinations namely Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, Kannur, Leh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Ranchi, Srinagar and Varanasi, as well as 9 international destinations namely Phuket, Male, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok, Kuwait, Dammam and Colombo.

GoAir’s daily flight (except Wednesday) G8 39 will depart from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10:35 hours (local time) and will reach Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo at 14:10 hours (local time). The return flight G8 40 will depart from Colombo at 15:10 hrs (local time) on all days (except Wednesday) and arrive in Delhi at 19:00 hours (local time).

Sri Lankan travelers can explore Delhi’s famous attractions such as India Gate, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb, Jantar Mantar, Red Fort etc as well as can make a spiritual & religious tour to Akshardham Temple, Lotus Temple, and Iskcon Temple. They can also make an excursion to nearby destinations such as Agra and the Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

GoAir’s flight G8 47 will depart from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport at 20:05 hours (local time) on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday and at 20:20 hours (local time) on Saturday and will reach Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo at 21:55 hours (local time). The return flight G8 48 will depart from Colombo at 23:00 hrs (local time) on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and arrive in Bengaluru at 00:30 hours (local time).

Bengaluru offers a great nightlife and Sri Lankan tourists can also explore 19th-century Bangalore Palace and Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace. They can also plan a quick 2-3 days getaway to nearby tourist destinations such as Coorg, Ooty, Mysore, Yelagiri Hills, Nandi Hills etc.