In December 2024, I flew from Brisbane to Singapore, via Qantas Airlines (QF 051) and from Singapore to Colombo, via SriLankan Airlines (UL 309).
QF 051 was supposed to take-off at 10.35 am from Brisbane, but passengers had to wait till 11 am to board the plane, and flight was further delayed by 25 minutes prior to landing due to the bad weather. The passengers tolerated the delay and it was compensated by the excellent customer service by the Cabin Crew.
Due to the delayed Qantas flight, I had to rush through Singapore Changi Airport to reach the UL 309 departure gate on time. However, the UL 309 flight was delayed for about one hour from its scheduled time of departure. There were negative comments from some Sri Lankan passengers on the service of SriLankan Airlines. Some of them had the same experience from QF 051, but had tolerated it.
Honestly, I was also not very happy about the delay. However, my mood changed a few seconds later, due to the cordial welcome offered by the SriLankan Airline Cabin Crew. I saw passengers receiving very attentive service from the Airline Cabin Crew and their conversations and laughter sounded that they too were delighted by the services offered.
Many Sri Lankans have a habit of criticising service lapses of SriLankan enterprises, but are patient enough to tolerate the same lapses of multinational giants. As Sri Lankans, we must shoulder the responsibilities of our enterprises and support them by obtaining more and better services, without going over to its competitors. Sri Lankans must develop a habit of flying on SriLankan Airlines. They must inculcate loyalty towards buying and consuming locally manufactured products and services.
New Zealand, with a population of 5 million, has managed to run an international airline profitably, but with a 22 million population, we are unable to break even on our national airline. Japanese and Chinese have improved the standards of their products and services to become competitive in the global market. Sri Lanka has been unable to improve the standards of its industries.
We expect all innovations and developments to come from the Government and 225 Members of Parliament. We blame our politicians for corruption. My opinion is that politicians cannot steal without support from the officials.
Our educated and professional people seem to be selfish, primarily focused on accumulating personal wealth by cutting through competition, advancing their own careers, and educating their children in ‘posh’ schools here and abroad.
Most of the corporate giants and large-scale tax evaders, wilful bank defaulters, and certain professionals, also have become agents/silent observers, in the corrupt process.
It is high time for us to rethink and change our attitudes for the wellbeing of our society and motherland.
Prasad Polwatte
