SriLankan Airlines now has a Chinese language assistant on board each flight.

Captain Milinda Ratnayake, head of service delivery at SriLankan, said that the airline was constantly looking for ways and means to further enhance the level of convenience and comfort of its passengers; and the introduction of Chinese passenger assistants would greatly assist Chinese passengers, many of whom are not fluent in English.

The airline has recruited several Chinese passenger assistants, all of whom have prior experience in the travel industry. In addition to flying from Beijing to Bangkok and Colombo, they will be on hand to help out passengers at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport, including passengers in transit.

The airline is expecting strong growth in the China market, with that country's sustained economic growth providing more and more of its people with the ability to travel overseas for leisure. In addition, a large number of Chinese visit Sri Lanka on official or business travel.

(China Hospitality News November 21, 2008)