Mumbai30 Nov 23 1 Traveller Economy
Showing International Flight from Amsterdam
About Amsterdam
The capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, is recognised worldwide for its exquisite tourism and artistic heritage. The city is one of the most chill in the world with a culture and lifestyle that resonates well with the city's character. Not to mention how they favour bicycles over cars and other motorcycles. Amsterdam is recognised worldwide for its cultural heritage and tourism.
Best time to visit Amsterdam
Amsterdam's weather can be super notorious throughout the year with its ambiguity, but April to May and September to November are the two seasons that witness the best the city's weather and vibe have to offer. Although summer is considered to be the season when Amsterdam sees a massive population of tourists, the months before and after summers are when you truly get to enjoy the city's pleasant vibe. Summer does see a lovely melange of festivals and events that keep the city busy. With Holland Festival, Amsterdam Gay pride, Jordaan Festival and Taste of Amsterdam taking place in the summer months, many European travellers find this time ideal for a vacation. If you think perhaps the temperatures ranging from 19 degree Celsius and 21 degree Celsius would be tolerable along with excess tourists, you should choose this stretch. Finding or booking a hotel in Amsterdam during the summer (peak season) would be slightly unattainable. But with some good snooping around on the internet, you might be able to get some amazing flight deals to Amsterdam topped with a convenient staycation.
September to November is basically the onset of winter and an ideal season for a vacation in Amsterdam. The temperatures are mild and dangle between 9 degree Celsius to 18 degree Celsius. Plus, the city also witnesses lovely events such as Amsterdam Light Festival, UNESCO World Heritage Weekend, TCS Amsterdam Marathon and Amsterdam Fringe Festival. During this time, you might even be able to get great hotel booking deals in Amsterdam as the establishments tend to slash off prices. It is imperative that you carry necessary layers of clothes and an umbrella as the weather could get unpredictable.
What makes the months April and May a good choice for a trip to Amsterdam is the fact that the tulips bloom and the Keukenhof Flower Garden springs to life. It is one of the highly anticipated events of the year, and many tourists wish to watch the tulips bloom and hence, plan for a trip around this time. Another amazing fact about this weather is how the accommodation rates do not see a spike. In fact, you can actually book a hotel room in Amsterdam during this season without worrying about exorbitant euros you assume you'll have to spend. The months would be like carnivals with events such as Liberation Day, King's Day, National Restaurant Week and of course, Tulip Festival, that take place in the city.
Places to visit in Amsterdam
Amsterdam's laidback lifestyle with all the vice it is associated with, makes travellers wonder if there are any tourist sights and attractions that can be found in the city. Amsterdam does have some of the best and eccentric museums with world-class stature. The Rijksmuseum Museum is the city's largest museum which celebrates the Dutch history and traces their tales from the Netherlands to around the globe. It is most certainly a fascinating place and definitely should be on your itinerary list. A gorgeous museum has been built to honour the works of legendary artist Vincent van Gogh. Visit the Van Gogh Museum and take in his odd yet real take on art and life. You can continue with your history tour and add Anne Frank's House to the list as well. The artefacts within the premise include belongings of the 15-year-old, documents, images and photographs. The list goes incomplete without the addition of Amsterdam's biggest highlight, Keukenhof, also known as the Tulip Garden. The lush fields with multi-hued tulip bulbs are quite a sight that you simply cannot miss during your trip to Amsterdam.
Interestingly, the city also entertains extremely bizarre museums such as the Kattenkabinet (Cat Cabinet) and The Mouse Mansion. The true essence of these places can only be comprehended once you visit them. If the museums get too weird for you, a little detour to attractions such as Concertgebouw (a concert building) and the Royal Palace Amsterdam. You should know that Amsterdam also comes with a coast that touches the Atlantic. You simply cannot miss their beach, Zandvoort, which is not quite far from the city centre. While backpacking and couch-surfing are a big culture in the city, you can book a hotel within Amsterdam and get some good prices for it. The flight tickets to Amsterdam aren't all that expensive, but the trip overall could be steep.
Things to do in Amsterdam
The city has far too many awesome things to do, especially for youngsters and backpackers. The city favours bicycles over any other mode of transport. You can simply rent a bicycle and go on a tour of your own. Explore the Nine Little Streets for alluring canals, boutiques and shopping souvenirs. You can also walk around Leidseplein, which has a plethora of options for entertainment ranging from nightclubs to casinos to quaint coffee shops. The city's hub has everything, including hotel bookings in Amsterdam. You can book your stay in the city centre, or you can take up hostel life and make friends with complete strangers. Similarly, you can also take a personal trip to Jordaan with a guide or a map. The neighbourhood thrives with lovely eateries and gorgeous Brouwersgracht, Prinsengracht, Leidsegracht and Lijnbaansgracht canals. It is an experience that certainly cannot be replaced with any kind of sentiment.
You can also take up cruise trips that leave from the city and sometimes even return on the same day. Depending on what travel package you have chosen, you can accordingly head out of the city on a cruise. You can also take your bicycles or book a tour of the city's countryside with charming cottages and lush green expanses. There are boat tours that traverse from the canals of Amsterdam. The impressive canal system is quite interesting, especially if you pass through it.
Food and Restaurants in Amsterdam
A quintessential Dutch cuisine includes the traditional raw herring, Dutch pancakes with stuffed or topped bacon/blueberries, krokets, bitterballen, poffertjes and erwtensoep, to name a few dishes. They are a melange of the meals as well as savouries. However, Amsterdam is not known for Dutch delicacies, at least not when it comes to fine dining experiences for tourists. The city celebrates food as multi-ethnic cultures coagulate with their best cuisine. Amsterdam is a haven of multitudes of international cuisine. Interestingly, the city actually has thriving Indonesian restaurants in the city. Places such as Restaurant Blauw, Restaurant Jun and Sampurna are some of the Indonesian establishments that have made quite an impact on the city's food culture.
In fact, many of the locals also prefer the array of meals from around the world over their own traditional Dutch food. The de Pijp neighbourhood is actually quite famous among millennials and backpackers as the place serves some of the cheapest and tastiest food. Many of the tourists who visit Amsterdam are predominantly backpackers or solo travellers. Hence, they prefer to keep a set budget for their expenses, this majorly caters towards them being careful around extravagant spending on food. However, if you wish to splurge on a lavish dining experience, you should try out Negen Straatjes (Nine Streets) where you'll find some of the most exquisite fine dining establishments. In fact, you will also be pampered with world-class quality cuisine and hospitality at restaurants located in the Reguliersdwarsstraat areas. Elandshgracht Street is another amazing space in Amsterdam that boasts top-notch food. Overall, food will not be a big disappointment to you. You should also check out Distillery 't Nieuwe Diep to get a whiff of the lovely Dutch gin.
How to reach Amsterdam (Transportation)
The Amsterdam Airport has immaculate flight connectivity from India. As one of the most visited cities in the world from the country, Amsterdam is constantly on demand. Many Indians flock over to the beautiful and quaint city regularly, making the availability of flights also easier. In fact, there are regular flights that fly to Amsterdam from India. There are direct flights also that fly to Amsterdam from India. Operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and British Airways, these flights fly to Amsterdam on a regular basis and have great flight connectivity. Depending on the availability of cheap flight tickets, it is determined whether you will be able to snag a nonstop flight to Amsterdam from India or if you will have to book a connecting flight or one with long durations of a layover.
Flights to the Netherlands from India use the Middle Eastern international routes to reach Amsterdam. Usually, layovers take place in cities such as Munich, Zurich and Paris. Sometimes even Brussels witnesses flights coming in from India with Amsterdam as the final stop. In India, the most popular route to Amsterdam is from Mumbai as the flight connectivity, a number of flights and even nonstop and direct flights are easily available port city.
About Sri Lankan Airlines
Sri Lankan Airlines is the official flag carrier of Sri Lanka and is also part of the Oneworld airline alliance. The airline is currently the largest carrier in Sri Lanka with respect to the fleet size and the number of destinations covered. It was initially launched as Air Lanka in 1979, following the termination of Air Ceylon, the former Sri Lankan flag carrier. Operations of Air Ceylon were terminated as Air Lanka took over all the flight activities. Air Lanka was partially acquiesced by Emirates in 1998, which resulted in a total rebranding of the airlines. The acquisition also introduced the current livery that Srilankan Airlines possesses. In 2008 though, the Sri Lankan government acquired all the shares of Air Lanka from Emirates and brought forth a rebranded airline. While the partnership with Emirates was terminated, the airlines changed its name to SriLankan Airlines and changed the logo of the company as well.
Right after its rebranding, Sri Lankan Airlines acquired six Airbus A330-200s to add to its fleet of Airbus A340-300 and A320-200 aircraft. Soon, in 2000, the airline further added its fourth aircraft, A340-300, which arrived at Colombo with the airline's refurbished corporate livery. Sri Lankan Airlines also upgraded its A340 fleet by adding a two-class configuration to enhance the brand name and reflect its new corporate image. The airlines also worked to increase its destinations for domestic routes and international routes, primarily in India and the Middle East. As expansions continued on one side, the airlines commenced flights to Jeddah, the third Saudi destination, after Riyadh and Dammam. In 2017, the airlines also introduced its direct daily non-stop flight connection to Melbourne in Australia. This has been Sri Lankan Airlines' most ambitious expansions to date as its long haul route between Australia, and Sri Lanka was brought back after a hiatus of 16 years.
Currently, Sri Lankan Airlines is known to operate about 560 flights in a week. It has excellent connectivity as it operates in over 113 destinations across 51 countries. These numbers also include the codeshare operations that have been signed by the airlines. The airline's main hub is situated at the Bandaranaike International Airport, located in the capital city of Colombo. Sri Lankan Airlines joined the Oneworld airline alliance much recently, in 2014, to be precise. In the same year, Airbus A330 and Airbus A320, both found Oneworld's livery on their aircraft, commemorating the airline's establishment as one of the airlines in the alliance carrier. The airlines' livery is an all-white fuselage with SriLankan titles covered in blue while the tail sees the new corporate logo acquired by the airlines.
Fleet size of Sri Lankan Airlines
Sri Lankan Airlines' current fleet size is 26, which majorly has only Airbus aircraft. The maximum aircraft in their fleet includes the Airbus A330-300s. The airline introduced its first Airbus aircraft in 1992 as it began chartering the Airbus A320-200 to domestic routes to the Maldives, southern India and Pakistan. During the presidential rule of Premadasa, the airline further added Airbus A340-300 aircraft in its fleet with the first Airbus A340 being delivered in 1994. Sri Lankan Airlines became the first in Asia to charter Airbus A340 aircraft. In 2012, during President Rajapakse's rule, the airline planned for ambitious growth in expanding its fleet size to 35 aircraft with deals being signed with both aircraft companies, Airbus and Boeing. Former CEO of Srilankan Airline, Kapila Chandrasena also stated that the airline planned to add either Airbus A330-300 or Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-8 in its fleet. With this, they aimed to replace the Airbus A340-300. In 2013, the airlines bagged government approval to charter four Airbus A350-900 and seven A330-300 aircraft while deliveries of A330-300 commenced from 2014. Following the large order, the airline also leased three Airbus A350-900s, deliveries of the same starting in 2017.
Sri Lankan Airlines eventually phased out its Airbus A340-300 in 2016 and replaced the aircraft with A330-300 and A350-900. In 2015, the airlines also signed a deal with Air Lease Corporation and AerCap intending to acquire two Airbus A321neo aircraft, lease them from each of the firms. In 2016 though, after incurring some financial losses and concerns, the airline announced that they would be cancelling their order of eight A350 aircraft. As of 2019, the airline still has four Airbus A350-900 aircraft in the monthly order book of the aircraft manufacturing company with no cancellations or conversions of the order to A330-900 from Srilankan Airlines.
Sri Lankan Airlines Baggage Allowance
The baggage allowance at Sri Lankan Airlines differs from the ticket-type chosen by the passenger. For the business class travellers, the airline offers a maximum weight of 40 kg for checked baggage. The dimension of the bags also needs to be within 158 cm, inclusive of pockets, handles and wheels. The economy class sees a significant drop of maximum weight being 30 kg with the same baggage dimension to be followed. Interestingly, a plethora of international airlines usually has a baggage allowance of 23 kg for checked baggage for the economy class. This gives Sri Lankan Airlines a benefit, especially among travellers who are carrying a lot of luggage. There might be restrictions on the baggage allowance depending on the airline partners. More details concerning this can be figured out at the airline's website or even at their customer care service.
In terms of hand luggage that can be carried on board, the airline allows weight no more than 7 kg. While the maximum weight remains the same for travellers of business and economy class, the difference comes with the number of bags that they are allowed to carry. While business class allows two pieces of hand luggage, economy class passengers are only allowed to carry one bag. Besides this, the passengers are allowed an additional small bag which could include a laptop, handbag, camera bag, etc. For travellers travelling with infants, an additional 5 kg weighing baggage is allowed on-board. As the infants require feeding and changing on a regular basis, the inclusion of a dedicated infant baggage allowance has been introduced by Sri Lankan Airlines. Along with this, the traveller can also carry strollers or baskets or pushchairs for the comfort of the infant as well as the parent.
Sri Lankan Airlines In-flight services
Sri Lankan Airlines only offers two class-cabins, business class and economy class. However, both the classes have been blessed with exemplary in-flight services and facilities that make for a comfortable transit. In business class, the airline offers a reclining seat that can be converted into full flat-beds and is present in all long-haul fleet. Along with the flat-bed, the airline has also installed AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) facilities to cater to the entertainment quotient for the passenger. The seats are as wide as 19.5 inches which can recline up to 180 degrees with a bed that sprawls over 79 inches. The suites also come with a 15-inch personal In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. Much recently, they also revealed their news feature in business class, Thales Avant IFE, which brings forth modern entertainment features and better business class seats. The A330-300 fleet has all-aisle access with a configuration of 1-2-1 seating, reserved for business class. The A320 and A321 aircraft offer a 2-2 layout with extra reclining seats and a pitch that ranges from 39 to 49 inches.
For the economy class, the airline does provide some in-flight services such as in-seat entertainment, which is present on all their wide-body and narrow-body aircraft. On their A330-300 and A320/A321neo aircraft, the airline has provided all cabin classes with paid-for internet access as part of their in-flight services. This also includes mobile services and access to WiFi. The airline is also the first in South Asia to have on-board WiFi services available. Sri Lankan Airlines' receives its catering services from Srilankan Catering Limited. Its hub is present at Bandaranaike International Airport. The kitchen as the capacity to prepare over 25,000 meals in a day in their state-of-the-art kitchen facility. The catering service was incorporated in 1979 and initially commenced as a joint venture with Thai Airways International. However, as the venture agreement lapsed in 1998 with Air Lanka ltd buying all the shares of Thai Airways International, the entity became a Sri Lankan Airlines Limited's subsidiary.
Popular routes and top cities for Srilankan Airlines
As of 2020, Srilankan Airlines operates in 40 cities in about 20 countries. Some of the popular international routes that Srilankan Airlines caters to include India, China, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Australia, to name a few. Top cities include Sydney, Paris, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Tokyo, Muscat, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, London and Seoul.
Why travel by Sri Lankan Airlines?
Sri Lankan Airlines is best connected to Indian cities as well as several the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries. Hence, booking a Sri Lankan Airlines flight to reach cities in these countries would be the ideal way to go. Not to mention how the airline's website is also very helpful and efficient as it helps conduct web check-in, know about the flight status and get an update on Sri Lankan Airlines' flight schedule. You can further enjoy some of Sri Lankan Airlines' exquisite in-flight services.
