Showing 1 Srilankan Flights from Chicago - Starting at Just ₹98,748

  About Chicago

Located on the West coast of Gujarat is the quaint little city of Porbandar. The city is highly regarded for its pilgrimage as it has a strong mythological relevance. Many pivotal incidences from the tales of Mahabharat and Ramayana have taken place in the city, or so says the folklore. As the city is on the Saurashtra's coastal side, the city is blessed with a brilliant climate and geography. There are hills, coasts, rivers, lakes and more such geographical benefits that make Porbandar a beautiful city. Historically, the city adds another feather to its illustrious cap by being the birthplace of freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi. With such intriguing stories that the city has to tell, it easily becomes one of the most visited places in Gujarat.

The flight connectivity to Porbandar from other major cities is also excellent. The coastal town connects with the rest of India through popular routes, making travel easy and convenient. Booking hotels in Porbandar are also useful as the city comes with exciting accommodations.

Best time to visit Chicago

Porbandar enjoys fair weather throughout the year. The temperature is mostly at a pleasant range between 23 degree Celsius to 36 degree Celsius. Depending on the year and the humidity, the temperatures do see some changes, but mostly, it's sunny positive. The winters in Porbandar are quite enchanting as the cold breezy air adds quite a romantic charm to the place. The temperatures usually range from 10 degree Celsius to 36 degree Celsius. When you do plan for your Porbandar trip, try to choose this season. The pleasant weather will make sightseeing more comfortable. Not to mention how the flight tickets to Porbandar are also cheap and affordable, irrespective of the peak season. December and January are considered as best months to visit Porbandar.

The monsoon months in Porbandar are just as enjoyable as the winters. Between July to September, the monsoon drenches the city with a cool but humid atmosphere. While the humidity does increase during monsoon, the strong winds that pass through the city during the season help normalise the temperature to a pleasant level. You can book a hotel in Porbandar during this time and take in all the monsoon magic. You certainly wouldn't regret it.

Summers, though, could be a little hot. In comparison to the pleasant weather the city experiences throughout the year, the summer winds come with high temperatures that sometimes reach 40 degree Celsius. While it is not ideal for visiting Porbandar during summers, if you are already used to such temperatures and climate, you wouldn't have much trouble. Not to mention how the flight tickets to Porbandar during summers see a drop in prices.

Places to visit in Chicago

Porbandar does not have many tourist attractions as such. The place is a pilgrimage with many temples and shrines. During your trip, you can visit some of the temples, namely, Sri Hari temple, Krishna-Sudama temple, Kirti temple, to name a few. These temples have strong connections with the Hindu mythology tale Mahabharat. The city also has some relics from the Harappan civilisation which could add to a good historical venture.

One of the big highlights of Porbandar's tourism is the Huzoor Palace, built in the early 20th century by Rana Natwarsinhji, the last Maharaja of Porbandar. The structure has derived architectural inspiration from European styles and is quite beautiful. The vicinity also has fancy fountains and well-maintained gardens.

Things to do in Chicago

The city might have only pilgrimage as the most prominent tourist attraction, but you can tweak your itinerary and add some personal excursions of your own. Located a little away from the city are the Jambuvan Caves, known to be the resting place of the famous warrior Jambuvan, who has played an essential role in the mythological tales of Mahabharat. The caves are also known to have Ramayana relevance with Hanuman spending time in the caves. You can also visit the Porbandar Bird Sanctuary and indulge in some photography. The sanctuary has a scenic setting which adds to the charm and beauty of the place. The biggest attraction of the bird sanctuary is how it inhabits migratory birds such as jacanas, little cormorants, whistling teals, avocets, coots, grebes, pelicans, terns, to name a few.

Food and Restaurants in Chicago

Porbandar is famous for its Gujarati cuisine. The city, much like the rest of the state, is rich in vegetarian Gujarati delicacies. From lip-smacking dhokla with green chutney to divine khandwas, one can never get tired of these dishes. Porbandar also follows the Jain-style cuisine by eliminating potatoes, onions, etc. from their dishes. They substitute potatoes with bananas which manage to do the job perfectly well. In fact, Jain cuisine is just as tasty as a regular vegetarian cuisine. You should probably give Jain food a try when in Porbander.

Travellers with a taste for vegan and vegetarian food can head to Flavours. The restaurant is famous for its take on vegan-friendly dishes as well as a slew of global cuisine. You will definitely be happy and satiated with their take on international cuisine. The place is extremely healthy and something worth considering. If exquisite fine dine is in your itinerary then you should head to Blue Coriander and book a table. The place with its classy interiors has great food reviews. You can get some lovely Gujarati thalis here or even the sweet daal that they're fans of. The food is known to be fresh and tasty with a plethora of choices for vegetarians. You can also get a spicy vada pav at Goli Vada Pav. Mumbaikars know their vada pavs well, and they sure love Goli Vada Pav.

Finding a non-vegetarian restaurant in Porbandar might be challenging as the city primarily has a vegetarian population. However, there is one place where you can get some lovely Indian spin on dishes, including seafood. SaltWater, located on the Dwarka Porbandar highway, has the best seafood that you should certainly try. As for those who are tired of all the spices and want something savoury, you should check out Shiva Baker's Point and Midday Munchies.

How to reach Chicago(Transportation)

By Air

Porbandar Airport is located along the coast of the state of Gujarat. The airport is open for commercial use but also has a military presence. The city's airport is well-connected with some of the big cities in India such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, June, Jaipur and Bangalore, to name a few. Thanks to the consistent infrastructural development, the city has managed to find great connectivity with other cities in India. The flight connectivity to Porbandar is excellent as many flights from big cities have direct flights. SpiceJet and TruJet are the two airlines with dedicated flights flying to Porbandar. Even though it is a domestic airport, there are provisions of duty-free shops within the airport that one can avail goods from at a reasonable cost.

The airport also provisions a slew of restaurant chains and fast food shops to keep the passengers entertained. The most popular route to Porbandar is from Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi as these three cities have regular flights flying in and out. The location of the airport is also convenient, enabling easy access to the city centre. You can hire a taxi cab from outside the airport, or if you have booked a hotel in Porbandar, they will probably send the airport shuttle, if you request it.

By Rail

Porbandar Railway Station is perfectly connected with major cities within Gujarat. There are dedicated daily trains to and from Porbandar to Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Somnath and more. The railway also connects well with other domestic routes from Porbandar to big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Jaipur. Weekly trains to cities in the South such as Hyderabad and Kochi are also available. It is essential to know the train schedule before booking the tickets. Specific express trains are not reserved for Porbandar so you might end up spending a lot of your time in transit. The station is around 5 km from the city centre.

As frequent trains are entering and leaving the city regularly, transport via train is also considered to be a good and affordable option. Flight tickets to Porbandar could be expensive sometimes depending on the season in which you are booking your flights.

By Road

Major cities are connected to Porbandar through the domestic route of NH 8B. The national highway brings cities such as Ahmedabad and Rajkot closer to Porbandar. Public buses are also available to connect Porbandar to the rest of the cities in Gujarat. You can find them at the bus station where buses to Vadodara, Jamnagar, Surat and even Mumbai are available. Many travellers opt for roadways to reach Porbandar, especially if they are travelling from the coastal areas of Maharashtra. Tourists even drive down to Porbandar from Jaipur and other cities in Rajasthan as it is a good drive. From the bus station, rickshaws and buses are also available that can take you to the hotel you have booked in Porbandar. Taxi cabs are also present in the city, so transportation in the city is extremely convenient for travellers.

  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.