SriLankan Airlines will join oneworld on May 1st

SriLankan Airlines officially announced that it will join oneworld airline alliance on May 1st, becoming first carrier from the Indian subcontinent to become part of any global airline alliance.

Why does this matter?

SriLankan Airlines introduces several new options to get to the Maldives and has a number of flights from Colombo (capital of Sri Lanka) to London, Frankfurt, Paris, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo.

You will be able to use Avios for the short distance deals like:

- Chennai, Male (Maldives) for 4,500 Avios one-way in Economy

You will be able to use AAdvantage for flights on Sri Lankan flights from Hong Kong (same zone as Colombo).

This isn't a game changer but certainly a welcome addition!