SriLankan Airlines said it has introduced online check-in system throughout its route network aimed at improving the level of passenger convenience prior to departure.

On-Line Check-In (OLCI) affords passengers the luxury of checking themselves in through the Internet, long before they reach the airport, and entirely avoiding troublesome queues at check-in counters.

SriLankan introduced OLCI at its hub in Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport, last December.

Since then, eight of its overseas stations have launched the facility - New Delhi, Dubai, Madras, Singapore, Hyderabad, Hong Kong, Bangalore and Beijing.

Captain Milinda Ratnayake, head of Service Delivery, said: 'Our target is to provide this facility in every one of our 41 destinations as quickly as possible, so that all our passengers can enjoy a higher level of convenience.'

Passengers simply have to access www.srilankan.aero as much as 24 hours prior to a flight from their homes, offices, or even while travelling, through their laptops, desktops or palmtops, and click on OLCI.

Then just key in four basic details - name, airport, flight number, and booking reference number, and receive a seat number and boarding pass.

OLCI also gives passengers the luxury of choosing their preferred seats in the aircraft when they check in on the remarkably user-friendly system, by changing their seats through a user-friendly chart that shows the aircraft’s seating plan, which shows already reserved seats in a different colour.

They then need only to go to the baggage counter to hand over their bags. They can either print out their boarding passes themselves, or pick them up at the airport.

On-Line Check-In closes two hours prior to each flight. Even groups of passengers can be checked-in.

At present, passengers who require special care such as infants and wheelchair passengers, will continue to be handled by SriLankan staff, and not through the on-line system.

Additional information is required from passengers en route to a country that requires Advanced Passenger Information (API) such as the UK, including passport number, date of birth, and sex.

SriLankan now flies to 41 destinations in 22 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. - TradeArabia News Service