SriLankan Airlines UL 312 passengers bound for Singapore on December 9 will be the first to enjoy a new flight experience as the first reconditioned aircraft, an A 330, takes off. The airline has embarked on a complete transformation of its cabin interiors across its entire fleet. The new look will feature a subtle, traditional Sri Lankan aura, luxurious interiors and a new state-of-the-art entertainment system, in a complete overhaul of its fleet’s cabins, to be completed in July 2012.

Traveling in business class on SriLankan Airlines becomes a luxury in the skies with the introduction of flat-bed seats in the business class cabins of its A330 and A340 wide-body aircraft.

The flat bed seat is essentially one that offers passengers the dual option of working in their spare time and sleeping comfortably. It has a “buddy seat” at the front, allowing someone else to sit opposite and take part in a discussion or even a meeting during the flight. Equipped with individual power adapters for charging the laptop, one can work comfortably in this ‘companion’ seat that also doubles as a footrest stool, for added comfort.

When the seat is fully reclined in a flat bed position it extends its full length to the ‘companion’ seat, making it a firm full length bed in a 180 ° position, with a seat tilt stretching to 79 “inches. Creating absolute privacy at 30,000 feet in the sky, the seats can also be separated with a screen, which can be closed by any of the passengers, at any time.

“The underlying idea of ​​the Business Class cabin upgrade is primarily to modernize our cabins and create a calm atmosphere in a traditional warm Sri Lankan home in the sky,” said Kapila Chandrasena, CEO of SriLankan Airlines.

The seats developed by AVIO Interiors of Italy are covered in premium soft leather in an earthy terracotta color, in a deep rust shade. They are equipped with individual massage units in the seat and a pneumatic lumbar support system for added comfort.

The rug is soft, high pile in black, with terracotta flecks, inspiring a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Complementing this is the hallway carpet and headrest cover, which are derived from the famous Dumbara designs, rust-colored with black motifs. The design of the curtains and bulkheads are from the traditional ‘batapellala’ (bamboo) tattoos. At the rear of the hut, there are scenes from Sri Lanka seen in black and white.

The new cabin interiors were designed by a Sri Lankan design team led by Architrave team architect Madhura Premathilleke and Orient Design fashion designer Gihan Nanayakkara.

Similarly, the new business class inflight entertainment is the next-generation RAVE IMS system with the latest audio / video on demand (AVOD) with games. More games with Nintendo-like game controls and “play your own music” features are in the works. Complementing this installation are 15.4-inch wide screens with high resolution image quality for infinite clarity.