Can't disagree more. Granted my experience is only two flights MLE-CMB-KUL but both UL flights were excellent... regional A320 service as good as EY, EK, SQ and CX regional service and worlds better than phony Euro-J.

Which lounge does Sri Lankan use? I've never seen the flagship lounge in Sri Lanka before, and I have transited many times in CMB.

Their "flagship" Serendib Lounge is not in the main international concourse (gates 6-14) but rather towards the terminal and then to the right near gates 1-4. http://www.airport.lk/getting-arroun...ure_guide.html

They had just reopened it following renovations when we were there last month. Some pics...
The New Serendib Lounge at CMB

The flagship lounge looks quite ..........

Yes, this renovated lounge is certainly more modern than the older one. I was in the new one on Jan 4th and while it was larger/nicer, I did not see the massage center with free massages. Also, it appears the nap rooms are gone.

There are now machines for making our own tea/coffee instead of an attendant making and serving it. VERY BA-ish, and AC-ish! So much for the personal touches that UL prides itself in offering passengers. :rolleyes:

Better food display with the new lounge. larger, brighter bathrooms too. Nice wi-fi availability too :)

Confirmed for 1 March
http://www.ausbt.com.au/oneworld-to-...t-half-of-2014

No press release about this from oneworld yet.
Until such time as oneworld issues a release, best to mark this down as rumor.

I'd wait for the official press release but I don't think we're far away from seeing them joining.

UL actually posted the remark of being OW member for flight information listed on/after 01MAR14 in the GDS.

Of course, Ausbt was "alerted" by my posting on twitter...otherwise they probably wouldn't even bother to ask the airline again on the date.
https://twitter.com/airlineroute/sta...03726851182592
https://twitter.com/airlineroute/sta...05875312111616

[KVS Availability Tool 7.3.3/Diamond - Operational Info: UL 503/01 Mar 2014]

Hi Jim...

1. Absolutely I was alerted by the heads-up tweet from Airline Route. AR provides a great service which I've tapped and acknowledged in the past, as relevant (eg http://www.ausbt.com.au/singapore-ai......-upper-deck and others).

2. That said, GDS data is not always reliable, which is why as a journalist I sought confirmation from SriLankan Airlines, and a senior member of their Media/PR department confirmed the March 1st date.

3. But as it turns out, UL appears to have jumped the gun on their entry in to oneworld – the PR person was a bit too eager and the GDS entry would seem to be not accurate. Oneworld's corp comms manager called me this morning to advise that March 1st is in fact NOT the joining date for UL and they don't expect to announce that date for at least another month (my story on AusBT has been updated accordingly).

Unlike other industry which requires journalists/bloggers to contact company/association/whoever directly for confirmed information, this is an industry that always tells people refer to the GDS/Reservation system for the ultimate information, despite it loads inconsistent information from time to time.

Jim: Travel agents etc may point to GDS but media should confirm information, simply because data being in the GDS does not make it true.

Of course that's not the fault of AR, which does a brilliant job of tracking and sharing GDS updates. Most of the time the GDS is correct and often the GDS gets the jump on what the PR folk know! :)

But there have been a few times of late where a GDS entry has been in error - this is one instance, and another was a reported change to CX BNE-HGK in late December - and on that one, I checked with CX PR AU and they confirmed the GDS entry was made in error.

So yes, the travel industry may hold the GDS up as The Source, but 'journalists/bloggers' reporting in this industry should continue to do as they do in other industries and as far as possible seek timely confirmation (or otherwise) from the airline and report accordingly.

It's no biggie, really. :)

Damn ! :(

I was already looking for a good business class fare from BKK to LHR and hoping for double points too !

This is a tad disappointing. The new biz product ain't bad.

As I said on another thread, the OW press release that just came out seems to suggest that UL won't join until at least April.
http://www.oneworld.com/news-informa...nguageId=en_US
Also, unfortunately GDS info can be wrong, as in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...s-flts-ow.html.