[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

There are times when the aggravation connected with accumulating, or using, frequent flyer miles is simply not worth it. Singapore Air and Cathay Pacific both offer on-line booking for flights from ATL to CMB. In the case of these two carriers there are no issues with request ("RQ") bookings. It appears the Dubai - Colombo segment was processed, by Delta, as a RQ booking. As a, distant, second choice one can, likewise, avoid the RQ issue by using a US-based carrier that belongs to an affiliation offering service to Colombo. American Air/One World offers connections through to Colombo with their "One World" partners Royal Jordanian, and Cathay Pacific. Although the itineraries offered by American involve extra-long lay-overs and two to three connecting points. Perhaps I incorrectly interpreted your booking with Delta as an effort at mileage accumulation. However, I assume you must be aware of the Singapore and Cathay alternatives.