Travel

Eleven new flyers for SriLankan Airlines

The 11 young pilots, who include four former flyers of the Sri Lanka Air Force, received their wings and epaulettes in a ceremony on 30th March in Katunayake which was attended by Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrema, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Nimalsiri, the Director General of Civil Aviation; SriLankan Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe, and CEO Manoj Gunawardena.

The airline’s Cadet Pilot Training Programme has a strong reputation internationally for its high standard. Selection for the programme is extremely competitive, and every Cadet Pilot is regularly tested during the year and a half of training. Cadet Pilots undergo a programme which includes flying training, simulator training overseas, hands-on aircraft engineering work at the airline’s base in Katunayake, and classroom instruction.  This is the first batch to be awarded Wings since 2009. Another batch is currently completing training and yet another has just been recruited.

 The airline now has a global route network of 51 destinations in 32 countries, with the recent addition of Kochi in India and Guangzhou in China. It is planning to launch services to Moscow later this year.

 

SriLankan Airlines adds Serendib Lounge with latest IT sophistication

SriLankan Airlines has transformed its plush ‘Serendib’ Business Class Lounge at Colombo ’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) into one of the most technologically advanced airport lounges by investing in state of the art systems in entertainment, business and information.

The enhancement of the Serendib Lounge’s facilities is one of the many steps by the National Carrier in support of the country’s aviation and tourism industries. BIA is  already reputed as the finest airport in South Asia , is currently undergoing yet another phase of expansion to add even more facilities apart from its modern aero bridges, new arrivals and departures terminals, new pier, elegant airport hotel, and well-stocked duty free centre.

SriLankan last year won two Platinum Awards from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the air travel industry’s global governing body, for its use of sophisticated technology to advance its business and passenger convenience. They included one for its operations at BIA where it is the sole ground handler for all airlines; and another for being one of the first airlines in the world to introduce a major innovation to tickets – the 2D Bar Coded Boarding Passes Programme.

SriLankan was also recently honoured by Microsoft Sri Lanka as an ‘Early Implementer of Technology’; and won a Merit Award at the National Best Quality Software Awards 2010 (NBQSA), which recognises innovations in Information Technology.

Among the exciting new additions are two giant television screens - 55-inch LED backlit screens, connected to the sophisticated Blue Ray Home Theatre System and there’s a well-stocked Movie Library to choose your favourite blockbusters from Hollywood and Bollywood.

Kids, and the young at heart, will also love the Microsoft X-Box Gaming Console which is the last word in gaming entertainment.

Daily flights to Malaysia via Malaysia Airlines 

Malaysia Airlines has increased its frequency to Sri Lanka from Malaysia from 5 times a week to daily flights effective March 27, 2011, to cater for the continued growth in demand between the two countries.

The additional two days, which commences from Colombo on 28 March, will be on every Monday and Wednesday. These two additional days will increase Malaysia Airlines’ capacity out of Colombo by 40 per cent.
'This is a major milestone for us and we are pleased that the tourism between Colombo and Kuala Lumpur and beyond is vibrant. It is evident from the fact that we just increased our frequency from four to five times in October 2009' said Manmohan Singh, Area Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives.
“And now, in less than two years, we are adding another two more flights to make it a daily operation. It is indicative of the huge confidence we have in this important market for us and the services provided by Malaysia Airlines,” he added.
Malaysia Airlines, Asia’s first and the second airline in the world to take delivery of the B737-800 with the new Boeing Sky Interior, operates a two class configuration on its Boeing 737-800 (B738) aircraft with 16 Business class and 150 economy class seats. The new aircraft will be a regular feature on the Malaysia – Sri Lanka route. Malaysia Airlines started operations in Sri Lanka as an off-line station in 1994 and appointed Hemas Air Services (PVT) LTD as their General Sales Agent (GSA)

Animals in entertainment