Business sector travel to Far East booming - Cathay Manager

Shirajiv Sirimane

AVIATION: Sri Lanka has a tremendous growth market in the aviation sector, Country Manager Sri Lanka and Maldives Cathay Pacific Julian Lyden said.

He said that this was one reason for them to be in Sri Lanka for many decades. He said that airline travel is picking up in Sri Lanka and especially the business sector travel is booming to the Far East.

He said that the leisure travel is also picking up especially to Bangkok that is one of their transit destinations when flying to Hong Kong.

Lyden said the introduction of Disneyland has added value to Hong Kong as a destination. "Visa restrictions are being simplified now and transit passengers to UK, USA and European destinations do not need visa for short transit," he said.

He said that the cargo loads too are increasing and the load factor is high especially from Colombo to other destinations and we are also planning to expand in Sri Lanka.

"We may also look at getting involved in the Ground handling at the Colombo airport which has been opened to another player," he said. Lyden said that they are also in the process of introducing E-ticketing to Sri Lanka in the early part of next year. "This will be a great benefit for travel agents and customers too," he said.

However, he was not in favour of internet booking, as it does not guarantee security for customers. "Going through a travel agent is more secure," he said.

He said that the airline was also involved in many CSR projects by bringing in Cargo during the tsunami and then assist Victoria home and many other projects. "We also sponsored Sri Lankan students to take part in the wildemess programme in South Africa," he said.

The airline was also voted as the best airline and also increased their presence with the takeover of Dragonair which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific.

"This gives us access to many new destinations," he said.

Dragonair will continue to operate under its own brand, but under Cathay Pacific management.