Aviation

Skywards raining in Colombo!

Travelling out of Colombo with Emirates in May and June will be extra-rewarding as a result of two sensational new promotions that will run concurrently in this period.

The award-winning Dubai-based carrier is offering all members of Skywards, its frequent flyer programme, an opportunity to double their Skywards Miles when they fly to any one of 24 selected destinations in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Far East.

Simultaneously, all passengers who book their travel on-line via www.emirates.com/lk, and complete at least one sector of travel between May and June 30, stand a chance to win a whopping 250,000 Skywards Miles at a draw to be conducted at the end of the promotion.

"This is an absolute double bonanza for our passengers," said Emirates Sales Manager Sri Lanka, Devika Ellepola. "It will make their travel even more interesting and give them something to look forward to at the end of their journeys."

She explained that all Skywards members who register for the Double Miles offer will automatically get double the Skywards Miles they are entitled to, while all those who book on line will qualify for the draw, whether or not they are Skywards members at the time of the booking.

To receive double miles, passengers should register through e-mail or the web page and complete their travel by 30th June.

The offer is open to passengers who are already Skywards members or who become members before 30th June 2008, and are resident in Sri Lanka.

The bonus Miles they receive are in addition to the Miles normally earned in respect of their flights. The promotion is valid on First, Business and Economy Class.

Under the on-line booking promotion, all passengers who book on-line and travel at least one sector in May or June will be eligible to win a first prize of 100,000 Skywards Miles and two prizes of 75,000 Skywards Miles each. The Skywards Miles won or accumulated can be redeemed for free air tickets or many other benefits offered by Skywards, including upgrades, hotel accommodation, excursions, exclusive shopping, and fine dining.

One of the world's fastest growing international airlines, Emirates operates 17 services a week from Colombo to Dubai and four services a week from Colombo to Singapore and Jakarta.

Kingfisher plans Karachi, Lahore

Has Colombo on its radar:

Mumbai: Private air-carrier Kingfisher Airlines is looking at destinations across South-Asia, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, as a part of its international operations. The air-carrier also has Colombo on its radar.

"Karachi, Lahore, Colombo and Dhaka are on our radar," a top airline official told news agencies.

The airline plans to launch flights to some of these destinations after its proposed launches of the New York and San Francisco flights in August from Bangalore. If the airline gets permission to operate a service to Karachi and Lahore, it will become the first private air-carrier from India to fly to Pakistan.

"We want to fly to Singapore, Bangkok, Shangdon, Munich etc. We have finalised our schedule and a final decision will be taken soon," the official said."However, all this is subject to the government`s approval," he added.

In addition to this, kingfisher is also eyeing Kuala Lumpur and Dubai sectors as part of its proposed overseas operation.

Budget announces frequent flyer partnership with Gulf Air

Budget Rent-a-Car, one of the top three global car and van rental companies, has joined forces with international airline Gulf Air to offer a new frequent flyer deal to its customers.

Members of the airline's Frequent flyer programme will now be awarded with 500 Frequent flyer miles every time they rent with Budget.

Customers simply need to quote their Frequent flyer membership number when booking with Budget and present their membership card when collecting their vehicle. Jill Grinsted, Director of Sales and Marketing, Budget Rent-a-Car said: "We are absolutely delighted to have secured this partnership with Gulf Air. With over 55 year's experience and the biggest network in the Middle East, they ideally match our network in the region and beyond, and we are proud to be able to offer their Frequent flyer members award miles when booking with Budget."

Gulf Air's Acting Commercial Officer Danny Barranger added: "We continually seek out partners for our Frequent flyer programme that reflect our brand values and further enhance our efforts to become the airline of choice. Budget therefore is an ideal partner for our members flying throughout the Gulf, Middle East and beyond on Gulf Air."

Further information and reservations, could be made at www.budget-middle-east.com

Qualifying Rentals are rentals made via the Budget or Gulf Air website, Budget call centre or at any Budget rental location. Qualifying rentals do not include rentals on corporate rates, tour operator or broker bookings, complimentary rates and airline staff bookings.

Bangalore's new airport takes off

Bangalore: After weathering many storms, Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) finally took off on Friday with Indian Airlines flight IC609 from Mumbai touching the runway at 10.40 pm.

The atmosphere at the new Bangalore airport was thick with uncertainty as operator Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) formally launched its operations. Adding to the confusion was the airport's public relations agency's inability to confirm whether the first flight to land there was Jet Airways or Indian Airlines.

The plush new airport, which saw its launch date being deferred three times on flimsy grounds, has been designed to handle over 12 million passengers annually. With BIA's launch, Bangalore's old airport HAL will close to commercial flights.

HAL was designed for an annual load of 2.5 million passengers but its capacity was stretched to 10 million passengers, as air traffic grew significantly at the information technology hub in the last few years. With 42 parking bays and eight aerobridges, the new airport has the capacity to handle 720 aircraft movements per day.

BIA shareholders include Siemens Project Ventures, Larsen & Toubro, Unique Zurich Airport, and the governments of India and Karnataka. Courtesy Aviation India.

SriLankan trains 42 more Engineers

SriLankan Airlines recently completed comprehensive training programmes for 35 Aircraft Technicians and seven Aircraft Engineers, in its continuing efforts to provide opportunities for young men and women to embark upon rewarding careers as professionals in the international aviation industry.

Two Sri Lankan women students and seven foreign students - five from the Maldives, and one each from Oman and India - were among those who successfully completed the 2-year Basic Course in Aircraft Maintenance. One young woman, a Sri Lankan, was among those in the Aircraft Engineering programme, which is also a 2-year programme.

SriLankan Technical Training is one of the few companies in Asia to hold the globally recognized EASA 147 certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), to provide training in Aircraft Maintenance to foreign and local students.

Technical Training Manager, Harsha Priyadarshan said: “I am proud to say that this is the third consecutive course we have conducted since 2003. This programme is designed and conducted as per EASA 66 guidelines. It is also approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka and the Civil Aviation Department of the Maldives.”

Another batch of students is already undergoing the next Aircraft Technicians Programme which began in June 2007.

The next new batch is scheduled to commence in June 2008.

A ceremony was held at the Airport Garden Hotel recently at which all of the participants were presented certificates upon completion of the two-year programmes.

D.A.G. Jayasuriya, Senior Manager Aircraft Engineering at SriLankan, was the Chief Guest. Parakrama Dissanayake, Acting Director General of Civil Aviation, gave the keynote address.

The Technicians course provided a complete training with 1,200 hours of theory and another 1,200 hours of practical training in workshops, base maintenance and line maintenance. Eighteen students were in the Mechanical stream including the two ladies, and 17 in the Avionics stream.

The Basic Course in Aircraft Engineering is also a 2-year full-time programme, designed using EASA 66 guidelines for theoretical modules and specific requirements of SriLankan’s Aircraft Engineering Department.

The seven trainees, five of them in Mechanical and two in Avionics, underwent practical training in all aspects of aircraft engineering.

They included one young lady in the Mechanical stream.

Best Air to fly to Colombo

Bangladeshi Airliner Best Air launched its Dhaka-Bangkok-Dhaka flight last week with four frequencies a week. This would be an all Economy class flight and the airline also hopes to connect Colombo.

Best Air entered in the Passengers market from the beginning of 2008 with an ambitious plan of launching its flight services to different destinations out of Bangladesh including Malaysia, Kolkata, Chennai-India, Dubai-UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Kunming-China. The airline also plans to connect Colombo and Male with its flight service to Chennai. Best Air plans to start the flight to Kolkata, Chennai and Kuala Lumpur in July, while the Middle Eastern gateway point Dubai flight commences from August.

Best Air already earned its position operating in the lone domestic sector Dhaka-Chittagong-Dhaka with premium quality flight services.

Best Air started its journey in the year 1999 as the pioneering helicopter operator and the Freighter operator. Best Air is the first airlines that introduced value added services such as Valet Services at the airport, Web reservation system, SMS alert for the passengers, and the meal choice for the passengers.

Best Air is the first airlines in the region to offer the most dynamic package “Fly Now, pay Later” with zero percent interest which is a joint program with a syndication of Banks in Bangladesh, allowing the budget tourist to travel with family, in group.

Chairman of Best Air M. Haider lJzzaman, says that his personal experience in the aviation services for over two decades have given him scope for him to plan different benefits packages for the passengers.

Qatar tops 200 aircraft orders

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker spoke of the airline’s aggressive expansion plans over the next few years highlighting orders for more than 200 aircraft worth over US$30 billion.

The national carrier of the State of Qatar is pursuing an ambitious growth strategy in line with the country’s dynamic economic boom where huge infrastructure development projects are fuelling the growth.

Addressing international media at Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the Middle East’s leading travel trade show being held in Dubai this week, Al Baker said the airline’s aircraft orders would help facilitate the country’s economic drive forward and turn Qatar into both a leading regional and global aviation hub.

He said a new wave of aircraft deliveries begins this summer with Qatar Airways’ third Boeing 777 joining the carrier’s 62-strong fleet. From November this year, Qatar Airways takes delivery of the first of its Long Range Boeing 777-200 aircraft capable of flying to virtually any key city in the world non-stop from Doha.

The first Boeing 777-200 will be introduced on the Doha - Houston route from November 10 with a non-stop flying time of 17 hours. A brand new international airport under construction in Doha will help facilitate the growth with the first phase slated to open in 2010.

Qatar Airways is had its biggest ever presence at ATM this year, promoting a new corporate look and featuring a brand new exhibition stand.

iPod, iPhone connectivity on Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines first to offer iPod Integration Through In-Flight Entertainment System, KrisWorld Singapore Airlines announced the first-ever flights featuring iPod and iPhone connectivity on KrisWorld starting this week on its newly reconfigured, all-Business Class Airbus A340-500 flights between New York and Singapore, and between Los Angeles and Singapore from August.

Customers can now easily enjoy their personal audio and video content from their iPod or iPhone on Singapore Airlines’ KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system. Each seat features a 15.4-inch widescreen LCD screen which is perfect for watching television shows and movies, as well as active noise-cancellation headphones.

“Customers on our all-business class Airbus A340-500 flights now have an incredible way to enjoy their own iPod and iPhone music and video on the KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system,” said Yap Kim Wah, Senior Vice-President Product & Services, for Singapore Airlines. “This is yet another example of our philosophy of creating customer satisfaction by providing an enhanced sense of choice and control.”

“The iPod is the world’s most popular digital music player and iPhone is a revolutionary mobile device, and they have become essential for millions of travellers,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPod & iPhone Product Marketing.

“Singapore Airlines’ customers can now enjoy their music, TV shows and movies on their iPod and iPhone through the in-flight entertainment system.”