AVIATION

SriLankan Cares go South

SriLankan Cares completed the first phase of a major project to enhance the standard of education in the Southern Province, with the completion of a new building at Debarawewa Primary Navodaya Vidyalaya, a school of over 3,000 students with an investment of Rs. 12.4 million.

SriLankan worked in partnership with the German aid agency GTZ, which provided furniture, sports equipment, computers, musical instruments, and hearing aids for differently-abled students.

SriLankan Cares in 2003 began a highly successful long-term program that developed Meepagama Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya, a school of 1,000 children in the flood-ravaged Kalawana area of the Ratnapura District.

The planned Phase II will involve a second eight-classroom building to house Year 10, also of 4,500 square feet together with furniture, and a computer lab. There are also plans for a third building of similar size with eight classrooms together with furniture for Year 11, and a separate building to house a fully equipped library.

Present on the occasion were several Members of the Board of the airline, Nihal Jayamanne, PC, and Sanath Ukwatte, CEO of SriLankan, Manoj Gunawardena, Trustees of SriLankan Cares, and the Zonal Director of Education and officials from the GTZ.

Sky spa from Emirates

Emirates passengers can now take to the skies relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated with the opening of Emirates Hotels and Resorts’ signature Timeless Spa, located at the new Emirates Terminal 3 (T3) at Dubai Airport.

The T3 facilities mirror Timeless Spa’s concepts - originally created at the Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa - and offer the same high quality product ranges as well as tailor-made travel treatments to reduce stress and ease tiredness.

The spa facilities are available in Emirates Airline’s First and Business Class lounges, as well as on the hotel level of the concourse in T3, which has full spa facilities.

Passengers flying Emirates First and Business Class can choose from a range of treatments designed to relax and rejuvenate the traveller. Emirates’ First Class passengers can enjoy 15-minute treatments on a complimentary basis, while Business Class passengers can avail of 25-minute treatments for a nominal charge. Passengers in all classes of travel, including those in transit and those checking in early, can access a wide range of full spa treatments and can book their appointments at the Timeless Spa located on the hotel-level concourse, which boasts seven full treatment rooms.

The Emirates First and Business Class lounges each offers ten treatment stations, including a hair salon station where the Schwarzkopf SEAH HairSpa range of products are used.

All spa facilities are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Appointments are made on a walk-in basis and guests should arrive atleast 15 minutes prior to their treatment.

Tony Williams, Senior Vice President, Resorts and Projects, Emirates Hotels and Resorts said: “We have been somewhat surprised by the volume of businessmen using the spas, and their feedback has been exclusively positive.

Transit passengers, with two-three hours to spare, are also finding it very satisfying to break their journey with an hour of relaxing, pampering, and a thorough massage. The difference of getting onto an aircraft in a relaxed and tranquil mood, as opposed to being harried and rushed, really sets one up for the journey.”

Complementing the Timeless Spa experience are three distinct product ranges.

Alliance, Jet to take off in six months: Mallya

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) The alliance between country’s two biggest private carriers Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines will take six months to be fully operational, according to Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mallya.

Already the two carriers were cooperating “very closely in many ways” but it was not as simple as it sounded to operationalise the agreement, signed by them last October, Mallya told PTI.

“One project is taken at a time. If you decide that frequencies on a particular route operated by either Kingfisher or Jet are going to be changed, it is not as simple as making one phone call to the planning department and saying stop the flight,” he said.

Asked if the alliance could take off fully in the next three to six months, he said: “Absolutely, hundred per cent.”

For the deal to be smoothly implemented, Mallya’s Airbus based fleet will have to be synergised with the largely Boeing based fleet of Jet.

PTI

IATA welcomes U.K. decision on third runway

Following the announcement of the U.K. Government decision to add a third runway at London Heathrow, International Air Transport Association Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani issued the following statement:

“The U.K. Government made the right decision. The third runway allows Heathrow to grow, and, more importantly, it will be an enormous economic catalyst by better connecting the London and U.K. economies to global business,” said Bisignani.

“Growth must be environmentally responsible. The environmental restrictions on the third runway are challenging,” said Bisignani. “IATA’s four-pillar strategy on climate change - focused on improved technology, effective operations, efficient infrastructure and positive economic measures - is delivering real results.

Since 2004 we saved over 59 million tonnes of CO2. Moreover, as a result of the efficiencies that our industry continues to put in place, we have limited our CO2 emissions to 2 per cent of the global total.

Festive packages from Cathay

Cathay Pacific offering special festive packages for the forthcoming Chinese New Year that’s celebrated between January 26 and February 15.

The festivities spill over to neighboring Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong as well as China.

Passengers flying Cathay Pacific can take advantage of the special offers timed for the festivities that promise to be fun-packed complete with a Cathay Pacific Chinese New Year night parade in Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific’s travel package are to two destinations in China and would be for two nights three days with a round trip economy class ticket and hotel accommodation with breakfast and valid till April 30.

The Xiamen package also includes airport transfers.

The Hong Kong two night package also include a round trip economy class ticket, hotel stay with breakfast, return airport transfers and a half day city tour. An excess baggage allowance too is offered and is valid till March 15.

The Singapore or Bangkok, packages also comprise a round trip economy class ticket, hotel stay with breakfast, return airport transfers and half day city tour and the offer is open till March 31.

Sales and Marketing Manager for Cathay Pacific Airways Colombo Ms. Ruhan Abbas said that these offers are dazzling display that goes hand in hand with Hong Kong and China’s cultural heritage.