AVIATION

More women pilots at SriLankan Airlines

SriLankan Airlines wants more women to seriously consider careers as airline pilots:

SriLankan Airlines woman pilots have revolutionized aviation in Sri Lanka, with several international flights being carried out by all-female crews, the company said.

The airline currently has four women among its 189 pilots, the others being senior first officers Madini Chandradasa, Chamika Rupasinghe, Roshani Jinasena and Captain Anusha Siriratne.

SriLankan's Flight Operations Head, Captain Druvi Perera said the airline is pleased with the progress of its women pilots.

"SriLankan Airlines encourages more young women to seriously consider careers as airline pilots. As our first four women pilots have proven, the sky is the limit," Capt. Perera said.

SriLankan does not discriminate between men and women in its recruitment for any post, including pilots, and it was simply a matter of time before our women pilots made history with an all-female flight. At SriLankan, where safety is of paramount importance, what matters is not a pilots gender, but his or her experience, training and expertise, Capt Perera said.

These women pilots were trained at SriLankan's Cadet Pilot Training Program, which has launched the careers of hundreds of pilots over the last three decades who have gone on to distinguish themselves both at the National Carrier and in other airlines throughout Asia and the Middle East.

Entry into its Cadet Pilot Training Program is competitive. Most cadets today possess university degrees, as well as experience in flying light aircraft and small commercial aircraft.

SriLankan has a perfect flight safety record over more than three decades of operations, the result of some very tough standards for its pilots.

All pilots must have a minimum of seven years of commercial airline experience before being considered for the post of Captain.

Aviation organizations launch safety information exchange

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), with three governmental aviation safety organizations, took the first step to creating a global information exchange to improve aviation safety.

IATA, with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Commission of the European Union (EU), has signed a Declaration of Intent to exchange safety data.

The signing took place during the ICAO High-Level Safety Conference in Montreal.

This milestone agreement marks the first time the global aviation community has come together to work on a global safety information exchange. "Data must drive our actions so that we can focus our joint efforts on reducing the greatest risks," said IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani.

"Working together with governments using global standards, safety has improved tremendously. In 1945, there were nine million passengers and 247 fatalities. In 2009, 2.3 billion people flew with 685 fatalities. Every fatality is a human tragedy and reminds us that we must do better. Today's agreement is one more important step to make a safe industry even safer," said Bisignani.

"Audit data will be a key element in the project. IATA, ICAO, the FAA and the EU conduct audit programs that collect complementary safety information. We must understand safety trends, not just from the handful of accidents each year, but by bringing together and analyzing data from millions of safe flights. With this we can take more effective action to reduce risks and improve safety performance, said Bisignani.

"There is no competition when it comes to safety. Cooperation is the way forward. We have a common goal of zero accidents and zero fatalities. The safety data from audits and oversight programs contains important parts of a whole picture. Agreeing to put this data together is a major step forward," said Bisignani.

The four organizations will now start work on a way to standardize safety audit information and ensure compliance with local privacy laws and policies. This is targeted to be completed within 12 to 18 months.

Virgin Atlantic wins customer service award

Virgin Atlantic has been voted top in the 2010 UK Customer Services Index. Virgin Atlantic Chief Commercial and Financial Officer Julie Southern collected the award at the Institute of Customer Service annual dinner in London last week.

The UK customer services Index (UKSI) recognizes excellence in the delivery and execution of customer service. The results of the award are drawn from 26,000 UK adults. Virgin Atlantic has achieved an overall customer satisfaction score of 83.4 percent.

Chief Commercial and Financial Officer Julie Southern said, "We are delighted to have been voted the top company in the transport sector of these well-respected awards which are voted for by thousands of members of the public. The award is a testament to all of the staff at Virgin Atlantic who offer excellent customer service every single day. Customer service continues to be key to the airline's success and keeps our customers flying with us again and again."

The UKCSI is collated and published by the ICS to allow UK public sector and private organizations to gauge just how good British service is.

Organizations appearing in the index are able to compare how they perform against others in their sector, and also what they can learn from others.

Participants in the web-based research respond to questions across a number of factors including professionalism, efficiency, timeliness and problem solving to build a clear image of the top 20 customer service priorities that UK consumers say are the most important to them.

Another A 330/300 joins Oman Air fleet

Luxurious new three-class service launched to Paris:

One more of the new A330/300 aircraft, scheduled for delivery this year, joined the Oman Air fleet last week.

The brand new aircraft flew on its delivery flight from its home in Toulouse to Muscat and marked another feather in the cap of Oman Air.

Oman Air CEO Peter Hill said, "Oman Air's A330 fleet is growing, with five delivered aircraft so far, one more to come in May and another in the Spring of 2011.

The network is expanding fast and our reputation as the most preferred airline is spreading. With this addition, we did commence our much awaited 3-class service to Paris on March 28."

Launching the new service, Hill said, "Oman Air's new three-class service between Paris and Muscat delivers everything the discerning traveller could want. Our non-stop direct flights to Paris offer a smooth and hassle-free journey. Our new aircraft offer more space, comfort and luxury than ever before."

Qantas launches probe

Qantas Airways was on Thursday investigating an incident in which an Airbus A380 damaged tyres on landing in Sydney, showering sparks and scaring passengers.

Witnesses reported seeing flames and hearing a loud bang as flight QF32 touched down late on Wednesday, while media said two tyres burst. Video footage showed bright flashes from under the plane.

None of the 244 passengers was hurt in the incident, which comes just a day after a Boeing 747 was forced to abort a flight from Sydney to Singapore.

"On landing last night, two tyres were damaged. The aircraft was assessed on the runway by engineers and it was determined it was unable to be towed to the gate," a Qantas spokeswoman said.

AFP