AVIATION

SriLankan rewards online bookings

SriLankan Airlines is offering amazing rewards for on-line bookings out of India to Sri Lankas capital city Colombo, plus four other exotic Asian cities - Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Male.

This exciting offer is open to members of its frequent flyer programe FlySmiLes, with up to 50 percent Bonus Miles on offer.

Becoming a member is as easy as filling out a membership form or logging on to website www.flysmiles.com.

The offer is available from all six cities in India that are served by SriLankan, which flies twice daily to Chennai; nine times a week to Trichy; six times a week to Bangalore; and daily to Mumbai, New Delhi, and Trivandrum.

SriLankans Acting Regional Manager Indian Subcontinent, Lal Perera, said: SriLankan Airlines has vowed to Change the Way We Fly and the Way You Experience Air Travel, and we are delighted to provide our Indian customers with more rewards.

This offer is valid for tickets purchased on SriLankans website upto June 30, 2010.

General Manager, Amith Sumanapala said passengers can also check in on-line which means they wont have to stand in line at check-in counters, and they can also select a seat of their choice. These Bonus Miles are in addition to the normal FlySmiLes Miles earned on a flight. Business Class passengers who book return tickets to Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur earn an amazing 3,000 Miles, with tickets to Colombo or Male earning 1,000 Miles.

One way tickets earn 1,500 Miles to Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, and 500 Miles to Colombo or Male.

Economy Class passengers who fly on return tickets to Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur earn 1,500 Miles, with tickets to Colombo or Male earning 500 Miles.

One way tickets receive 750 Miles to Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, and 250 Miles to Colombo or Male. SriLankan’s Marketing Services Manager Desiree Premachandra said: they are happy to give our members the opportunity to earn valuable extra miles which they can redeem for a host of benefits.

Air Arabia nets $ 14 m Q1 profit

Low-cost carrier Air Arabia posted net profits of 50 million dirhams (14 million dollars) in the first quarter of 2010, down 51 percent from the same period last year, the airline said on Thursday.

“Air Arabia’s net profit for the three months ending March 31, 2010 stood at 50 million dirhams, a decline of 51 percent compared to 103 million dirhams (28 million dollars) in the corresponding period in 2009,” it said in a statement. The airline, which is based in the emirate of Sharjah, north of Dubai, said it posted a turnover of 482 million dirhams (131 million dollars) in the first quarter of 2010, up four percent on 2009. About one million passengers flew Air Arabia in the first quarter, with an average seat load factor of 80 percent, it said.

The airline, the Middle East’s first budget carrier, currently flies to 60 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, from hubs in the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, it said.

It will soon fly routes “across Europe, the Middle East and Africa” via Air Arabia Egypt, an Alexandria-based joint venture with hospitality company Travco Group, the airline said. Air Arabia operates a fleet of 20 single-aisle Airbus A320 jets and has orders for 49 more. It posted a 123-million-dollar profit in 2009, serving 4.1 million passengers.

AFP

Air Asia gets new low-cost terminal

Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia said it would move to a new low-cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur’s international airport by March 2012, a year later than planned.

But AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said he was “thrilled” with an agreement struck with Malaysia’s airport authorities after a long-running battle over the design and facilities.

“We are very happy with the design, it has taken in a lot of our input,” Fernandes told reporters.

“We think that with this, a large part of our battle to make Malaysia the biggest hub of Asia is over.”

AirAsia, which was launched in 2001 with just two planes, is now the region’s fourth-biggest carrier with 25 million passengers a year.

Fernandes said the current low-cost carrier terminal, which opened in 2006, had a capacity to handle 15 million passengers annually while the new terminal would have a capacity of 30 million.

“This can enable us to plan for the next 10 years,” he said, adding that the bigger capacity meant the airline could revive some routes that had been terminated due to a lack of space at the current overcrowded terminal.

As part of the agreement with operators Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad there will be parking bays for 76 aircraft and AirAsia’s headquarters will be located next to the terminal building.

“We haven’t met the deadline we wanted but with the extra parking bays that we have been given, we’re comfortable,” Fernandes said.

“It’s okay, we’re excited. We will have a proper headquarters. It’s a big step forward for AirAsia.”

Like the current low-cost terminal, the new facility is not for AirAsia’s exclusive use, and is open to other budget airlines.

Fernandes said that the routes likely to be revived were flights to Hat Yai in southern Thailand, and Palembang and Balikpapan in Indonesia. He said the carrier also planned to introduce flights this year to the Maldives, where his Tune Hotel has been invited to build six budget hotels.

Kuala Lumpur, AFP

Oman Air showcase its premium service at ATM

Oman Air showcased its unique products and services, networked with industry peers and struck partnerships with new business partners at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the Middle East’s leading travel and tourism show. The 17th edition of the ATM was held from May 4-7, 2010 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Oman Air’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Hill said, “The Arabian Travel Market offered unparalleled opportunities for us to promote our quality service and new destinations to the industry’s top-tier professionals.

Oman Air also promoted their new recently launched destinations at the show.

Dubai no-frills carrier upbeat about market prospects

One year after its launch, Gulf budget airline Flydubai is confident it will be turning a profit within just a few years, its chief told AFP.

“Our region is highly underserved,” Flydubai Chief Executive Officer Ghaith al-Ghaith said, speaking on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel market in Dubai.

“I don’t think there are enough flights to the places that people want to travel to, or access is complicated and very expensive,” he said.

Flydubai marks its first anniversary in June, a year after joining a relatively young Middle East budget travel sector.

“There is no doubt about” the market for all low-cost carriers in the region,” said Ghaith.

Passenger demand for Middle East carriers grew by more than 25 percent in March, according to the International Air Transport Association.

“Whatever Flydubai has achieved so far, and the success that we have seen, gives us lots of confidence that there is plenty of potential there for us,” he said. Ghaith was confident that his airline, which currently flies to 13 destinations, would reach profitability in a couple of years.

“For an airline the size of ours and our plans, I think it will be good to make profit within two to three years of the start. We are confident that we’ll be able to do that,” he said.

He insisted, however, that Flydubai was not subsidised by the government of Dubai. It had no problems raising finance to purchase planes, he said. “The only issue with financing is that at the beginning, we had 20 to 30 banks, while at a certain time, they (became)... fewer,” he said a reference to the credit crunch, which hit after the airline was launched in March 2008, and before it made its maiden flight on June 1, 2009.

“Now, the appetite for indulging airlines has increased,” Ghaith added.

The impact of Dubai’s economic slowdown and the subsequent debt crisis had a minimal effect on his business, he said.

“We started on time... We had more aircraft than we originally thought we would have in the first year, and we are carrying through with our plans,” he added.

“It is a good time to start an airline, because if you can make it at this time, you can make it at any time.”

Dubai’s economy was severely hit by the global crisis, with dried-up credit bringing the property sector — the locomotive for the emirate’s rapid economic growth — to a complete standstill and pushing prices into free fall.

Dubai’s credibility as a sound investment destination was also tarnished by the debt crisis, which escalated with the government’s Dubai World conglomorate requesting a freeze on debt payments.

But it continues to attract tourists after establishing itself as a regional hub for tourism, in addition to business and services. Some 7.5 million people visited Dubai in 2008, up 8.3 percent from 2007.

“If we can make our country more accessible, more people will travel,” Ghaith said, speaking of Flydubai’s contribution to tourism revenues.

Dubai is also home to nearly two million people, mostly expatriates from countries within a few hours’ flight, which can easily be served by budget carriers. Flydubai thrives on the frequent commuting of such expatriates.

“Having a product like Flydubai will have people travel to our country easier and cheaper, so we’ll be more successful,” Ghaith said.

Flydubai placed a four-billion-dollar order for 50 single-aisle Boeing 737 planes at the Farnborough Air Show in England in 2008 and now operates a fleet of seven aircraft.

It expects to have 13 jets by the end of 2010 and to take delivery of seven to eight planes every year thereafter, Ghaith said.

The expanded fleet will help it to increase the number of destinations it serves to 18 by June. When asked about targets for route expansion next year, Ghaith answered: “Maybe another 18, why not?”

EU court fixes limit for lost air baggage claims

Airline passengers can claim no more than 1,134.71 euros (1450 dollars) for lost or damaged baggage, even if the loss causes emotional trauma, a European court ruled on Thursday.

Under the ruling the loss of a treasured family heirloom would not lead to any additional compensation due to the emotional loss. “That limit is absolute and includes both material and non-material damage,” the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled. The case was pushed up to the European court from Spain, where a passenger claimed damages for lost baggage plus 500 euros for “non-material damage” caused by the loss.

In Thursday’s judgement the EU court said that liability limits are included in the Montreal Convention on international travel.

This convention limits payouts for lost or damaged baggage to 1,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDR), or 1,134.71 euros.

On the issue of whether more compensation could be claimed for emotional damage, the court ruled that the convention contained no definition of ‘damage’ and therefore it could be deemed to include all types “regardless of the nature of the damage caused to that passenger.” In 2008 Axel Walz, a passenger with Spanish low-cost airline Clickair, sued the company for the loss of his case, demanding 2,700 euros for the missing baggage and another 500 euros for the upset caused.

The Barcelona court asked the European Court of Justice to consider whether the compensation limit applied only to the material loss of the bag, or whether further damages could be added.

The Luxembourg-based court left it to the Spanish court to rule on the specifics of Walz’s case.

AFP

Special packages from Cathay Pacific for Expo 2010

Cathay Pacific Airways offers exclusive Visit Shanghai Now travel packages for the Expo 2010 exhibition.

The event, which is a grand international gathering which attracts about 200 nations and international organizations as well as 70 million visitors each year, will focus on the theme of Better City. Better Life, and will be held from May 1 to October 31.

Participants will place special focus on urban life in the 21st century and concentrate on learning how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the sustainable development of human beings. Cathay Pacific has devised packages for travellers to make the most out of Expo 2010, which comprise a return economy class air ticket, hotel accommodation for two nights, and daily breakfast.