AVIATION

Cathay Pacific serves straight from heart

Enjoy amazing packages on BKK, S'pore roundtrips:

Revel in Bangkok and Singapore with Cathay Pacific's amazing fares and packages

Cathay Pacific Airways has launched attractive fares and packages to the colourful, exotic destinations of Bangkok and Singapore. Get hooked on the best deals in town with amazing fares to Bangkok and Singapore, as Cathay Pacific offers travellers a chance to book their tickets online and enjoy exciting discounts. This offer is available till February 28 and passengers can travel until March 31, 2011. More details regarding these special fares can be obtained on the Cathay Pacific Airways website www.cathaypacific.com/lk

The wonders of Bangkok await you as Cathay Pacific also provides fabulous packages, which include an Economy Class round trip ticket, two night's hotel accommodation with breakfast, return airport transfers, a complimentary meal voucher at KFC, complimentary SIM card and city tour and exclusive discount voucher at King Power Duty Free Shop. Book tickets until March 20 and travel until the March 31, 2011 to avail yourself of Cathay Pacific's award-winning services.

The Lion City is home to an array of exciting delights and Cathay Pacific has designed an exclusive package to Singapore which includes a round trip Economy Class ticket and two night's hotel accommodation with breakfast, among other delightful benefits. Passengers can book their tickets and travel until April 30, 2011.

"Cathay Pacific Airways provides convenient flight schedules with our customers' comfort and convenience in mind, always living up to our motto of rendering service straight from the heart. The airline operates three times a week to Bangkok - Monday, Wednesday and Friday - and four times a week to Singapore - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday" enthuses Ruhan Abbas, Sales and Marketing Manager for Cathay Pacific Airways, Colombo.

Furthermore, passengers may also enrol for the frequent flyer program Asia Miles and enjoy a host of travel benefits. Business Class passengers can enrol for Cathay Pacific's exclusive loyalty club Marco Polo Club free of charge (the enrolment charge of USD 50 is waived for business class passengers).

Cathay Pacific Airways is represented in Sri Lanka by Finlays Colombo PLC as General Sales Agent. To find out more about these exciting fares and packages, contact 2303514/5, your travel agent or log onto the Cathay Pacific Airways website www.cathaypacific.com/lk for more details.

Emirates generosity during cricket World Cup

Online bookings, registered ticket purchases eligible for rewards:

As 'World Cup fever' reaches its zenith with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 close at hand, Emirates, an official partner of the event, is preparing to reward passengers by giving away 50 tickets to matches played in Sri Lanka.

Five pairs of tickets await Emirates passengers who book and purchase their tickets online at www.emirates.com/lk. A further 40 tickets can be won by passengers who purchase their tickets and register with Emirates.

The tickets for online booking will be for the Sri Lanka vs Pakistan match (February 26 in Colombo), Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe (March 10 in Pallekele), Australia vs Pakistan (March 19 in Colombo), the Quarter-final (March 26 in Colombo) and the Semi-final (March 29 in Colombo).

Ticketed bookings made on or after January 20, 2011 till a day prior to the draw for the respective matches will be eligible to win these tickets. The corresponding draws to choose the lucky winners of these tickets will be held on February 18, March 1, March 10 and March 18 respectively.

Winners will be notified by email on the same day after the conclusion of the draw.

For a chance to win one of the other 40 tickets, Emirates passengers must send details including name, Skywards number (non Skywards members can visit www.skywards.com to register), Emirates ticket number and contact number to [email protected].

"The enthusiasm and passion for cricket is at its peak and many of our customers have been waiting with great anticipation for the ICC Cricket World Cup," said Emirates Sales Manager (Sri Lanka) Devika Ellepola. "Emirates constantly looks for ways to reward customers and this is yet another example. We are happy to be able to reward them with this remarkable opportunity to enjoy a great match experience and be part of one of the most enthralling and electrifying sporting events in the world."

Emirates is an official partner of the ICC Cricket World Cups of 2011 and 2015. The third largest and most viewed sporting event in the world, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 takes place from Saturday February 19 to Saturday April 2 in Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh.

Besides the ICC Cricket World Cup, Emirates also sponsors the ICC Champions Trophy, the ICC World Twenty20, the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, ICC Under-19 World Cup, ICC Intercontinental Cup and the ICC Women's World Cup.

IATA concludes Vision 2050 meeting:

Industry prepares to handle 16 b passengers

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the successful conclusion of its Vision 2050 meeting in Singapore. In total thirty-five strategic thinkers gathered in Singapore under the inspirational leadership of Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and benefitting from the competitiveness expertise of Harvard University's Professor Michael Porter.

"Aviation is a unique industry. In 2011 we expect to generate almost $600 billion in revenues with the burden of $205 billion in debt.

The industry's activity is critical. Aviation supports 32 million jobs and facilitates the global village by supporting $3.5 trillion in economic activity.

Our commitments to tackle climate change are the most ambitious of any global industry.

And we are the safest mode of transport. But our margins are pathetic - just 0.1 percent over the last 40 years. This is not sustainable.

We need to look ahead to anticipate change as we prepare to handle the 16 billion passengers and 400 million tonnes of freight that we will handle in 2050," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO. The full day meeting on Saturday, February 12, 2011 included delegates representing governments, airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, manufacturers, leasing companies, general business and academia. Singapore