AVATION

Cathay, Hilton team up

Cathay Pacific Airways has teamed up with Hilton - Colombo to offer a Beijing banquet at the Emperor's Wok from April 1 to 10. Hilton's dynamic guests - a duo of five star chefs from China will offer customers a delightful culinary experience and a banquet of barbecued delicacies during lunch and dinner.

"Cathay Pacific is proud to be the official sponsor for this event, as it provides customers a chance to engage in a unique culinary experience" Cathay Pacific Airways Sales and Marketing Manager Ruhan Abbas said. Cathay Pacific's close association with an extensive network to China ensures daily flights and convenient connections via the airlines hub Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific and sister airline Dragonair now operate 17 flights a day to Shanghai and fly 15 times a day to Beijing, with four flights a day to Xiamen to enable you to experience more of China. Dragonair alone operates to 15 other cities in China.

Cathay Pacific Airways is represented by Finlays Colombo PLC as General Sales Agent.

SriLankan air taxi flies to Nuwara Eliya

SriLankan Air Taxi has come up with an exciting new way to travel to Nuwara Eliya this April, to take part in the annual festivities.

Fly in half an hour and land on the calm waters of Lake Gregory in one of Air Taxi's colourful Twin Otter floatplanes.

Worldwide Sales Head Mohamed Fazeel said: People who travel the world know that there's no country as beautiful as Sri Lanka.

And there's no better way to view the enchantments of our island than from the air from an Air Taxi aircraft. We fly slowly enough for passengers to experience the most breathtaking views and fast enough to ensure that you arrive in Nuwara Eliya as fresh as when you left home.'

The twin-engined aircraft provide absolute safety, and are fast becoming a popular method of travel throughout the island, operating to lakes, lagoons and rivers. They're comfortable and convenient, and offer the type of speed and excitement that you'll never get from any type of ground transport.

SriLankan's Marketing Manager Pradeep Durairaj said: 'Lake Gregory has been specially cleared to provide an ideal water-drome for our aircraft, and we have a special dock, for the convenience of passengers, with excellent ground facilities at the point of landing'

Oman Air website accepts debit cards

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, has enhanced its website to accept debit cards.

This added feature will benefit those customers who do not own credit cards but wish to purchase Oman Air's ticket on the internet.

The convenience of online purchase of Oman Air tickets with credit cards was first introduced in July 2006.

Now www.omanair.com accepts debit,prepaid and ATM cards issued with "Visa" or "Master Card" logos, and is a great new convenient, efficient and time-saving product.

The website is fully secured and card transactions are encrypted for customer's security. If the customer's card issuing bank has activated the "Verified by Visa" or "Secured by Master Card" service to secure the online shopping, Oman Air Web supports this additional security feature as well.

Airbus expects A380 sales to rise in China

Airbus expects to sell more A380 aircraft in China in the coming years, despite only one Chinese carrier ordering the superjumbo so far, the plane maker's China president said Thursday.

Laurence Barron told an industry forum in Shanghai that China was expected to account for a fifth of the Toulouse, France-based company's global sales this year.

"We're pretty confident in the coming years we'll sell more A380s in China," he told reporters. "We certainly don't have to wait 10 years" for demand for A380s to pick up in China." China Southern Airlines, one of the country's three largest carriers, has ordered five A380s, the first of which are slated to be delivered in the third quarter, Barron said. But other Chinese carriers have been slow to warm to the double-decker plane, he added. In March, US rival Boeing got a boost when state-owned flag carrier Air China bought five of its new 747-8 Intercontinental jets, becoming the third airline to order the stretched passenger jumbo after Lufthansa and Korean Air. AFP

Free hotel stays for Emirates' First and Business Class passengers

Complimentary stopovers in Dubai - inclusive of luxury accommodation - await Emirates' First Class and Business Class passengers under a new promotion.

This attractive value addition will be available to Emirates passengers flying to or from Cape Town between April 15, and June 15, 2011; Vienna, Christchurch and Manchester between May 01, and June 30, 2011; Geneva between July 01 and August 31, 2011; and Copenhagen between August 01 and September 30, 2011.

First Class passengers will enjoy a free two-night stay at either The Armani Hotel located in Burj Khalifa or Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, located on the Palm Island.

Business Class passengers will receive complimentary premium accommodation at The Address Dubai Marina or Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. A 96-hour visa for single or double occupancy is also included.

Passengers staying at Dubai Marina and Armani Hotels will also receive free 'Fast Track' access to the famous 'At the Top' observation deck on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa, which offers a spectacular view of Dubai, while those staying at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray or the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel will receive free access to the Wild Wadi water park. "The amazing leisure and sight-seeing options in Dubai make a stopover an incentive," Emirates Sales Manager Sri Lanka Devika Ellepola said. "The opportunity to experience the Gulf's most dynamic city and the luxury of these top hotels make these offers unbeatable value for money."

Emirates recently introduced a second daily flight to Cape Town and six extra weekly flights to Vienna. The airline will start a third daily non-stop flight to Manchester on May 01, 2011. In addition, Geneva and Copenhagen join the Emirates network on June 01 and August 01, 2011 respectively.

All passengers on Emirates enjoy baggage allowances of 30kg, 40kg and 50kg respectively in Economy Class, Business Class and First Class.

Emirates operates 21 flights a week from Colombo to Dubai. The Emirates network now comprises of 111 destinations on six continents.

The offers are not valid for passengers travelling as part of an inclusive tour package and for those whose travel originates within the UAE or the UK.

Thousands evacuated after Melbourne airport breach

Thousands of passengers were evacuated from the Qantas terminal at Melbourne airport and planes delayed on Thursday after a security breach.

The evacuation was sparked after a man, who was later located, walked through exit doors into a secure zone. He was not thought to have had suspicious intentions, reports said, citing security guards.

"When you get off a flight and exit at the arrivals hall to collect bags, there are three doors which you go through," Qantas spokesman Thomas Woodward said. "A passenger has evidently, for whatever reason, gone through one of those doors and obviously hasn't been security screened at all, so unfortunately we're having to bring everyone back out from the secure areas for rescreening." The breach exposed a gap in the terminal's security, and internal investigations are under way.

The influential Transport Workers Union, whose Qantas members are threatening to strike over the use of cheap contract workers, among other issues, said it was an incident waiting to happen. National secretary Tony Sheldon told Australian Associated Press that Qantas should improve security at all terminals. AFP

Qantas strike threats go global

Australia's Qantas could face picket lines, protests and go-slow action by baggage handlers worldwide after unions warned Wednesday they were mulling a global strike against the airline. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) said the group's executive would meet in London next week to discuss broader action against Qantas, which is facing a strike in Australia over pay and conditions.

About 9,000 staff have threatened to walk out over the company's dispute with the Transport Workers' Union (TWU), and tensions escalated this week when Qantas said it was training managers as potential "strike-breakers". AFP