LEISURE

The Pearl Grand to open on March 21

Shirajiv Sirimane

Pearl groups’ second Star class Hotel, The Pearl Grand, an iconic land mark in the city of Colombo 03, would add another milestone when it is opened on March 21, 2013, which will also be the first Star class City hotel to be opened in the post war era of Sri Lanka.

Inspired by the permanent peace achieved and the positive environment created by the President, the Management made a bold decision to invest in this project which is a hundred percent local venture.

The management consider this project to be in line with the Mahinda Chinthana target of catering to 2.5 million tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka by 2016.

Pearl City Hotel which is the first venture of Pearl Group, already in operation and the new Pearl Grand offers a variety of well laid out and luxuriously furnished rooms, with all modern amenities of the state of the art.

The city of Colombo has become a major business hub and a transit destination where an up surge of business travelers as well as tourists patronizing Colombo. Pearl City and Pearl Grand built side by side are easily accessible by public transport while Colombo Fort is the main centre for transportation.

All guest rooms are equipped with world class amenities giving a luxurious comfort Centralized A/C, running hot & cold water, LED T.V. with 30 international + 06 local channels, BlueRay DVD players, mini fridges,individual safes, unlimited tea and coffee facility, individual iron board & iron, individual bathroom scale, uninterrupted WIFI facility, piped music, elegantly designed bathrooms with telephones and tastefully designed high quality toiletries and the latest electrical appliances are used to match the modern art of living , in style. The business centre is open 24 hours on gratis.

“Kohinoor” Restaurant and room services are open 24 hours , and the roof top “Grand Café” overlooking the indian Ocean caters from 11 Morning to 11 mid night, serving tropical fruit juices and all kind of snacks, tea and espresso (coffee) are also served. The roof top swimming pool, also overlooking the Galle Road and the Indian Ocean across the horizon is another major attraction of the property.

The modern gym, sauna and steam facilities for men and women too would add value to the hotel.

Another service the hotel has embarked is the airport pick up and drop services . The left luggage facility is also offered.

Oman Air enhances Cargo capacity with DHL

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman has announced, on March 1, 2013, the successful launch of its new joint venture freighter operation partnership with DHL.

Oman Air Cargo has signed an exclusive Block Space Agreement with DHL for utilising DHL’s capacity in both directions of its operation between Muscat (MCT) and Dubai (DXB).

Oman Air Cargo has been rapidly growing since its launch in 2009, making significant inroads into online and off-line markets. Further to the current partnership with DHL on the DXB-MCT-DXB route, Oman Air Cargo is looking at widebody capacity opportunities in partnership with other operators and airlines, connecting from airports in Muscat and Salalah, as part of its expansion program.

Mr Wayne Pearce, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Air, commented:

“We are delighted to be offering this additional freighter capacity to our cargo customers around Oman Air’s network. Moreover, our new partnership with DHL is adding further synergies for both organizations and the ultimate winner will be our customers. The additional main deck capacity available as a result of our joint venture is a vital step towards enhancing our cargo capacity, as it qualifies Oman Air to accept main deck cargo.”

“We will continue to create additional capacity and more frequencies in the near future to meet the requirements of our worldwide customers. In the meantime, we look forward to working closely with DHL Aviation to successfully deliver this much sought-after service.”

Malcolm Macbeth, Middle East & Africa Vice President DHL said:

“The Boeing 757-200 PCF will initially operate a once weekly schedule into Muscat, a partnership between DHL and Oman Air Cargo. DHL’s long-term vision is to increase the number of weekly frequencies into Muscat International Airport where cargo and logistics services are viewed as an opportunity for growth.”

The new service will operate every Friday, using DHL's Boeing 757-200 PCF aircraft, with flights from Dubai to Muscat departing at 16.30 and arriving at 17.30, and flights from Muscat to Dubai departing at 18.30 and arriving at 19.30. Flight capacity stands at 25,000kgs/150m3.