Travel / Lifestyle

SriLankan launches Air Taxi service

by Deepal Warnakulasuriya

SriLankan Airlines in collaboration with the Agriculture, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development Ministry has introduced an Air Taxi service which can land on identified reservoirs. Local and foreign tourists who wish to visit the hill country or southern part of the country will be served by this project.

Ministry Secretary T.M. Abeywickreme who joined a sea plane tour to Digana recently told the media that the sea planes landing project did not damage the environment or the Victoria dam where the pilot tour was conducted. Landing on Victoria reservoir was done at Digana and it is two kilo- meters away from the Victoria Dam.

He said that what they were concerned was whether it would damage the dam or affect the environment. But we found that the waves by the sea plane were less than a motor boat and it would not affect the aqua-creatures. This was confirmed by the Central Environmental Authority and the Irrigation Department engineers after conducting a number of inspections.

SriLankan Airlines Corporate Communications Head Chandana de Silva told the Sunday Observer that it was introduced as one of their new customer based projects. "We were planning this for a long time and it took time to get clearance from the other relevant organisations.

The Agriculture, Irrigation and Mahaweli Development Ministry and Mahaweli Authority who understood the importance of the project joined us and now the dream is a reality", he said.

He said that except the Victoria reservoir, they had already identified several other reservoirs islandwide where the service could be provided. "The Air-Taxi can also land on the ground.

Mahaweli Authority Director Ivan de Silva and several other officials, joined the pilot tour to Digana. De Silva said that the project has confirmed that there are no bad effects. "Therefore such projects should be assisted as these would bring in foreign exchange to the country.

It would be a huge jump in the tourism field. Not only tourists but even the busiest people could use this service", he said.

Only 10 passengers can be accommodated at a time in a SriLankan Air Taxi and a return trip would cost around UD$ 250. SriLankan AirLines also confirmed a safe and notable service for its customers with a well trained and experienced staff.

Captain Brian Knutsen who flew us to Digana said that he has 17 years flying experience and Sri Lanka was the seventh country where he serves as a captain.

Reservations can be made by dialling SriLankan Airlines, Katunayake or Ratmalana base.

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SriLankan Cargo - Building The Global Hub

Identifying the needs of the present precision driven business culture, SriLankan Cargo will push its 'Hub in the Ocean" concept to the next level, launching a regional charter service.

The move expands on SriLankan Cargo's current scheduled service to 50 destinations in 28 countries, serviced by its two dedicated freighters and 14 commercial service Airbus Aircraft.

Head of SriLankan Cargo, Nalin Rodrigo said "It was a wonderful challenge in building the Hub in the Ocean and we have successfully captured a significant market share in the South Asian region."

"The new initiative expands our reach worldwide, giving our customers a single air cargo service provider."

Businesses can now fly their cargo to any destination across South Asia, even points not connected by regular scheduled services on short notice, with all landing clearances obtained by SriLankan Cargo.

The service also allow businesses to leverage the benefit of a single service provider, avoiding possible delays and losses caused by breaking up the consignments and the different routes taken by each operator.

"While scheduled services give businesses a regular connection to key destinations around the world, the globalisation and the fast pace of businesses sometimes demands collection and delivery to remote locations," Rodrigo said.

Taj Exotica wins Quality Award

Taj Exotica Bentota was recently awarded the National Quality Merit Award 2006, thus making it the only hotel in Sri Lanka to win such a prestigious award. Commenting on this accolade, General Manager of Taj Exotica Ranjan Stanislaus said, "Quality is a way of life and is embedded in the organisational culture of Taj Exotica.

In embracing Business Excellence we have provided ourselves, with world-class systems and processes and have created an environment of agility and innovation while upholding our values and business ethics.

This award is yet another recognition of our ongoing journey of quality and continuous improvement. It also helps us to be globally competitive in the rapidly changing business scenario."

The criteria for the award was designed not only to serve as a reliable basis for making awards, but also to permit a diagnosis of any company's overall performance management system.

It covers all the key elements of any successful business namely leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement analysis and knowledge management, human resource focus, internal processes and business results. "This was indeed a proud and significant day for all at the Taj Exotica, moreso as we are the only hotel in Sri Lanka to have won this coveted award, another first after our ISO-14001 and HACCP certification last year," Stanislaus said.

Part of the Taj Group of Hotels, the Taj Exotica is a 162 room five star property on a hillock, overlooking the Indian ocean and the palm fringed long stretch of golden beach of Bentota. It is reputed to be the finest beach resort and Spa in Sri Lanka.