Travel

Air Mauritius tie up with Mack Air

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

With the opening of a new air passage to Sri Lanka tourist traffic and commerce between Mauritius and Sri Lanka is bound to increase in the coming years.

The tie up between Air Mauritius and Mack Air (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of John Keells group as the General Sales Agent (GSA) for passenger sales in Sri Lanka from November 1, was launched in Colombo last week.

Vice President Sales Support and Distribution of Air Mauritius, Raj Deenanath told the Sunday Observer that they believe there is a rich potential for tourist traffic from Sri Lanka to Mauritius.

He said, there is traffic from Sri Lanka to Mauritius consisting of workers and also business traffic to Madagascar. "We believe there is a big potential for traffic from Sri Lanka to Mauritius and beyond Africa. We will provide assistance to our GSA to promote Mauritius as a gate way to Africa.

He said Mauritius is a tropical beach resort destination with tourists coming from Europe, South Africa, India and Australia. Tourism is a number one industry in Mauritius. "Mauritius have an ambitious plan of having two million tourists in 2015. Around one million tourists visited Mauritius last year."

He said Air Mauritius was the national airline for the Republic of Mauritius. "We have a fleet of 11 aircraft, five A 340, two A 330, two, A 319 and ATR 72. All our aircrafts operate in two class configurations viz business and economy. We operate to 25 destinations worldwide."

Air Mauritius also operates to major hubs in Europe like London and Paris. In the Asian and Far East it operates to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong. It also operate to Chennai , Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi.

"We will negotiate with our airline partners to create products to facilitate travel to Mauritius. We also plan to do promotions in Mauritius to promote Sri Lanka as a destination. The appointment of Mack Air (Pvt) Ltd, of John Keells Holdings PLC as the General Sales Agent by Air Mauritius will boost travel between the two countries, he said

Oman Air takes wing into Lankan skies

Oman Air became the newest addition to the Sri Lankan skies by commencing operations to and from Colombo this month with the first flight scheduled for November 14, making the city its 32 destination.

Country Manager, Sri Lanka and Maldives Oman Air, Gehan Karunaratne said initially the carrier will operate four flights per week and then daily from summer 2010. He said, the company is excited about commencing operations in Sri Lanka as there will be more opportunities for people to travel between Muscat and Colombo and also to other destinations in the Middle East.

"The new venture will be a major boost to promote tourism and business between the countries," Karunaratne said.

"Oman Air, the flagship carrier of the Sultanate of Oman's Aviation sector started operations in 1993 as a regional player and the company made rapid progress since then", he said.

Oman Air operates to all key destinations and is popular for its outstanding First and Business Class product, services and modern fleet. The carrier has positioned itself as a boutique airline in the premium segment.

CEO, Oman Air, Peter Hill said the scenic beauty, the plethora of locations and the hospitality of Sri Lankans will be an attraction to Omanese and other Middle Eastern tourists.

The tourism industry anticipates a boom in tourism with the complete end to terrorism in the country and an early end to the world economic crisis.

Tourist arrivals recorded a steady growth this year following the victory in the battlefront in May. The industry expects a major influx of tourists for the forthcoming winter holiday season.

"The latest Oman aircraft fleet equipped with modern technology has helped meet customer satisfaction and provide a hassle free journey", he said.

Oman Air is the first airline to introduce Boeing 737 new generation aircraft to the Gulf region. The Airline expects to cover around 50 destinations with the new aircraft by 2015.

LF

Special offers for State bank employees from SriLankan Holidays

In appreciation and recognition of employees of all State Banks, SriLankan Holidays, the award winning leisure arm of SriLankan Airlines has introduced a special package - "SriLankan Holidays State Bank Offer."

The package offers an attractive discounted percentage from the regular Mega 999 packages to six contrasting destinations in India - the film set city Mumbai, capital city New Delhi, Chennai and its bargain shopping, and the IT hub Bangalore.

Added to the excitement of it all are also destinations in the Far East such as the Lion City Singapore, modernistic Malaysia, Bangkok the shopper's paradise and Glorious China.

Employees of all State Banks can now take a well-earned and well-deserved break from work and plan an exciting yet affordable holiday overseas with their families.

These all inclusive packages will undoubtedly bring them a totally new dimension, a new experience and furthermore .... expose them to new Asian cultures at what are possibly the best possible rates in town.