SriLankan Airlines’ FlySmiLes partners Abans

FlySmiLes, the frequent flyer programme of SriLankan Airlines has entered into a partnership with Abans to offer its members exciting offers and benefits. With this partnership, FlySmiLes members will now have the opportunity to earn miles when shopping at any of the 400 Abans Showrooms island wide. Accordingly, FlySmiLes members will earn one FlySmiLes mile for every Rs. 100 on purchases made.

SriLankan Airlines’, Head of Commercial Operations, Mohamed Fazeel said, “We at SriLankan are pleased to partner Abans, in our endeavour to provide more benefits to our ever growing member base. With our entry into the prestigious oneworld alliance, FlySmiLes members now have access to almost 1000 destinations in over 150 countries. Similarly, through our strategic partnerships with market leaders like Abans, SriLankan continues to bring value-added rewards to our frequent flyers.”

Abans Deputy Director Dinesh Perera said, “We are indeed happy to join hands with SriLankan Airlines’ FlySmiLes which is now a part of oneworld. This partnership will provide FlySmiLes members the opportunity to purchase any products from Abans’ 400+ showrooms island wide and receive one FlySmiles mile for every Rs.100 on purchases made.”

In addition, SriLankan Airlines American Express and Standard Chartered co-branded Platinum Credit Card holders can now acquire double FlySmiLes miles when they purchase products from Abans showrooms islandwide. “We are indeed happy that this partnership will give value addition to SriLankan Airlines’ FlySmiLes members,” added Mr. Perera.

Achievers rewarded at SriLankan Airlines’ Sports Council AGM

SriLankan Airlines, in view of encouraging and rewarding its employees who make the Airline proud at the island wide sports encounters, awarded colours to six athletes at SriLankan Airlines Sports Council Annual General Meeting held at the Colombo Hilton recently. The new office bearers for the coming year were also appointed at the AGM.

The Airline themed the year 2014 as “working together; winning together” and with such initiatives, the national carrier has been encouraging its employees to be involved in sports, thereby enhancing their personalities and attitudinal development which in return boosts team spirit and perseverance.

Asia’s First Ever Travel Bloggers Conference in Sri Lanka

Asia’s first ever Travel Bloggers Conference (TBC) will be held from November 14th-18th, 2014 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This conference named as TBC Asia is a brainchild of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts and is organized in partnership with the Professional Travel Bloggers’ Association (PTBA) and the National Carrier-SriLankan Airlines.

New landing gear for SriLankan A330 aircraft

SriLankan Engineering, a pioneer MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) service provider for regional carriers, has just completed the replacement of all three Landing gear assemblies of a yet another A330 Aircraft of the national carrier.  This marks the eighth occasion the complete gear assemblies were changed on wide body aircraft which commenced with the first change in 2010.

SriLankan Engineering has the prestigious EASA 145 certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency, and also has won awards for Best Global Operator of both A330 and A340 aircraft from Airbus Industrie, in the small airline category.

SriLankan Airlines takes pride in being a provider of comprehensive aircraft maintenance services in the region, under approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAA-SL), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and several other National Aviation Authorities (NAAs).

Corporate Communications Department
SriLankan Airlines

SLAF; Aviation fundamentals for beginners

The much awaited 3-day Aviation Fundamentals Workshop for school children commenced at AFM for the August holiday season.

A total of 60 children participated in the 1st workshop conducted on 5th Aug 2014 to gather basic knowledge in various aviation aspects. The kids were given the opportunity to participate in lectures, demonstrations, experimental sessions and practical experience with real aircraft.

Five such workshops are scheduled during the August school vacation.

airforce.lk

SriLankan and PIM join hands to empower the national carrier’s future leaders

SriLankan Airlines, together with Postgraduate Institute of Management held a special two-day management, leadership knowledge and skills development programme for the managers of the national carrier who are identified for their potential to shoulder expanded job responsibilities and higher managerial positions in the organization.

The facilitators, Dr. Travis Perera, Dr. Ajantha Dharmasiri and Prof. Uditha Liyanage conducted sessions for 30 selected managers of the Airline on decision-making and problem solving skills, leadership management, strategic management-planning and execution of competitive advantage, anatomy of leadership, leadership challenges, emotional intelligence and subordinate development.

Commenting on the programme, Prof. Uditha Liyanage said, “All managers are people managers. They manage people and the tasks performed by them. Some managers are leaders as well because they not only manage people but lead them and influence them. PIM is happy that it has been able to share key concepts of leadership and discuss how they can be applied in real life situations with a key group of personnel at Sri Lankan Airlines.”

SriLankan Airlines, Head of Human Resources Mr. Pradeepa Kekulawala said, “SriLankan Airlines takes pride in its human resource and we believe that sharpening the strengths of our employees is the key to success. This programme is aimed at imparting current knowledge and thinking of the subjects chosen for the participants to be well-grounded in principles that influence practice. ”

SriLankan, which has a multifaceted global workforce, believes in skills development and leadership management thereby enhancing productivity in order to achieve the set targets and goals. The programme has been customised extensively in order to improve modern management skills and soft skills, which are vital for organisational growth and the way forward.

This programme is a part of a structured and futuristic talent and leadership development programme aimed at business continuity.

Caption: Members of the SriLankan Airlines management who were present at the PIM Leadership programme, – along with Prof. Uditha Liyanage and Ms. Deepani Perera

Corporate Communications Department
SriLankan Airlines

Katunayake airport officers steal passenger goods – foreign media

Foreign media reports that the workers in the Katunayake airport steal the passenger goods.

Arab media says that the valuable things of Sri Lankan employees coming from Middle East are stolen at the airport.

It further says that the items mainly stolen are mobile phones, cameras and under wears.

lankacnews

SriLankan Airlines bags ‘Best HR Strategy in line with Business Strategy Award’ at ‘Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award 2014’

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, was awarded the prestigious ‘Best HR Strategy in line with Business Strategy’ award at the fifth edition of Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards, recently.  Held at Pan Pacific Hotel, Marina Square in Singapore last week, the award ceremony was organized by the Employer Branding Institute together with the World HRD Congress and Stars of the Industry Group and was endorsed by the Asian Confederation of Businesses.

The awards acknowledged more than 100 organisations across Asia that demonstrated excellence in building their brands and identities as employers, visible through their human resource practices, policies and strategies.

Introduction to Aviation from Skyline Aviation

The Skyline Aviation has organized a holiday course for those who are interested in aviation recently. This was a great opportunity for all the students to understand how the Aviation Industry works and how it feels to become and Aviator.

There were field trips to Skyline’s flight training facility in Katukurunda as well as to the Sri Lanka Air Force Museum & Air Traffic Control tower, Colombo International Airport, Ratmalana.

Ampara Domestic Airport!

7.3 million Tourists arrived in the island last year from the Katunayake International Airport. There was a need for a second International Airport in the country and the President fulfilled this need. Development is taking place in every part of the country. Development is not only limited to Mattala.

Now it is spreading to the Eastern Province too. Ampara domestic airport is a good example to that and the modernization of the internal Air services will serve as a catalyst for the growth in the tourism industry.

Kite Surfing in Kalpitiya

Kalpitiya is the main spot for kite surfing in Sri Lanka because of the perfect wind conditions for kite boarding.  Many tourists are coming to spend their holidays whilst doing kite surfing in Sri Lanka.

Especially in the months, May to August winds will provide the necessary power to do the kite surfing activities. The shore break is so ideal for beginners, too.

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 25% in July, 2014

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose 25.2 percent to 133,971 in June 2014 from a year earlier, by driven by China and India.

In the first seven months of 2014, arrivals were up 24.7 percent to 861,324.

South Asian visitors were up 27.9 percent to 26,681 with arrivals from India, Sri Lanka top market, up 30.4 percent to 19,277.

Visitors from Maldives were up 55.5 percent to 4,892 and Pakistan was down 40.5 percent to 1,227.

CAA Sri Lanka & CAA Maldives signed MOU on aviation examinations

The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) and the Maldivian Civil Aviation Authority (MCAA) inked an MOU yesterday (14th August 2014) for the MCAA to obtain licensing examination services of the CAASL to enable Maldivian students to sit  PPL, CPL, ATPL examinations in Maldives. The exams will be conducted by the CAASL, initially in GAN Island. Seen here in the photo are Mr. Hussain Jaleel, Chief Executive Officer of MCAA and Mr. H M C Nimalsiri, Director General of Civil Aviation/ Chief Executive Officer signing the MOU at the CAASL head office.

SriLankan Airlines to Start A330-300 Tokyo Narita Service from mid-Jan 2015

SriLankan Airlines from 16JAN15 plans to introduce new Airbus A330-300 aircraft on Colombo – Tokyo Narita route, with 4 weekly service. This 2nd long-haul A330-300 service for UL will replace existing A340-300 aircraft.

UL454 CMB2359 – 1145+1NRT 333 x124
UL455 NRT2315 – 1940CMB 333 x235

airlineroute.net

Third Batch of Mihin Lanka Trainee First Officers Take Flight

Mihin Lanka, Sri Lanka’s national low-cost carrier is proud of the excellent progress made by its third batch of cadets inducted in July 2013. The airline fulfilled its commitment to clear all 11 Trainee First Officers (TFOs) to fly as fully-fledged pilots within a mere 12 months of their training as planned. Mihin Lanka is now preparing to recruit its fourth batch of trainees.

Capt. Pujitha Jayakody, Director Flight Operations, Mihin Lanka said, “This achievement has been made possible by the talented and dedicated young trainee pilots, as well as the commitment of the Sri Lankan Airlines resident simulator instructors who supported the cadets’ simulator training.  The passion of Mihin Lanka’s veteran instructor captains who shared their expertise with this new batch of pilots also contributed towards the success of their training. Teamwork and dedication played a pivotal role in us achieving this milestone, which was cemented in customized training programmes. We were the pioneers to use the ADAPT interview process by Alpha Aviation and Sim bio tics in the UK, which tailor-made our interview process to identify the qualities we were looking for in our cadets. Our selection process is extremely important as it is our responsibility to people and society to produce world-class pilots who will be future commanders of airplanes.”

Capt. Themiya Abeywickrama, Chief Pilot Training and Standards, Mihin Lanka said, “The selected candidates were required to have a Commercial Pilots License from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. After the suitable candidates were selected by the ADAPT aptitude process, they had to undergo a six week stint at the ground school conducted by Mihin Lanka with the help of some veteran ground instructors who had been professional flight engineers on Boing 747 and Lock Head Tri Star airplanes for Singapore Airlines, LTU and Sri Lankan Airlines. During their training with the ground instructors, the cadets were introduced to complex working systems on bigger and more modern airplanes. Thereafter they completed the Type Rating Course, which includes Aircraft Type Specific ground school and simulated flight training which in this case was on an Airbus A320. This aspect of the cadets’ training took approximately six to eight weeks per person and only after they completed it could they commence flying actual aircraft with an instructor captain. This aspect of training called line orientation enabled cadets to fly a minimum of 40 sectors (take offs and landings) to a maximum of 60 sectors before they got final clearance to fly as fully-fledged first officers. Line training was conducted by Mihin Lanka’s resident local and expatriate instructors all of whom have a minimum of 20 years of experience in the aviation industry.”

According to Nishantha Ranatunga, Chairman / CEO, Mihin Lanka,  “Mihin Lanka has always been open to new challenges and we are doing our best to meet our current industry requirements and developments. Our training management has already started working on the recruitment of our fourth batch of cadets.  An enhanced training programme will also be introduced to address the present demands of the aviation industry. In the last two years, approximately 20 first officers who began their careers at Mihin Lanka, have joined some of the largest airlines in the region including Etihad, Tiger Airways, Air Arabia, Vietnam Airlines and Sri Lankan Airlines.  At Mihin Lanka, we believe in continuously improving our standards. I must thank our training team and professionals who adhered to stringent deadlines and helped produce a world-class batch of young pilots.

The world has an increasing demand for good technical crew members and Mihin Lanka believes it’s the duty of the airline to create opportunities for Sri Lankan youngsters from all parts of the island.”

Commenting on the training experience with Mihin Lanka, Ruchaka Dadagamuwa, Trainee First Officer, Mihin Lanka stated, “Mihin Lanka gave me the opportunity to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming an airline pilot. I completed my training in only six months and I am very thankful for the training I obtained from the instructors. I would like to thank the entire Mihin Lanka team for giving us the necessary support and guidance.”

Also commenting on the training experience, Adhil Anees, Trainee First Officer, Mihin Lanka stated, “The extensive training we received from Mihin Lanka significantly enhanced our knowledge and capabilities. The challenging training programme delivered by Mihin Lanka’s team of experienced instructors really helped us gain confidence and fine-tune our skills in handling aircraft.”

Also commenting on the training, Dilakshan Angunawela, Trainee First Officer, Mihin Lanka stated, “My training at Mihin Lanka was truly an enriching experience. I am proud that Mihin Lanka adheres to such stringent international standards by implementing vigorous training for pilots that covers both theory and practical learning. Our foundational ground training was carried out by veteran instructors with over 15 years of experience.  Line training was also a great experience as we had the fantastic opportunity of training with Mihin Lanka’s most senior captains who have decades of flying experience. I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to complete this training course provided by Mihin Lanka and I look forward to fulfilling my role as a pilot for Mihin Lanka.” (KH/SI)

news.lk

Airline Reservations & Fares Calculation Course – Intake 09

Civil Aviation Authority of Srilanka calls Applications for Airline Reservations & fares Calculation Course, Intake 09.

Entry qualification:
Credit Passes in English & Mathematics in GCE O/L

Date of Commencement: 20 September 2014
Course fee: Rs.20,000.00

For more details visit: www.caa.lk

caa.lk

There had been 50,802 air crafts that had come to BIA last year

The civil aviation ministry says that during last year there were 50,802  air crafts operated via Bandaranaike International Airport.

There was a 5% percent increase than in year 2012 and which includes 48,646 which recorded and there were 2,156 aircrafts which was not recorded.

According to the 2013 annual report of civil aviation ministry, the number of passengers who came to the airport during the year were 7,311,869.

Many foreign pilots in Sri Lanka

Director General of Civil Aviation says that more than 100 foreign pilots are employed at the Srilankan Airlines Ltd as chief pilots still we could not train pilots from our home country due to the lack of resources.

Mr. H.M.C.Nimalsiri, DGCA has further mentioned that approximately 200 foreign and local chief pilots are working in the SriLankan Airlines Ltd.  There are only 22 aircraft in SriLankan fleet and it is not enough to train chief pilots.  At present a chief pilot is paid approximately Rs.1.2 million and total including other allowances is approximately Rs.1.9million.

Source: oththukaru.com

AASL sponsorship donation to Sri Dalada Maligawa

Airport & Aviation Services (SL) Ltd (AASL) Sponsorship donation to Sri Dalada Maligawa Kandy being handed over by Vice Chairman Mr.Kamal S. Ratwatte to Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa Mr. Pradeep Nilanga Dela Bandara.

airport.lk

Mihin Lanka and Srilankan Airlines be merged: cope

Srilanka government is looking forward to merged Mihin Lanka and Srilankan Airline to reduce the losses made by borrowing at high interest rates.

The COPE minister says Mihin Lanka could be operated as a profit making venture and therefore has the potential to be converted into such a venture.  But at the moment both Mihin and Srilankan Airlines are incurring high losses compare to other airlines operates in the region.

synergyy.com

Ravana Aviation Kite Festival (RAKF- 2014)

The Kite competition has been organized by Ravan Aviation at Galle Face ground on 08 August 2014. The theme of the competition is ‘Kite to Aviation’ said the chairman of Ravana Aviation Mr. Harsha Govinda Koralearachchi.

More events were included at the competition and gifts & certificates are presented for winners.

Official Airline for the ‘Experience Sri Lanka with Commandos’

SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka’s national carrier is the official Airline of ‘Experience Sri Lanka with Commandos’ organized by Commando Regiment of Sri Lanka Army. A memorable moment of the six day – journey, which was started rolling down from Point Pedro to Uva Kuda Oya.

There had been1362 air crafts that had come to Mattala last year

The civil aviation ministry says that during last year there were 1362 air crafts operated via Mattala.

The number of passengers who came to the airport during the year were 36137 and 10938 are migrants.

According to the report for the year 2013, 37.4 MT of cargo were operated within the airport.

lankacnews

Special checking process at BIA avoiding the spreading of ‘IBOLA’ virus in Sri Lanka

Ministry of Health has taken actions to initiate a checking process at BIA Katunayake avoiding the spreading of Ibola virus in Sri Lanka.  This decision has taken after a meeting held with the Hon. Minister of Health.  Accordingly arrangements already made for a checking process, Establish a Medical Unit at BIA and to provide equipment for medical officers for treatments.  Also Ministry of Health stated that medical officers are to be worked 24 hours at BIA.   At present Ibola virus is spreading among Africa, Liberia, Siara Lion and Genee.

CATC Sri Lanka becomes an ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS full member

The Civil Aviation Training Centre – Sri Lanka, AASL’s training division was upgraded to the status of ‘Full Member’ of the ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS Programme.

The CATC has been an associate member of the TRAINAIR PLUS programme since January 2013 subsequent to the ICAO assessment conducted in October 2012. Along with this the CATC was given the option of upgrading to a full member by contributing a Standardized Training Package (STP) to the TRAINAIR PLUS pool. The Course Development Unit of the CATC successfully developed the STP titled “Advanced Test & Measuring Techniques for ATSEP” with subject matter inputs from the Electronics Engineering Training Wing. The development process was supervised by TRAINAIR PLUS expert Mr. Hussam Abanda and the validation delivery was conducted from 22 April to 6 May 2014 at the CATC for 10 ATSEP (Air Traffic Safety Engineering Personnel) of the company. On successful validation of the STP, it was accepted into the TRAINAIR PLUS pool and the CATC was granted full membership in the programme. The gold plaque signifying this achievement was presented to the CATC by Mr. Diego Martinez, ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS Programme Manager, on 2July at the Regional Course Developers and Instructors Standardization Meeting (CDI/STD) hosted by the G M R Aviation Academy of India, at Hyderabad.

TRAINAIR PLUS is the highest accreditation granted by the ICAO to an aviation training institution. It signifies the Competency Based Training (CBT) delivery capability of the institution in accordance with the stipulations of the ICAO. In addition, full membership signifies the centre’s capability to develop training courses of the highest quality to be placed in the TRAINAIR PLUS pool, an ever growing collection of high quality training packages. The courses in the pool are accessible to all members and any member may adapt and deliver any of these courses at their centers. This networking avoids the duplication of effort and makes standardized high quality training available to all members. (Visit http://www.icao.int/safety/TrainairPlus/Pages/trainingcenter.aspx for the list of current members and other details of the programme).

At present, CATC Sri Lanka is the only aviation training institution in the island which possesses the ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS membership. It is the premier aviation training institution in Sri Lanka counting 30 years of service to the industry.

airport.lk

AASL chairman upholds BIA’s efficiency & productivity clarifying airport rankings

Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd (AASL) yesterday clarified the ratings of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), in the wake of media reports claiming that Sri Lanka’s primary international airport performed poorly amidst other Asian airports according to an international survey.

The Airport Transport Research Society (ATRS), which annually conducts research on airports as part of its ‘Global Airport Performance Benchmark Project,’ surveyed a total of 200 airports globally and rated the BIA 25th out of 37 surveyed airports in the Asian region. This ranking was in relation to the Gross Variable Factor Productivity (VFP) parameter which analyzed data gathered up to 2012.

However, the BIA still ranked higher than airports in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai of India, Haneda, Manila, and Tai Pei.

In view of the recent media reports that cast a negative light on the BIA’s performance in the ATRS survey, AASL Chairman Prasanna Wickramasuriya stated that this was instead a positive depiction of the rapid development of airport services in Sri Lanka.

“The media recently highlighted an erroneously misquoted report published by just one of the many societies that conduct studies of aviation services. However, several other organizations that are well-known for their research publications have rated Sri Lanka very highly within this field,” Wickramasuriya told a press conference at the Cinnamon Grand last evening.

He said that organizations including the Airports Council International (ACI), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), SKYTRAX, International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were the leading agencies assessing the performance of international airports.

According to the AASL, the BIA was ranked fourth in the Best Airports in Central Asia in 2014 by SKYTRAX while ICAO ranked Sri Lanka fifth in the region in its Safety Rank Audit of 2014.

“Financially we are making record progress each and every year as well. All outputs including aircraft movements, passenger movements, cargo tonnage and non-aeronautical revenue have also increased over the past years,” he said.

The AASL maintained that airport productivity should be assessed by comparing these outputs which have seen steady development.

Meanwhile, Wickramasuriya stated that this was more a misinterpretation of the data rather than a problem with the methodology of the survey.

The ATRS survey focused on three aspects of airport performance including Productivity and Operating/Managing Efficiency, Unit Cost Competitiveness and Airport User Charges. The report also mentions that the survey did not consider service quality differentials across airports which AASL claim is a key factor which has a direct bearing on airport users. The definition of the VFP parameter is particular to the ATRS.

According to the other key aspects surveyed by this report, Sri Lanka has performed exceptionally well. The BIA was ranked at seventh position among the 37 countries based on cost competitiveness, ahead of airports in Gimpo, Incheon, Beijing, Bangkok and Narita.

Wickramasuriya explained that passenger handling had increased by 25% since 2013, adding that a 72.3% increase was seen between 2009 and 2013.

Elaborating on plans to increase passenger capacity at the BIA and the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), he said that Sri Lanka aims to increase capacity to 21 million annual arrivals by 2020.

airport.lk/ Daily FT
Pictures: AASL Media Unit

Mihin Lanka fulfills the dreams of pilgrims

Mihin Lanka, Sri Lanka’s national low-cost carrier operates a choice of flights to religious destinations and has over the years helped thousands of pilgrims fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting a sacred site.The airline operates flights across the region to sacred places that are of significance to different religions; however one of the airline’s most popular pilgrimage routes for Buddhist devotees runs from Colombo to Gaya and Varansi in India. Previously, no other airline flew from Colombo to Gaya and pilgrims had to travel excessive distances to reach Gaya. Now Mihin Lanka provides a direct flight to Gaya and Gamini Abeywardana – Manager, Government & Public Affairs, along with Asanka Fernando, Head of Sales, Mihin Lanka and the entire Mihin Lanka sales team work together to ensure pilgrims have a safe and memorable journey.

The Mihin Lanka sales team takes great pride in helping pilgrims embark on special religious journeys. Those interested in travelling to Gaya and Varansi often contact them for advice and all the information they require. Pilgrims are given a list of reputed travel agents that run tours to Gaya and Varansi, they are then able to select a tour that best meets their requirements.Gamini Abeywardena also provides government officials and pensioners with special promotions and incentives to assist them with their bookings. He regularly accompanies pilgrims and conducts the pilgrimage himself to ensure it remains a safe and wholesome experience for all pilgrims.

island.lk

BIA won the 4th place in Central Asia

The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Sri Lanka is rated 4^th place among the best airports in central Asia. The rating has been done by the SKYTRAX and is included in the web site www.worldairportawards.com

Indira Gandhi Airport New Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi Airport Hyderabad and Bengaluru Int’l Airports are rated on the top three places respectively.

The awards were based on 12.85 million passenger comments across 110 nationalities who evaluated the airports across 39 categories including check-in, arrivals, transfers, duty free shopping complexes, security, immigration and departure.