AVIATION

SriLankan Holidays indulge kids

Celebrating the fast approaching Christmas and New Year Holiday season, SriLankan Holidays offers all children a unique FREE holiday package to any one of 10 Indian cities, ranging from Chennai, Trichy, Trivandrum, Coimbatore, Cochin, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Goa and Delhi.

“This is certainly a not-to-be-missed opportunity where parents can take two children, each under 12 years of age, on a fantastic holiday cum educational visit to India,” an airline official said.

Operative from tomorrow till January 31, this specially conceived “Kids Go Free” package affords parents, (or any two adults) traveling on a Mega 999 Package, the never-before-offered opportunity of taking two children under 12 years of age, totally free of charge, indulging them with the experience of a lifetime.

The two children will be entitled to free airfare and a minimum of two nights free when they travel with their parents this holiday season. It comes replete with return airfare with taxes, hotel accommodation with return airport transfers

The “Kids Go Free” package enables parents to select from contrasting destinations across India and thus let their children explore the rich and multi-faceted variety the country has to offer.

India - the land of the Buddha, of the Ramayana, of Emperor Asoka, of the Taj Mahal and much, much more, features prominently and extensively in the history textbooks of Sri Lankan school children.

Both educative and enjoyable in every sense, the 360ø experience is thus indeed enriching and a fine combination of sheer leisure and total value for money. With India’s limitless attractions appealing to and enticing all of one’s senses, parents can not only treat themselves, but also their children, to the fantastic range on offer with SriLankan Holidays.

SriLankan Airlines that currently flies to 11 destinations across India operates a total of 77 flights weekly into India, thus making it the most frequently served destination in the SriLankan Airlines portfolio.

Singapore Airlines launches christmas tourist promo

The tourist promotional programme launched recently by the Singapore Airlines with the Sweet Christmas Light Up has been highly successful and a number of bookings were confirmed as a result, General Manager Singapore Air Lines C.A Chia said.

A family dining in the air in a cable car View of the ground from a cable car

Singapore Tourist Board also was able to attract many visitors as the places of tourist attraction such as the zoo, Sentosa Island and Singapore Flyer offers Special Christmas Packages to visitors.

Meanwhile the Singapore’s iconic hilltop destination the Jewel Box will be transformed into a holiday wonderland as it launches the Jewel Christmas Musical Lights Show and Snow Show presents another inspiring light music and snow extravaganza that is a feast for all the senses.

The cable cars that traverse in and out of the unique facade at night are glittering cabins that serve as entry points to uncover and delight in many gems that can be found in its confines.

This iconic structure is a Singapore $ 10 million investment and now in the process of further developing towards a green city reputation.

One of the world’s tallest artificial Christmas trees which will radiate from Mount Faber’ view point is another attraction.

The tree is a technically designed wonder, made almost entirely of 120,000 energy saving lights.

Sky Dining is another unique experience visitors could enjoy with their children and it is only in Singapore and the worlds first dining experience in the air 90 meters above sea level.

General Manager, Chia said that more Sri Lankan’s are signing up for the program.

Traffic decline continues

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international air traffic for October showing a second consecutive month of global decline. International passenger traffic declined by 1.3% compared to the same month in the previous year-a smaller decline than the 2.9% drop experienced in September.

The only metal left is the filling in my teeth I think

The October load factor was 75%, approximately 2% below previous year levels. International airfreight traffic contracted by 7.9% in October for a fifth consecutive month of increasingly severe drops.

“The gloom continues and the situation of the industry remains critical. While the drop in oil prices is welcome relief, recession is now the biggest threat to airline profitability.

The slight slowing in the decline of passenger traffic is likely only temporary. The deepening slump in cargo markets is a clear indication that the worst is yet to come,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Asia-Pacific carriers, which represent 31% of global international passenger traffic, saw passenger traffic decline by 6.1% (slightly improved from the 6.8% decline in September). A capacity reduction of 2.3% could not keep pace with the drop in demand, taking load factors for the region’s carriers to 72.2%. Year-to-date growth for Asia-Pacific carriers fell to 0.3%, the weakest growth outside of Africa.

Emirates double-decker to London

Emirates is bringing its very own brand of double-decker to London with the arrival of its industry leading A380 from last month.

Double decker - The Emirates A380, with its two passenger decks, starts serving the Dubai-London Heathrow route from 1st December.

The A380 deployed on the Dubai -Heathrow route is the third of 58 that Emirates ordered, making it by far the largest customer for the super-efficient superjumbo.

Despite its colossal size, the Emirates A380 makes less than half the noise of a 747 jumbo jet and uses 20 per cent less fuel.

President, Emirates Airline, Tim Clark, said: “We are delighted to bring our customers state-of-the-art comforts which are unmatched anywhere else in the world. Despite today’s challenging economic environment, they have responded by booking every seat on our inbound and outbound flights.”

Clark added: “Our major onboard innovations, the Onboard Shower Spas and Onboard Lounge, have already proved a big hit with customers. Around 75 per cent of our First Class passengers are using the showers in-flight, while the Onboard Lounge has proved a popular gathering spot for passengers who are able to tear themselves away from our revolutionary in-flight entertainment system.