Oman Air and Travelport announce new seat assignment booking functionality to benefit travel agents

Oman Air and Travelport 

Travel agents booking Oman Air via Travelport’s Galileo and Worldspan distribution systems will now be able to benefit from new functionality, which allows them to manage the seat selection process in a ‘live’ and interactive environment.

The Interactive Seat Assignment functionality – jointly unveiled by Travelport, the leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions and data for the global travel industry, and Oman Air, the flag carrier of the Sultanate of Oman – will provide agents with greater ease in booking Oman Air content and help improve customer service.

In practice, Interactive Seat Assignment allows agents to request seat maps and assign, change or cancel specific seats in a real-time environment, whilst maintaining full control with the ability to accept or decline seat assignments. Oman Air CEO, Wayne Pearce, said: “We aim to ensure that Oman Air offers both customers and travel agents the greatest possible convenience and I am sure that the opportunity to select and assign seats using Travelport’s systems will be warmly welcomed. 

The system also offers the opportunity to reduce costs, enabling Oman Air to continue offering outstanding value throughout our network of more than 40 exciting destinations.” “Seat maps and advance seat assignments are becoming basic expectations amongst travel agents providing a high level of service to travellers”, added Will Owen Hughes, Senior Director, Supplier Services, Middle East and Africa, Travelport. “Managing these services can consume valuable airline resources, if they are not automated. Travelport systems reduce and often eliminate these costs, enabling travel agents to improve their service to their passengers, as well as to the airline.”

About Travelport (www.travelport.com)

Travelport is a leading provider of critical transaction processing solutions and data to companies operating in the global travel industry. With a presence in over 170 countries, approximately 3,500 employees and 2012 net revenue of more than $2.0 billion, Travelport is comprised of the global distribution system (“GDS”) business, which includes the Galileo and Worldspan brands, its Airline IT Solutions business and a majority joint venture ownership in eNett. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Travelport is a privately owned company. Follow Travelport on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Travelport 

About Oman Air (www.omanair.com) 

As the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, Oman Air offers comfort and luxury in every class, together with the superb warmth and hospitality for which Oman is famed. Since Oman Air was founded in 1993, its network of services has expanded to include a range of the most attractive and fascinating destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. And with each route originating in Oman, Oman Air is playing a major role in increasing the number of travellers to the Sultanate and providing a thriving gateway for business and tourism.

OMAN Air Sponsors the Gulf Flight Safety Committee AGM

OMAN Air Sponsors the Gulf Flight Safety Committee AGM

OMAN Air

Oman Air hosts the Gulf Flight Safety Committee on 10 June, sponsored by Oman Air, NEXUS Flight Operations Services and MedAire/International SOS.  The Gulf Flight Safety Committee (GFSC) was originally founded in Oman in 2004 by a group of Gulf based Safety Professionals from various aviation companies located within the GCC region.  This group is made up of over 250 members representing 80+ organizations within the region.  The group meets quarterly to promote safety improvement initiatives, including coordination with international organizations and bodies such as ICAO and IATA.

New elections during the GFSC Annual General Meeting held here in Muscat resulted in the following Executive Board; Chairman, Capt. Mohammed A. Malatani, Co-Chairman, Capt. William Mermelstein and Secretary/Treasurer Capt. Mark Trotter. “We are very pleased to have the support of Oman Air and the city of Muscat to host our Annual General meeting, and participation by the Royal Air Force of Oman and the Police Air Wing” says newly elected Chairman Capt. Malatani.  As a result of this annual meeting the membership agreed to a slight name change as the Gulf Flight Safety Council to better reflect the mission and goals.

                                              

Capt. Malatani also extended his thanks to Janab Al Sayyid Capt. Manin Al-Said, General Manager Quality & Safety of Oman Air for their hospitality in hosting the GFSC in Muscat, Oman.

The meeting comes one day before another important regional safety event.  The International Civil Aviation Organization and International Air Transportation Association (CAO/IATA) events come as an initiative under the Regional Aviation Safety Group (RASG-MID) to enhance safety in the Middle East. The purpose of Safety Management Workshop is to; share best practices and lessons learned for Safety Management Systems (SMS) and State Safety Programs (SSP); provide break-out sessions for sharing of safety data and SMS/SSP implementation; and promote safety data tools and enhance safety culture.

“The Gulf Flight Safety Council is pleased to partner with ICAO & IATA in our mutual goals of promoting safety in the region” added Capt. Mohammed Malatani, General Manger Safety of Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) and the new chairman of the GFSC.

About Oman Air

Oman Air is the flagship carrier of the Sultanate of Oman and an Official 4 Star Airline (Skytrax 2011). Founded in 1993, the airline has since witnessed massive growth and has played a major role in making Muscat an important traffic hub in the Middle East, supporting the commercial, industrial and tourism sectors.

The airline currently operates direct international flights from Muscat to Gulf destinations, such as Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Tehran and Kuwait, as well as Cairo, Beirut and Amman within the wider Middle East region.

In addition, Oman Air flies to ten destinations in India (Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore, Kozhikode and Jaipur), Chittagong in Bangladesh, Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan, Kathmandu in Nepal and Colombo in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, Oman Air flies to the Maldives, Bangkok in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and operates services to Zanzibar and Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania. Its European destinations are London, Milan, Munich, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich.

Oman Air has also codeshare partnerships with Emirates Airlines giving travellers better connectivity and an extended range of services between Dubai and Muscat as well as with Qatar Airways allowing Oman Air’s customers to book flights from any of the 42 departure points within its network to Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Oman Air’s fleet currently consists of four Airbus A330-200s, three Airbus A330-300s, 17 Boeing 737-700s/800s, four Embraer E175s and two ATR 42s. Oman Air will be taking delivery of 6 new Boeing 737s as of 2014, as well as 6 Boeing 787s Dreamliners, which are scheduled for delivery starting in 2015.

Oman Air’s outstanding aircraft interiors include its First Class Mini Suite, which provides each of the six First Class passengers with direct aisle access and converts to the longest lie-flat seat in the skies. The A330’s 20 award-winning Business Class seats each provide direct aisle access, ample storage space and the latest technological amenities. Economy Class seats offer adjustable head and leg rests, together with surprising amounts of leg and elbow room.

A state of the art in-flight entertainment system features individual seatback screens, audio and video on demand and live satellite TV. In addition, Oman Air has pioneered both mobile telephony and Internet connectivity on board its flights and this is available in all three classes. 

Superb new First and Business Class lounges have been opened at Muscat International Airport, featuring elegant and tranquil relaxation areas, complimentary spa treatments and à la carte dining. A lounge-to-aircraft limousine service has also been launched for First Class passengers at Muscat.

Oman Air’s commitment to quality, comfort and a seamless passenger experience has resulted in international acclaim, including: Best Business Class Seat in the World (World Airline Awards 2012); Best Business Class Seat in the World and Service Excellence, Middle East (World Airline Awards 2011); Best Luxury Airline, Middle East (Business Destinations Awards 2011); Technological Innovation of the Year (Aviation Business Awards 2010); as well recognition in the TravelPlus Amenity Bag Awards 2010 (three Gold, one Silver), the Cellars in the Sky Awards 2010 (Silver), the KLIA Awards 2011, the 2009 Vision Awards (one Silver, one Bronze) and the Travel Industry Club Awards 2010 (Silver), TTG Travel Award 2011 as Commended Airline of the Year, Best In-flight Connectivity & Communications award in The 2011 Passenger Choice Awards in Seattle USA, The Airline of the Year Award at France's Lauriers d'Or du Voyage d'Affaires, Top Resa 2011 in addition to the Best First Class Female Amenity Bag and the Best Business Class Unisex Amenity Bag at the TravelPlus Airline Amenity Bag Awards 2011. Oman Air was awarded The Best Business Class Airline, Middle East at the Business Destinations Travel Awards 2012.

Mattala International Airport to be opened in March 18

Mattala International Airport to be opened in March 18

Sri Lanka's second international airport

Mattala International Airport in Hambantota will be declared open on March 18,The Minister of Civil Aviation, Piyankara Jayaratne said. 
The Hambantota eco-friendly International Airport is the Sri Lanka's second international airport which is construction in Mattala.


This is placed in the deep south of the country close to the fast developing coastal town of Hambantota.

Turkish Airlines to fly to Sri Lanka

Turkish Airlines to fly to Sri Lanka

Service Launch from Feb 2013

Turkish Airlines plans to extend existing 5 weekly Istanbul – Male service to Colombo,Sri Lanka from next month(1st of February).As a result of the service extension, operational schedule on Istanbul - Male is being revised, and Turkish Airlines has local traffic rights on Male - Colombo sector, UK-based Routes said.
operation will be reduced to 4 weekly, however it’ll be operated on an Airbus A340-300 which can carry about 100 more passengers than the currently used A330-200.

Sri Lanka Tourism's promotional campaign in Australia

Sri Lanka Tourism's promotional campaign in Australia

Sri Lanka Tourism targets to attract 50,000 Australian tourists in 2013

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau launched a fresh promotional campaign in Australia,The campaign launched with the start of the historic ‘Boxing Day’ Test match played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), will be continued during the test series s and the upcoming five one day international (ODI) and two T20 matches between Sri Lanka and Australia. 

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) expects the campaign to reach nearly 75 million TV viewers around the world, who will be glued to television sets, watching Cricket matches.

Sri Lanka Tourism is aiming to promote the county’s Beaches, its heritage, its wildlife aspects and also its various cultural festivals to the Australians.

Sri Lanka has only attracted just 0.5% out of the 7 million Australians who have traveled out of their country annually. Sri Lanka Tourism targets to attract 50,000 Australian tourists during the year 2013 and already has attracted  35,000 visitors in this year.

Sri Lanka to launch domestic carrier in 2013

Sri Lanka to launch domestic carrier in 2013

First domestic carrier

Sri Lanka will launch its first domestic air taxi service next year(2013), which will fly to several key coastal and inland destinations, operating from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), the country’s only international airport. Cinnamon Air is the brainchild and joint venture of the parent company behind Sri Lankan owned and operated Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts and Chaaya Hotels & Resorts – John Keells Holdings – MMBL Leisure Holdings and Phoenix Ventures Limited.

The service will significantly reduce the time spent on road transfers between the airport and hotels and on excursions, while at the same time, allowing visitors to discover the incredible diversity of the island scenically and with ease.
The start-up fleet – operated by Saffron Aviation – will consist of two Cessna 208 Caravan Amphibian aircraft (seating nine passengers each) and one wheeled Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft (seating 12 passengers), allowing the airline the flexibility to operate from any of the domestic and international airports as well as from waterdromes in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka the best destination to visit in 2013

Sri Lanka the best destination to visit in 2013

British Airways destination ranking 2013

Sri Lanka has topped the 13 destinations categorized as popular favorite places to visit in 2013. This ranking has been accorded to Sri Lanka by a panel of experts assigned by British Airways to compile a list of the top 13 new destinations and popular favorite places to visit in 2013.


The Panel of Experts have made their determination based on tourists heading to the island in increasing numbers after the end of terrorism, attractions like beaches, elephant treks and a large number of UNESCO world heritage sites to visit in the country.

Rio de Janeiro is second and it has been based in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup taking place across the country in 2014. The World Cup is expected to attract a massive number of tourists which will have an effect on the already rising prices of tourist facilities such as hotels and restaurants.

South Korean capital is in the 3rd place in the list. 

The other destinations are
Croatia: Vietnam; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Derry, Northern Ireland; Las Vegas, USA; Tbilisi, Georgia; San Diego, California, USA; Cape Town, South Africa; Alicante, Spain; and Dubai, UAE. 

Sri Lanka steps up tourism publicity in China

Sri Lanka steps up tourism publicity in China

"Spring Festival"

The Embassy of  Sri Lanka in Beijing together with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has organized a series of events to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chengdu to attract Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka including those who will be travelling overseas during the Chinese "Spring Festival" holiday in February 2013.

Sri Lanka tourism pavilions were organized at the " China International Travel Mart 2012" (CITM) Exhibition in Shanghai and the "Chengdu International Travel Fair 2012" (CITF) Exhibition.

"The Embassy of Sri Lanka, in consultation with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, designed the Sri Lanka pavilions to exhibit the eight product categories of Sri Lanka tourism and were awarded the 'Best Organizer Award' of CITM 2012 in Shanghai and ' Certificate of Appreciation' at CITF 2012 in Chengdu," 

The Sri Lankan government hopes to attract one million tourists this year.

‘Refreshingly Sri Lanka’ launched

‘Refreshingly Sri Lanka’ launched

First-ever tourism coffee table book

Sri Lanka launched its first-ever tourism coffee table book titled ‘Refreshingly Sri Lanka’, authored by former  Tourism Chief and present Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa.

The high quality coffee table book, ‘Refreshingly Sri Lanka’, with 250 pages carries over 160 exclusive photographs, supported by comprehensive text of over 30,000 words describing almost every key tourism attraction in the country.

The book covers the eight product categories of Sri Lanka tourism

• beaches
• wildlife
• heritage
• ayurveda
• sports
• scenic beauty
• festivals and essence.

A must read for travelers to understand why Sri Lanka was called the most beautiful island in the world by famous the 13th century explorer Marco Polo.

World Bank Managing Director Ms.Indrawati to visit Sri Lanka

World Bank Managing Director Ms.Indrawati
to visit Sri Lanka

We want to help...

World Bank Managing Director Ms. Sri Mulyani Indrawati will visit Sri Lanka from  November 15-19 to find out how the development institution can do more to support the country’s progress, the World Bank’s Colombo office announced.
Ms. Indrawati is one of the three Managing Directors of the World Bank. She is responsible for the institution’s operations in all regions of the world.

The main focus of Ms.Indrawati’s visit will be to discuss the private sector investment climate in Sri Lanka. 

During her five -day visit Ms. Indrawati will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other senior officials in the government. She will also take time to meet with the representatives of private sector, civil society, opposition and the media.

"Sri Lanka has made great strides in overcoming poverty as it transitions from a lower income to a middle income country. Sri Lanka is working hard to consolidate social inclusion, peace, and security and we want to help its people build on that success so that everyone has a chance to reach their potential," the managing director Ms. Indrawati said.
"I am looking forward to visiting Sri Lanka to discuss how we can strengthen our partnership with the government to address national priorities and create opportunities for its people,"she added.

Ms. Sri Mulyani will be accompanied by the Country Director Ms. Diarietou Gaye in all her official meetings with the Government of Sri Lanka and her visit to the North.the World Bank said.

Cathay Pacific to launch a new Freighter Service to Sri Lanka

Cathay Pacific to launch a new Freighter Service

Cathay Pacific Expands Cargo Network

Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Airways announced the launch of a new weekly freighter service to Colombo in Sri Lanka commencing 2 December 2012. 

The new service is aiming to cater to the huge volumes of garments and perishables bound for the North America, Europe and Asian markets from Sri Lanka.
The Colombo freighter service will be operated on a Hong Kong-Chennai-Colombo-Hong Kong routing every Sunday using one of Cathay Pacific's Boeing 747-400F aircraft.

“Sri Lanka is home to major garment and footwear manufacturers producing goods for well-known international brands, and also has sizable exports of perishable products including tuna and lobster. We already carry sizable quantities of freight in the bellies of our daily passenger flights to and from Colombo, but the new freighter service will enable us to better meet the demand for Sri Lankan products in major markets around the world.”, Cathay Pacific Director Cargo Nick Rhodes was quoted saying in the statement.

Cathay Pacific is committed to expanding its freighter network and has also added services to Zhengzhou and Hyderabad this year. The airline recently took delivery of its eighth Boeing 747-8F freighter aircraft, with two more to be delivered in 2013.

Cathay Pacific has been serving Sri Lanka since 1993. The airline suspended its operations to Colombo in April 2007 due to security concerns and resumed service from March 2008. It operates seven weekly flights from Colombo to Hong Kong via Singapore and Bangkok.

Sri Lanka among top 5 emerging tourist destinations

Sri Lanka among top 5 emerging tourist destinations

2012 Emerging Tourism Countries

Sri Lanka has been listed among the five new emerging travel destinations by the World Travel Market's industry 2012 (WTM) report.

The report, launched in London last week, highlights travel trends, and is referred to by many professionals in the industry in making their strategic plans.

The Tourism Development Authority said the three key factors highlighted for Sri Lanka were re-emerging after the civil war; investing in infrastructure; and beauty of destination.

Other countries are:

• Mexico
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Argentina

according to a statement issued by Sri Lanka's Tourism Development Authority on Monday. 
Sri Lanka's tourism sector has been booming since the end of a three-decade war with the Tamil Tigers in 2009.The government has targeted one million tourist arrivals for 2012 and revenue of $1 billion from foreign direct investment.

By 2016, it hopes to reach 2.5 million arrivals despite industry experts warning of massive infrastructure upgrades to meet this target.  The World Travel Market (WTM) is a British event aimed at the global travel industry. 

Thousands of travel industry professionals, government ministers and representatives of the international media, converge on ExCeL London each year in November to attend WTM.

Tourist Arrivals Continue To Increase in Sri Lanka

Tourist Arrivals Continue To Increase in Sri Lanka

Visitor Arrivals Increased In September

The year 2012 has continued to exceed expectations for tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka.  Tourist arrivals in the month of September increased by 18.1 percent compared to the same period last year(2011).
--> Statistics released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority indicated that 71,111 tourists arrived in the country in the month of September compared to the 60,219 tourist arrivals in September 2011. Arrivals during the first nine months of the year has increased by 16 percent to 693,772 from the 598,006 arrivals in the same period last year.

Sri Lanka Tourism is optimistic that Sri Lanka would attract over one million visitors by the end of this year

Lonely Planet Ranks Sri Lanka Best To Visit In 2013

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2013

The Lonely Planet ranks the top 10 countries and cities to visit in 2013

"The Lonely Planet", the world's largest travel guide and the digital media publisher ranked Sri Lanka as the top destination in the world to travel in 2013.

The travel experts and the voters have predicted that Sri Lanka will be on the top of thehottest new destinations for the travelers in year 2013.

The long-running civil war now over Sri Lanka is emerging as one of the planet's best-value destinations, The 2013 travel guide "The Lonely Planet" says.

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"investment is again fuelling the tourist industry in Sri Lanka and visitor numbers are steadily increasing.Prices are affordable. Indeed, Sri Lanka is emerging as one of the planet's best-value destinations," Under the title "Serenity returns to Serendib" the world's most trusted travel publisher says. 

The 2013 Travel Guide highlights the emerging new popular places to visit in Sri Lanka, including the newly opened up East coast and less traveled paths in the western coast as well.

Top 10 countries to visit in 2013

1. Sri Lanka

2. Montenegro

3. South Korea

4. Ecuador

5. Slovakia

6. Solomon Islands 

7. Iceland

8. Turkey

9. Dominican Republic

10. Madagascar

Lonely Planet's top 10 cities to visit in 2013

1. San Francisco, US

2. Amsterdam, Netherlands

3. Hyderabad, India

4. Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland

5. Beijing, China

6. Christchurch, New Zealand

7. Hobart, Australia

8. Montreal, Canada

9. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

10. Puerto Iguazu, Argentina