SriLankan • e-news - SriLankan

SriLankan
VOLUME 1
•
e-news
NORTH AMERICA
JANUARY 2009
“One Team, One Dream, Let’s Live it”
SriLankan’s CEO Manoj Gunawardena said “I must mention very strongly that the U.S.
and Canada markets are very important to SriLankan, and I’d like to thank the travel
industry here for supporting us so well.”
Mr.
Gunawardena said:
“SriLankan Airlines
is today undergoing
an exciting and important period in
its history. The airline is now under a
new management team, and is confidently looking at new routes such as
Rome. We have launched a re-fleeting programme of our narrowbody
fleet, with the acquisition of several
new Airbus A320s, and intend to
start a programme to enhance facilities on board our widebody fleet.
He added that the airline is also
focusing on doing its part to protect
the environment, and now has a
Corporate Environmental Policy in
place. In addition, it has embarked
upon a wide range of conservationminded activities, including a significant increase in the fuel efficiency of
its fleet, and new efforts at recycling
of all types of waste products.
The global air transport industry
is going through a tough time, and
we are indeed grateful for the tremendous amount of support that
Manoj Gunawardena,CEO, SriLankan Airlines
we receive from you. This night is
a celebration of your efforts,” said
Mr. Gunawardena.
“I’d also like to thank Sri Lanka’s
Ambassador to United States, His
Excellency Jaliya Wickramasuriya,
and Sri Lanka’s Permanent Repre-
sentative to the United Nations, His
Excellency Mr. Palihakkara for their
support for our airline. And last but
certainly not least, I’d like to thank
our team in North America for the excellent job that they do for us every
day”.
SriLankan • e-news - NORTH AMERICA
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SriLankan • January 2009
Address by Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya
I
At the SriLankan Airlines Awards night held on 5th December 2008 in New York
t is with great pleasure that I join
you this evening for the “SriLankan Agents Awards” Ceremony,
organized by our dear friend, Mr.
Dillan Ariyawansa and his team at
SriLankan Airlines. This is the maiden “Agents Awards’ ceremony organized by SriLankan Airlines in the
United States and I thank you very
much for inviting me to this happy
occasion.
As the Sri Lankan Ambassador
to the United States, I would like to
convey my deepest appreciation to
each and every SriLankan Airlines
agent in both the United States and
Canada, for all the support they
have extended to us in promoting
SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka as
you make the initial connection between the airline and its customer.
I am happy that SriLankan Airlines
has decided to acknowledge and
appreciate your valuable contribution by initiating this awards ceremony.
Sri Lanka is a country blessed
with enormous natural resources.
Its 2,500 years of rich history, magnificent attractions of breathtaking
landscapes, finest beaches, tropical rain-forests with vibrant wildlife,
ancient cities with highly venerated
sites of worship, and many cultural
and religious festivals have made
Sri Lanka a superb destination for
tourists. Sri Lanka is also a country,
where people belonging to different
ethnicities live in peace and harmony. The conflict you witness in our
country over the last couple of decades is not at all an ethnic conflict;
Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Ambassador, United States
“Sri Lanka is a country blessed with
enormous natural resources.”
it is terrorism. However, in Sri Lanka
we have been able to defeat terrorism and restore civil administration
in the entire Eastern Province in a
very successful manner. The Government of Sri Lanka remains heavily focused on the Eastern Province
development, and many countries
including the United States have
pledged their fullest support for development programs in the East.
With peace slowly dawning in the horizon, you will certainly be able to do
an even greater job in the not-so-distant future and please rest assured
that all three Sri Lanka Missions in
the United States - the Permanent
Mission in New York, the Consulate
General in Los Angeles and the Em-
bassy in Washington D.C. would be
more than happy to extend our maximum support and cooperation.
Before I conclude, let me congratulate Dillan and his wonderful
team once again for a job well done.
I am also grateful to Dillan and his
colleagues for all the support they
extend for various promotional programs organized by our Missions.
Your cooperation is very valuable to
us. Please let us know if we could
be of any assistance to you in your
operations, as we would be pleased
to reciprocate in the best possible
manner.
I wish every success in all your
endeavors.
Thank you very much.
SriLankan • e-news - NORTH AMERICA
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Sri Lanka... Asia’s best-kept secret!
By Dillan Ariyawansa
T
hroughout the recorded history
of over 2500 years, travelers
from around the world have
been fascinated and enchanted by
the lush exotic beauty of this pearl
shaped island in the Indian Ocean.
Once the port of call between the
West and the East, the isle of Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was then known
has been referred to by many names.
When the Greeks and Romans sailed
in they named it Taprobane; Arab
sailors of Sinbad days called it Serendib; the Portuguese and the Dutch
gave it the names Ceilao and Ceylon;
the British re-named it Ceylon, but to
the people of this beautiful island it
has but one name “Sri Lanka” the
splendid isle.
The British occupation was the
longest (1815 – 1948) and perhaps
most significant. Among the many
influences of the British era is the
gift of the English language, which is
today widely spoken.
The island has been famed for
many things - its spices, cinnamon
in particular, gems with perhaps the
world’s best blue sapphires and tea
which was introduced by the British when coffee failed. In fact in the
1860s Sri Lanka had been one of
the largest exporters of coffee to the
world. From underwater wonderlands
with coral reefs and ship wrecks,
to the discovery of the remains of
an ancient civilization dating to the
3rd century BC to the cool climes of
the hill country at altitudes of over
2000 meters where the tea gardens
are located amidst cascading water
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SriLankan • January 2009
falls combined with vegetation and
wild life safari parks, this tiny island
destination of only 65,525 sq. km is
a unique holiday destination.
Excellent accommodation facilities from deluxe five star international properties, such as the Hilton,
the Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Taj
to mention a few, to local chain hotels such as the Cinnamon Grand,
Galadari, Galle Face Hotel and Trans
Asia, offer the state of the art living
facilities combined with the traditional Sri Lankan Hospitality…Resort
hotels, on the beaches as well as hotels in the archeological sites, and in
the hill country, will pamper the most
discerning traveler. There is also
budget accommodation all over the
island for the price conscious.
Sri Lanka offers a wide variety
of food from international cuisine,
to the far eastern delicacies and of
course Sri Lankan food is not to be
missed.
Sightseeing tours to some of the
best exotic locations, be it the visit
to the world heritage sites or the discovery of the hill resorts, or the wildlife safari parks, and coral reefs, are
all within easy access. Special attraction holidays include bird watching with twenty-six species en demic to Sri Lanka, Whale watching
in the south of Sri Lanka, Elephant
Gathering in Minneriya, trekking,
gliding and white water rafting, diving, mountain climbing and biking to
many more adventure activities.
Shopping is a treat in Sri Lanka.
Many shopping malls in the city of
Colombo and small clothing stores
offer value for money. You will find
branded clothes as well as high
quality local goods. In addition you
will find exquisite traditional arts and
crafts and fine china. Sri Lanka is
a major supplier of garments to the
USA and Europe.
Sri Lanka is also becoming the
convention and incentive travel destination of South Asia, with convention
facilities for medium size meetings
and a wide spectrum of activities.
This unique exotic Indian ocean
island with an average year round
temperature of 77F in the coastal areas (of course it is cooler in the hills
with temperatures dropping to 50F
and as low as 39F during JanuaryFebruary) is the ideal combination
to a multi destination holiday, with
an assortment of flight connections
including aboard one of Asia’s oldest
airlines with an expanded fleet- SriLankan Airlines. It is no wonder that
the great Andrew Carnegie, in his
journey around the world in 1879,
referring to Ceylon, Sri Lanka, said,
“There is no prettier seashore in
the world, nor more beautiful surf”.
While many changes have taken
place since the visit of the Arabs,
the Portuguese, the Dutch and the
British, one aspect has remained unchanged and that is the warm and
friendly people of the exotic island
of Sri Lanka.
For more information call Sri Lanka
Tourism Promotion Bureau on +94
112 437 055/59/60 or log on to
www.srilanka.travel
“We Strive to be the Best”
A
long felt need that we had in
mind was to publish a SriLankan e-newsletter for North America. This was accomplished when the
e-newsletter was finally born in January 2009. This is our first inaugurative edition and we hope to publish
this e-newsletter twice a year. The
purpose of having an e-newsletter is
to embody a wider communication
and a cordial relationship with our
trusted and valued agents and our
dedicated passengers.
We had our Agents Award ceremony last December. It was well attended and was a unique opportunity
to interact with each other. We are
planning to have the Agents Awards
Ceremony every year to express our
appreciation of our agents who have
supported us year round.
We recently opened our new state
of the art SriLankan Airlines regional
head office for the Americas in New
Jersey’s prestigious Alfieri building.
This modern office facility is fully
equipped with a state of the art com-
Dillan Ariyawansa, Sr. Vice President, Sri Lankan Travel, North America
“Our team is well experienced with
over 20 years experience in the airline and
travel industry. We are dedicated to
give the best service to all our
agents and passengers.”
munication and reservations system
with easy access to passengers and
travel agents.
One of the unique facilities offered by the SriLankan Airlines office
in North America is that all calls are
personally answered by its qualified
staff rather than having our agents
and passengers listen to the usual
automated call answering system. It
may not be wrong if we say that we are
the only airline in the Americas who
always humanely answer the phone
during office hours for all our callers
in the US. This gives our agents and
passengers a very personalized service and has really become a great
consolation to our passengers and
our business partners. We even possess the ability of responding to our
agents after office hours.
Our team is well experienced with
over 20 years experience in the airline and travel industry. We are dedicated to give the best service to all
our agents and passengers.
I take this opportunity to thank all
of you for giving us your support and
I wish all of you a very prosperous,
peaceful and happy new year.
SriLankan • e-news - NORTH AMERICA
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Agents Award Winners - USA
<< Gold Award Winner - USA
‘Upul’s Travel Service’
Mr. Upul Dharmadasa with SriLankan
Airlines CEO Mr. Manoj Gunawardena &
Sri Lankan Travel Sr. Vice President North
America, Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa.
Silver Award Winner - USA >>
‘Adore Travel’
Mr. M. Puni, receiving the award from
SriLankan Airlines Manager UK, Ireland,
Scandinavia & Americas Mr. Chanaka
Olagama
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SriLankan • January 2009
Agents Award Winners Bronze - USA
<< USA agent “E - Destinations”
Mr. Rakesh Kapoor receiving the award from
Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa
USA agent “Hariworld Travel” >>
Mr. Prem Cohly receiving the award from
Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa
<<USA agent “Safenet Travel”
Mr. Nirosh De Silva receiving the award
from Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa
SriLankan • e-news - NORTH AMERICA
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Agents Award Winners - Canada
<< Canada Agent ‘Jet Travels’
Mr. Sathasivam receiving the award from
Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa.
Canada Agent ‘Huntington Travel’ >>
Mr. Joseph Fernando receiving the award from
Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa.
<< Canada Agent ‘Sky Lawn Travel’
Mr. Ajay Bhargav receiving the award from
Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa.
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SriLankan • January 2009
Agents Award Winners USA& Canada
USA agent EVIA Travel Mr. A. Q.Siddiqui receiving the
award from Mr. Ajith De Alwis
USA agent Concord Travel Mr. Sisira Athauda receiving
the award from Mr. Ajith De Alwis
USA agent Trade Wings Travel Mr. Fazal Najimudeen
receiving the award from Mr. Ajith De Alwis
USA agent Rio Travel Ms. Rathy receiving the award from
Mr. Nalin Amarasinghe
Canada agent Admiral Tours & Travels Mr. Tom Varughese
receiving the award from Mr. Lalith Wickramasinghe
USA agent Crown Travel Mr. Susil Koshy receiving the
award from Mr. Ajith De Alwis
USA agent Make My Trip Mr. Malik Manjoo &
Ms. Ruby Chadha with Mr. Ajith De Alwis &
Mr. Nalin Amarasinghe
USA agent Upul’s Travel Service Branch Office New
York Manageress Mrs. Linda Silva & Washington DC
Manageress Mrs. Nelum Ratnayake with
Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa
SriLankan • e-news - NORTH AMERICA
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Award Night Highlights
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SriLankan • January 2009
Award Night Highlights Continues...
SriLankan • e-news - NORTH AMERICA
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Agents Awards Continues...
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SriLankan • January 2009
Past Events 2008
SriLankan Airlines took part at
the “Focus Sri Lanka Exhibition”
held at California Market Center.
Channa Wijewardena’s dance troupe
entertained the crowd.
SriLankan Airlines-USA conducted a very
successful “Agents Workshop” in Chicago
in 2008. The Workshop was well attended
by most of the leading agents in Illinois.
Young talented Sri Lankan Star “ Sarala” who
played a main role in the movie” Water” was
nominated for the Oscar Awards in 2006.
Sarala was flown in by SriLankan Airlines to
receive the Award in Hollywood last year.
SriLankan Airlines-USA conducted an in- house
agents workshop in Washington DC in 2008.
One of the Agents who took part “Travelnet”
Staff is in the picture.
SriLankan • e-news - NORTH AMERICA
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Taste of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Ambassador Hosts Meridien Embassy Chefs Series
S
ri Lanka’s most celebrated
Master Chef Publis Silva conducted culinary demonstrations to a large number of Americans
who participated at “The Embassy
Chefs Series with Gail Scott”.
The Meridien “Embassy Chefs Series with Gail Scott” was hosted by
Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya
and Mrs. Wickramasuriya at their
historic Embassy Row Residence,
on Thursday, December 11, 2008.
The main feature of the event was
the presence of the island’s most
celebrated Chef - Dr. T. Publis Silva of
Mount Lavinia Hotel to conduct culinary demonstrations.
The event was widely acclaimed
by the all-American gathering from
the Greater Washington DC area, including representatives from the US
Department of State and Department
of Justice, who were treated to exotic
gastronomical treats, refreshing beverages and soothing ambience tunes,
complemented by the renowned Sri
Lankan hospitality.
The guests were treated to traditional Sri Lankan drinks upon ar-
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SriLankan • January 2009
rival, following which they attended
the demonstration and a sumptuous
Sri Lankan dinner. While preparation
of rice based ‘Komm Pittu’, Eggplant
Pickle or ‘Moju’, Fish Cutlets, and
Watalappan - a Sri Lankan dessert
were demonstrated, a variety of other exotic food items were served for
dinner. In conclusion of the event,
Ambassador Wickramasuriya demonstrated the correct way of brewing a perfect cup of ‘Ceylon Tea’, of
which samples were gifted to all the
guests together with Sri Lankan recipes as well as several other gifts in
the SriLankan gift bag presented to
each guest. At the end of the event,
attendees signed up to receive information on a tour to Sri Lanka to be
arranged by the Embassy in 2009.
In his opening remarks following a short video presentation on Sri
Lanka, Ambassador Wickramasuriya,
thanked Chef Publis for taking time
off his busy schedule to visit the United States and attending this grand
event, as well as SriLankan Airlines
and Sri Lanka Tourism for sponsoring
the event, and invited all the guests
to visit Sri Lanka, to experience the
wonders of the Resplendent Island.
Ambassador H.M.G.S. Palihakkara the Sri Lanka Permanent Representative to the UN, and Dillan Ariyawansa - Vice President, SriLankan Airlines
(North America) were also present at
the event.
The “Embassy Chefs Series with
Gail Scott” organized by Meridien, in
close collaboration with diplomatic
missions based in Washington DC, is
a program primarily focused on culinary arts of different cultures and
countries. Meridien International
Center (MIC) is a Washington based
forum, which promotes awareness
and understanding of foreign cultures with the objective of fostering
closer relations between the people
of the United States and the rest of
the world.
Annual staff training session
S
riLankan Airlines GSA for North
America conducted an annual
staff workshop/training session for their office staff based in USA
& Canada on 6th December 2008 at
the Hilton, Woodbridge.
Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa, Senior Vice
President North America for SriLankan Airlines GSA opened the session
with a note “As the SriLankan Airlines
representative in North America, Sri
Lankan Travel Inc. needs to do business differently for the betterment
of the national carrier of Sri Lanka
and our partners”.
Among the facilitators who conducted the workshop was the SriLankan Airlines Country Manager for
UK, Ireland, Scandinavia & Americas, Mr. Chanaka Olagama. Mr. Olagama shared information on the
Airline’s forward plan & new product
development.
The Operations Manager for
North America, Mr. Ajith De Alwis,
highlighted the revenue and passenger growth in USA & Canada. Mr. De
Alwis also highlighted the yield to be
achieved by principals. Further he
educated the staff with useful tips
on how to handle different types of
customers, baggage liabilities ..etc..
Among the other speakers who
shared their knowledge were Mr.
Lalith Wickramasinghe, Manager
Canada, Mr. Nalin Amarasinghe,
Manager West Coast and Mr. Paduma Samarakone, Finance Manager
USA, Canada and the Caribbean.
Mr. Lucky Gunawardena, Accounts
Assistant spoke about accounting
procedures.
All staff of USA & Canada were
presented a SriLankan Airlines “Appreciation” certificate, “Prasansa” for
a “Job Well Done” during the years.
The workshop/training session
was well participated and appreciated by all staff.
SriLankan • e-news - NORTH AMERICA
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The day we moved to our
state of the art corporate Head Office in
New Jersey
East Coast
379, Thornall Street, 6th FI,
Edison, NJ 08837
Tel: 732 205 0017
Fax: 732 205 0299
West Coast
26216 Ridge Vale Drive,
Newhall, CA 91321
Tel; 661 250 8287
Fax; 661 250 8256
Canada Office
170 Sheppard Avenue East, Unite 301
North York, Ontario. M2N3A4
Tel; 416 227 9000
Fax: 416 227 0843
E-mail: [email protected]
www.srilankanusa.com
Photography and Designed by: Sagara Lakmal De Mel
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Tel: +94
777 368849 | E mail: [email protected]
SriLankan • January
2009