Cathay Pacific Sri Lanka turns 20
Cathay Pacific Airways, Sri Lanka is celebrating its 20th anniversary on October 1 by offering a special 20 percent discount to all its destinations.
The milestone comes as the Hong Kongbased Cathay Pacific brand turned 67 last Tuesday (24).
At the same time, Cathay Pacific has also appointed a new Country Manager for Sri Lanka, Anna Choi, who has a wealth of experience, having joined the Cathay Pacific group in 1979.
Choi has held a number of positions within the airline and has a wealth of experience in Customer services, Manpower Resources Planning and Quality Assurance. She was also the Manager f or Dragonair (the sister airline of Cathay Pacific Airways), Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.
“It is my pleasure to be here in Sri Lanka at this exciting moment, as Cathay Pacific celebrates its 20th year in Colombo on 1st October 2013, we would like to express our gratitude to our passengers, valued suppliers and our General Sales Agent, Finlays Colombo PLC, as this would not have been possible without their support. I am also delighted that from 27th October this year, Colombo passengers will be able to enjoy our acclaimed Premium Economy Cabin, the seats offer higher levels of comfort and a greater recline angle. Cargo has also played an important part on the airline’s business in Colombo, Cathay Pacific is adding a 2nd freighter from 16th October, increasing our freighter service to twice per week from Colombo to Hong Kong.” Choi said.
Reservations and Ticketing Manager Kumar Gomez said that Cathay Pacific, Sri Lanka is committed to the global brand’s values, which include on-time performance and service straight from the heart, with safety and security being of paramount importance. This is coupled with Cathay Pacific’s company vision of being the foremost airline carrier in the world.
In addition, the airline continually ensures that their fleet is up to date. “We operate the youngest fleet in Asia... all the aircrafts are less than 10 years old” Gomez said, adding “We don’t compromise in anything we do.”
This focus extends to the cabin as well. Recently the airline revamped its Business Class section and created more leg-room for passengers in the Economy section as well.
Apart from this, the airline offers exclusive destination packages for attractions like Disneyland and the Hong Kong Rugby 7s. It is also the official carrier for many of Hong Kong’s premier conventions in segments such as gems and jewellery and electronics.
Reminiscing about the last 20 years, Gomez said that Cathay Pacific Airways, Sri Lanka opened its doors in 1993 with a staff of j ust 20 people. At that time, it was operating two flights a week, flying between Colombo, Bangkok and Hong Kong using the smaller L10 aircraft. In 2004, the airline began conducting daily flights. “Today, Cathay Pacific, Sri Lanka operates three flights via Bangkok and four via Singapore, while its staff has more than doubled. The airline’s fleet is also upgraded from a L10 to A330 and A330 to B777-300.” Gomez said, talking about the airline’s growth.