In Brief

GMG Airline Appoints STIC As GSA
Realising the potential of the growing Indian market, Bangladesh’s only private domestic airline GMG has appointed Stic Travels as its General Sales Agent (GSA) in the country. The agreement was signed between Shahab Sattar, managing director, GMG Airlines and Subhash Goyal, chairman, Stic Travels in New Delhi. Commenting on the agreement, Goyal said, “This partnership marks a new beginning in the area of civil aviation between the two countries. We at Stic will ensure that it turns out to be a long lasting and fruitful venture.”

Only three years old, the airline today is one of the leading private domestic carriers of Bangladesh. Stic Travels will now be responsible for marketing the GMG Airlines in India. Equipped with three modern state-of-the-art Dash 8 series aircraft manufactured by Bombardier of Canada, GMG connects Dhaka daily to six other cities within Bangladesh. GMG presently flies to Chittagong, Sylhet, Jessore, Rajshahi, Barisal and Cox Bazar and operates 32 flights every day at an average of one (landing/take off) every half an hour.

The airline has a network of its offices in major cities and airports across Bangladesh to facilitate easy access to travellers. “GMG Airlines is known for its prompt and efficient service, convenient flight timings, punctuality, high standards of safety and service, which perfectly suits corporate and business travellers,” Goyal added. The airline also has interline agreements with many international airlines including British Airways, Emirates, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Air France, PIA, JAS, Turkish Airlines, Indian Airlines, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines.

Subhash Goyal, chairman, Stic Travel Group exchanges the GSA agreement with Shahab Sattar, MD, GMG Airline

SriLankan Airlines Connects Gaya And Colombo
SriLankan Airlines recently resumed its direct flight from Colombo to Bodh Gaya. The flight UL195 would operate once a week, every Monday from Colombo and would connect Delhi on its return. SriLankan Airlines handles 90 per cent of SriLankan’ total tourist traffic from Colombo and 10 per cent parts of South East Asian countries. Keeping in mind the increasing religious and historical significance of the city, the airline hopes to increase its service by introducing two flights shortly.

There has been a steady increase in the tourism traffic between the two countries. In the year 2002 - 03, the airline witnessed a 100 per cent increase in Indian tourists coming to SriLanka and is expecting this figure to touch the one-lakh mark by end of this year. The airline currently flies 46 flights in eight cities in India and is working closely with the Indian Government to add new destination like Hyderabad in the near future. Plans are afoot to increase the frequency of flights out of sectors like Mumbai that would help to increase the out bound traffic by 25 per cent.

EK Offers Free Stay At Exclusive Shangri-La Hotels
Emirates has announced a new promotion in which business and leisure passengers can benefit from complimentary nights at the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts located in Dubai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta, and Singapore. The offer tailor-made exclusively for the Indian sector is available until October 15, 2003, for passengers travelling from India to Far East destinations via Dubai.

First class passengers can enjoy three complimentary nights, business class two nights, and Economy class passengers one night of stay in a single or double room inclusive of a sumptuous breakfast, taxes and service charges. Travellers wanting to take advantage of this offer in the Far East can team it up with the Emirates Dubai Bargain Breaks that starts from US$55 and includes hotel accommodation and visa during their transit in Dubai.