e-news - SriLankan - USA

SriLankan 

VOLUME 3 • SEPTEMBER 2010 

SriLankan e-news 

NORTH AMERICA 

NORTH AMERICA 

“We are changing the way we fly” 

SriLankan Airlines embarked on an exciting new 

journey to give passengers a richer ‘Taste of 

Paradise’, with a whole new experience in the air and 

on the ground that promises that “We are changing the 

way we fly, and the way you experience travel.” 

The National Carrier unveiled this new travel experience 

for passengers with a fabulous launch on 16th February 

at the Waters Edge Ballroom. 

Beginning the journey with its iconic logo the monara or 

the peacock, the airline’s front line staff from cabin to 

ground crew will sport a brand new look and a warmer 

smile. 

But the charm, elegance and grace of the peacock will 

be preserved as the hundreds of beautiful stewardesses 

at SriLankan Airlines undergo this transformation. Their 

iconic Kandyan Saree uniform still retains its oriental 

charm but yet have a distinctive modern appeal and 

contemporary look. The new colour palette plays with the 

soft hues of sea blue splashed with the delicate multihued 

motifs of the peacock feather with its shimmering 

iridescent bursts of electric orange mottled with dark, 

light blue and white. 

While the women and men who take care of every little 

detail of a passengers’ comfort on ground and in flight, 

will offer a vastly improved level of service, decked in 

their new uniforms, the airline’s onboard kitchen has 

turned an entirely new chapter in their in flight meal 

service and offers its passengers a tempting array of 

mouth watering signature dishes and cocktails never 

served on board before. 

SriLankan• e-news - NORTH AMERICA 1


“Destination Lanka” and “Visit Lanka 2011” 

Campaigns to the New York Times 2010 Travel Show 

Having so many attractions – 

sometimes polar opposites like virgin 

rain forests and Donald Steel designed 

golf courses set among cool hilltops – 

all within close proximity, the biggest 

reason for choosing Sri Lanka for your 

next holiday. The emerald isle offers 

hundreds of miles of golden beaches, 

seven UNESCO world heritage sites, 

climate types from tropical to cool, 

exotic wild and marine life, safaris, 

surfing, whitewater rafting, cultural 

events, and holistic medicine resorts 

are enough reasons to visit year after 

year. 

e-news 

NORTH AMERICA 

Despite having everything and been 

known to everyone, three decades of 

civil war made many parts of the island 

inaccessible, dried out the investment 

dollars, and kept the visitors away. 

That conflict finally ended last May: 

“Things have changed. Peace has 

arrived and everyone is working 

together. Rebuilding tourism has 

become a top priority for both the 

government and the private sector” 

said Hon. Achala Jagoda Minister of 

Tourism. 

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion 

Bureau brought their worldwide 

‘Destination Sri Lanka’ and ‘Visit Sri 

Lanka 2011’ campaigns to the New 

York Times 2010 Travel Show that was 

held on February 26-28, 2010 at the 

Javits Convention Center. 

Sri Lanka`s Permanent Representative 

to the United Nations, Ambassador 

Dr. Palitha Kohona inaugurated 

the event. 

“This was a great opportunity for us 

to showcase the multitude of tourist 

attractions Sri Lanka has to offer and 

build on the publicity generated from 

the recently published New York Times 

article where Sri Lanka was identified 

as the No.1 destination to visit in 

2010” said Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa, 

Sri Lanka Tourism Honorary Director 

in the USA. “In addition, the bureau 

wants to impress upon the visitor that 

a thousand different possibilities are 

available within a country half the size 

of the New York state.” 

Sri Lanka Tourism made arrangements 

to print and distribute copies of 

the article. For more information 

please visit http://www.nytimes. 

com/2010/01/10/travel/10places. 

html 

Sri Lankan government has launched 

major publicity campaigns to 

develop tourism. ‘Visit Sri Lanka 2011’ 

is an international communication 

campaign involving CNN, Discovery 

Travel, BBC, and Al Jazeera. Investment 

dollars are also flowing in and new 

hotels are been built. 

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier, 

also participated at the travel show. 

To add a little color to the event, the 

“Channa & Upuli” dance troupe from 

Sri Lanka performed as well. The 

Tourist arrival figures for the USA have 

increased by 21 % in January 2010 

from last year. 




SriLankan’ ready for “Visit Sri Lanka 2011” 

with new destinations 

NORTH AMERICA 

SriLankan Airlines, jointly moving 

forward with Sri Lanka Tourism 

in promoting Sri Lanka as the best 

destination in Asia, announced its 

new plans for the coming year at the 

30th World Travel Mart in London. 

In line with ‘Visit Sri Lanka 2011’, 

SriLankan Airlines kick started its 

new plan with effect from December 

16, 2009 by adding Milan to its route 

map. 

‘The country’s tourism industry has 

witnessed steady growth since its 30- 

year war ended in May, 2009. This is 

the very first international travel fair 

after the three decade long war and 

the business looking very positive. 

In fact we had very positive and 

encouraging meetings with twelve 

top UK and European tour operators’ 

said Manoj Gunawardane, CEO of 

SriLankan Airlines. 

Statistics from the Sri Lanka Tourism 

Development Authority show that 

tourism from all countries grew by 

34% in August 2009 in comparison to 

the same month in the previous year, 

and 28% in July. 

‘So with this upward trend, we should 

be getting our share too. Thinking this 

way, SriLankan Airlines has increased 

its frequencies to Italy and the United 

Kingdom. 

He said that the Airline will start a new 

twice-weekly service to Milan from 

December 16, 2009 and operate two 

daily flights to London bringing the 

number of flights to 12. The UK has 

long been one of the largest tourism 

markets into Sri Lanka, and also has 

a sizeable population of Sri Lankan 

immigrants. 

Sri Lankan added two new aircraft to 

its fleet recently bringing the total to 

13 aircraft. 

‘This will give us some space to 

expand our destinations to keep in 

line with 2011 Visit Sri Lanka. New 

openings in Germany and France are 

also on the cards during the years 

we are and hoping to re-connect 

more flights to Indian destinations’ 

said Nishantha Wickremasinghe, the 

Chairman of SriLankan Airlines. 

The Airline will also consider a new 

destination in Germany and increase 

frequencies to Milan and France, he 

said. 

Mr. Gunawardena said that they would 

reconnect Hyderabad and Cochin 

as there is a demand for these two 

sectors. 

He said airlines faced a down turn 

during the past two years and it was 

no exception to SriLankan. But the 

things have changed and the future 

will be really progressive for us. We 

have refleeted and are rebounding 

and the cargo sector is doing well 

which is a positive factor, he said. 

Giving his views on the low cost 

carriers he said that they are not 

a challenge to us. We operate on 

a different line. ‘They do not take 

anything from us but have helped 

to increase the market size which 

has benefited Sri Lanka as well’ he 

added. 

In the picture (L to R) 

Lalith Wickremasinghe & Dillan 

Ariyawansa (SriLankan Airlines GSA), 

SriLankan Flight Stewardess, Nishantha 

Wickramasinghe (Chairman, SriLankan 

Airlines), SriLankan Flight Stewardess, 

Ajith De Alwis (SriLankan Airlines GSA), 

Manoj Gunawardena (CEO, SriLankan 

Airlines). 

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SriLankan• e-news - NORTH AMERICA


Fly SriLankan to Shanghai! 


NORTH AMERICA 

SriLankan Airlines will launch its 

new four-times a week service to 

Shanghai in July 2010, the third Chinese 

city in its global route network. 

SriLankan Airlines’ Chairman Nishantha 

Wickremasinghe said: “Our new service 

to Shanghai will open yet another chapter 

in the long history of excellent relations 

between China and Sri Lanka. We 

expect this service to become popular 

very quickly among both tourists and 

business travelers of both countries.” 

The flights on comfortable wide-body 

Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft will 

operate via Bangkok to China’s largest 

city and commercial capital on Monday, 

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday leaving 

Colombo at 01.25 in the morning and 

arriving in Shanghai at 12.45 in the 

afternoon. The return flight would leave 

Shanghai at 4.20 in the afternoon and 

arrive in Colombo at 9.55 p.m. 

Sri Lanka’s national carrier already 

operates three flights a week to the 

Chinese capital Beijing, and another 

three to Hong Kong. 

The new service will greatly expand 

SriLankan’s cargo carrying capacity 

between China and Sri Lanka, with rapid 

connections in Colombo to SriLankan’s 

global route network. Shanghai is the 

world’s largest cargo port, which serves 

China’s booming export economy. It is 

one of the largest cities in the world, 

with a population of 19 million. Located 

on China’s central eastern coast at the 

mouth of the Yangtze River, it is also a 

major tourist destination. 

The two Asian nations have greatly 

strengthened their centuries-old 

relationship in recent years with China 

emerging as a major business partner 

and investor in the Indian Ocean island 

nation. A number of China’s companies 

are heavily involved in the ongoing boom 

in infrastructure in Sri Lanka, including 

the construction of ports, airports, power 

stations and highways. 

With the addition of Shanghai, SriLankan 

will expand its route network to 49 

destinations in 31 countries across 

Europe, the Middle East, the Indian 

Subcontinent, the Far East, and North 

America. 

SriLankan is rapidly expanding its route 

network with the island fast becoming 

a destination of choice among global 

tourists. Services were launched to 

Milan last December, and code-share 

partnerships with other airlines over the 

past year have added New York, Chicago, 

Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, 

Jakarta, Athens, Larnaca (Cyprus) and 

Seoul. SriLankan has also announced 

that it will soon increase capacity to all 

of the country’s major tourism markets 

including India, the UK, France, Germany, 

and Italy. 

Total tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka grew 

by a phenomenal 68% in February in 

comparison to the same month in 2009. 

Sri Lanka’s government has announced 

an annual target of 2.5 million tourists to 

be achieved by 2016, a more than fivefold 

increase from the less than half a 

million of 2009. 

SriLankan’s services to Chinese cities 

are tailored to pamper Chinese travelers, 

with flights having Chinese cuisine; 

Chinese movies among the 40 movie, 

television and radio channels on the 

Touch Screen Entertainment System; and 

even Mandarin-speaking stewardesses. 


Events in USA 



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Hela Rangana - Maryland 

Hela Rangana a Sri Lankan Talent Show held in the 

Washington DC metro area and organized by the 

Educate Lanka Foundation was held on September 

5, 2009 at the Rockville Civic Center, Maryland. Hela 

Rangana brings together a variety of volunteer participants 

with unique talents, such as acting, dancing, and singing, 

all on one stage. SriLankan Airlines donated a free round 

trip air ticket from London to Colombo towards the raffle 

draw. All proceeds from the event were towards fulfilling 

the Foundation’s mission of providing scholarships to 

the neediest students in Sri Lanka for their Education. 

Thus, Hela Rangana not only gives an opportunity to the 

Sri Lankan expatriates to exhibit their theatrical talent, 

but also serves a very noble objective for Sri Lanka. The 

DVD of the 2009 Show is available for purchase online at 

www.helarangana.com. 

Benedictine Nite Dinner 

Dance 2009–New York 

The Ben’s Alumni Association of New York organized 

a dinner dance which was held on September 26, 

2009 at the World Fair Marina Restaurant & Banquet in 

New York. SriLankan Airlines gave away a free round trip 

air ticket from London to Colombo to the winner of the 

first door prize which was given to the winner by Mr. Luke 

De Silva of the Ben`s Alumni Association on behalf of 


SLMANA 

East Dinner Dance 

New York 

T 

he 2009 Annual Meeting and Benefit Dinner 

Dance organized by the Sri Lanka Medical 

Association of North America (SLMANA) was held 

on November 14, 2009 at the New York Hilton. 

SLMANA is a volunteer organization with the sole 

purpose of providing charitable & humanitarian 

services related to healthcare in Sri Lanka with an 

extended mission to have projects in the United 

States. SriLankan Airlines provided a free round trip 

air ticket for the raffle draw. 

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New Year’s Eve Gala, Maryland 

The New Year`s Eve Gala dinner dance organized by 

the Sri Lanka Association of Washington D.C. was held 

on December 31 2009 at The Hyatt Regency Bethesda, 


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Maryland. A free return air ticket from Frankfurt to 

Colombo courtesy SriLankan Airlines was offered to the 

winner of the raffle draw. 

Royal College 17th Annual Dinner 

Dance and Fund Raiser, New Jersey 

The Royal College Old Boys` East Coast Association 

organized their 17th Annual Dinner Dance and Fund 

raiser which was held on March 20th 2010 at the Royal 

Manor Banquet Hall in Garfield, New Jersey. Two free 

round trip air tickets courtesy SriLankan Airlines was 

provided as the grand prize at this event. All proceeds are 

for charitable projects in Sri Lanka. 

Trinity College Scholarship Fundraising 

Diner Dance, Maryland 

The Trinity College Kandy Alumni Association of 

Washington D.C. organized a fundraising Dinner 

Dance on April 3, 2010 at the Holiday Inn Gaithersburg, 

Maryland. All funds raised were for the benefit of students 

of Trinity College. SriLankan Airlines provided a free round 

trip air ticket from London/Colombo for the raffle draw at 

the event. 

Sri Lanka New Year Festival 2010, New Jersey 

Sri Lanka New Year festival sponsored by the Sri 

A Lanka Arts Society was held at the Alvin P William`s 

Park (Sewaren Park) in Woodbridge, New Jersey on April 

Pahan Silu 2010, a fund raising event organized by the 

Visakha Alumnae Association of Southern California 

to benefit disabled war veterans in Sri Lanka was held 

on May 1, 2010 at the Renaissance Airport Hotel in Los 

Pahan Silu – New Jersey 

24th, 2010 SriLankan Airlines gave away a free round trip 

air ticket from Frankfurt to Colombo, to the lucky winner 

of the raffle draw on that day. 

Angeles, California. SriLankan Airlines contributed a free 

round trip air ticket from London/Colombo as the main 

prize at the event. 





NORTH AMERICA 

Sinhala Aluth Avurudhu & 

Hind Puththandu Festival, California 

On April 17th, 2010 the Sri Lanka America Association 

of Southern California put on a grand show at the 

Woodley Park in Van Nuys, to celebrate the Sinhala Aluth 

Avurudhu and the Hindu Puththandu which are celebrated 

in Sri Lanka and by expatriates all over the world. During 

the event Ajith De Alwis and Nalin Amarasinghe, Managers 

of SriLankan Airlines, USA conducted a “FlySmiLes” 

promotion campaign offering “Bonus Miles” for those who 

signed up during the event. FlySmiLes is the Frequent 

Flyer Program of Srilankan Airlines and it is open for free 

sign up for anyone over the age of 18 years. 

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Feb 08, New York: The Permanent 

Representative of Sri Lanka to the 

United Nations, Dr. Palitha Kohona 

and the Sri Lanka Permanent 

Mission to the United Nations in 

New York hosted a gala concert on 

February 5th, 2010 for 350 guests 

at the prestigious Asia Society on 

Park Avenue to mark the National 

Day featuring some of Sri Lanka’s 

best talent in America. 

The concert featured Rohan De Silva, 

Pianist and Maestro of Chamber 

Music who has played at the White 

House and at Carnegie Hall, young 

Soprano Ms Tharanga Goonetillake 

who is a gem in the New York’s 

Opera Circuit, Veteran Jazz Vocalist 

Yolande Bawan dubbed as the new 

Ella Fitzgerald, Pradeep Ratnayake, 

Sri Lanka’s outstanding Sitarist, Jazz 

Pianist Prodigy Dinuk Wijeratne. The 

Channa-Upuli Dance Troupe added 

luster to the event with their splendid 

dance display. 

Dr. Kohona, in his welcoming address 

said “It is doubly a joy to host this 

event as we as a nation emerge from 

our long nightmare of internal conflict 

and as we congratulate President 

Mahinda Rajapaksa on his emphatic 

victory at last week’s Presidential 

elections. Against the backdrop of 

a long awaited peace, the nation’s 

pent up dreams and aspirations of 

a better future for all its citizens are 

reflected in the music of the artistes 

performing today.” 

Ambassador Kohona who hosted 

this first time event for New York’s 

Diplomatic Corps, the United Nations 

Community and New York’s leading 

lights in business and travel hosted 


NORTH AMERICA 

Sri Lankan artistes honored by the Sri Lanka 

Mission In New York to mark National Day 

a well attended reception with a fine 

array of Sri Lankan cuisine in the Asia 

Society’s Banquet Hall following the 

Concert. The diplomatic community 

and the UN were well represented. 

This is the first time that the Sri Lanka 

Permanent Mission to the UN in New 

York has hosted a reception for the 

international community in addition 

to the customary event hosted for 

the Sri Lankan community. The cost 

of the event was borne entirely by 

the following sponsors; the Sri Lanka 

Tourist Board, SriLankan Airlines, 

Air Sea Land Ltd., Mt Lavinia Hotel, 

Brandix, Bay Leaf and the Galle Face 

Hotel. 

(Pictures by Sagara Lakmal De Mel) 

Cont ... 





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10 



Food Festival 

“Heritage Days” highlights authentic Sri Lankan Cuisine 

and Culture. 

The Restaurants Associates (RA) at the World Bank and 

the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington, D.C. inaugurated 

the first day of “Celebrating Sri Lankan Cuisine, a special 

country promotion, launched under the RA’s “Heritage 

Days” luncheon series on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. 


Apart from stunning, spicy entrees, the luncheon also 

NORTH AMERICA 

highlighted Sri Lanka as a premiere travel destination, 

following the “New York Times” recent designation of Sri 

Lanka as the number one place to visit in 2010. 

Mr. Dillan Ariyawansa, SriLankan Airlines’ Senior Vice 

President in the U.S., Canada and Caribbean, also 

attended the lunch to boost travel prospects. 

Two leading chefs namely, Chef Gerard Mendis of 

Hilton, Colombo and his colleague, Chef Madhawa 

Weerabaddhana, specially flown from Sri Lanka courtesy 

SriLankan Airlines, featured a colorful spread of seafood, 

curries and vegetarian dishes laced with authentic Sri 

Lankan spices at the inaugural luncheon. 

The occasion was attended by as many as two hundred 

guests, including a large number of senior executives 

representing the World Bank, the IMF, the Office of the 

USTR and the US Departments of State, Commerce and 

Defense. 

“Welcome to Sri Lanka”, Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya 

greeted the busy executive dining room. “As I was 

arriving at this restaurant, I saw a SriLankan Airlines hostess, 

I saw a Sri Lanka Tourism video playing and I smelled 

the Sri Lankan food. I felt like I was in Sri Lanka. I believe 

our food will tempt all our guests to visit Sri Lanka on their 

next vacation.” 

The guests, who were highly pleased with the feast, were 

deeply appreciative of the Restaurant Associates and the 

Sri Lankan Embassy for the rare opportunity given. 

With over 240 guests, the second day luncheon, 24th 

Feb., the bank’s executive dining room saw the highest 

number of diners at in the entire history of “Heritage 

Days” series so far. 

On 25th and 26th February, Chefs Gerard and Madhawa 

offered their specialties in the bank’s larger cafeteria, 

which serves over 3,500 meals a day and the World 

Bank’s International Finance Corp.(IFC) dining room 

respectively. 

On March 2, 2010, the chefs staged a special Sri Lankan 

dinner at the prestigious Time Warner Center in New 

York City for an exclusive gathering of leading corporate 

executives, who represent several key industry sectors, 

including travel trade. 


Sri Lankan Food Festival 



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Call us on USA 732-205-0017, Canada 416-227-9000 

www.srilankanusa.com 




Events in Canada 

Toronto Consular Ball, Toronto 

The “Toronto Consular Ball” 

organized by the The Consulate 

General of Toronto, Sri Lanka was 

held on 17 October 2009 at the Hotel 

Delta Chelsea, Toronto. SriLankan 

Airlines gave away a free round trip air 

ticket from London/Colombo, to the 

winner of the Raffle Draw. Seen in the 

picture is the lucky winner, Honorary 

Consul General of Iceland-Toronto, 

Jon Ragnar Johnson receiving the 

ticket from Manager Canada, Lalith 

Wickremasinghe and Consul General 

for Sri Lanka in Toronto, Mr. Bandula 

Jayasekera seated next to Member of 

Parliament for Brampton Springdale, 

Ontario, Dr. Ruby Dhalla. 

NORTH AMERICA 

The Past Pupils Association of St. Michael`s College 

(Batticaloa) North America Branch hosted their annual 

dinner dance “Mikes Night” on November 14th 2009 at 

Mikes Night, Toronto 

Claireport Banquet Hall in Toronto. A free air ticket from 

London/Colombo/London courtesy SriLankan Airlines 

was provided for the raffle draw. 

Trincomalee Josephians Dinner Dance, Toronto 

The Trincomalee Josephians of Canada organized a 

dinner & dance on 5 December, 2009 held at the 

St. Rose of Lima Church in Toronto. SriLankan Airlines 

provided a free ticket from London to Colombo and back 

for the raffle draw. 

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Royal College Gala Dinner Dance, Toronto 

The Royal College Old 

Boys Association, Ontario 

organized a Spring Gala Dinner 

Dance held on 27 March 2010 

at the Woodbine Banquet Hall 

in Toronto. SriLankan Airlines 

was the Platinum Sponsor of 

this event and contributed a 

free round trip air ticket from 

London/Colombo as the grand 

prize. Picture shows Ticketing & 

Reservations Agent, Gail Ragel 

of SriLankan Airlines, Canada 

handing over the winner ticket. 


NORTH AMERICA 

Sri Lankan New Year Celebrations 2010, Ottawa 

The Sri Lanka Association 

of Ottawa 

organized a New Year 

Celebration on 10 April 

2010 which was held at 

the Hellenic Community 

Centre, Ottawa. SriLankan 

Airlines sponsored a 

full-page, color advertisement 

in the souvenir. 

In the picture are (L to 

R) Chaminda Perera, 

Duleep Wagiswara, The 

High Commissioner for 

Sri Lanka in Canada H.E. 

Chitrangani Wagiswara, 

Tilak Waidyaratne and 

Lalith Wickramasinghe of 






Sri Lankan New Year 

Celebrations 2010, Toronto 

NORTH AMERICA 

The Canada Sri Lanka 

Association of Toronto 

celebrated their 42nd 

anniversary on 11 April, 

2010, marking their years 

of service to the Sri Lankan 

community in Toronto at 

the Don Bosco Collegiate 

Auditorium, Toronto. 

SriLankan Airlines was the 

main sponsor of the event 

and donated a return air 

ticket from London/Colombo 

for the raffle draw. The below 

picture shows Lalith Wickremasinghe 

of SriLankan Airlines 

presenting the ticket to 

the lucky winner while Mrs. 

Aloma Yapa, president of the 

association looks on. 

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The Sinhala & Tamil New Year 

celebrations organized by the 

Canada Sri Lanka Friendship 

Association of Edmonton was held on 

1 May 2010. The event was a great 

success and well attended. Lalith 

Wickremasinghe, Manager Canada 

conducted a FlySmiLes promotion 

campaign offering “Bonus Miles” 

for those who signed up during the 

event. SriLankan Airlines gave away 

four gift vouchers to the winners of 

the FlySmiLes Sign-Up raffle draw. 

Lalith gave a speech to the audience 

on SriLankan Airlines in Canada, the 

Airlines’ products and services. 

Sinhala & Tamil New Year 

Celebrations 2010, Edmonton 


NORTH AMERICA 




The 2010 Prince Edward Island Cricket Gala 

The 2010 Prince Edward Island Cricket Gala organized 

by the PEI Cricket Association was held on June 5, 2010 

at the Stratford Town Hall, Charlottetown , Prince Edward 

Island. This annual fund-raising event was co-sponsored 

by SriLankan Airlines and Lalith Wickremasinghe of 

SriLankan Airlines and Mrs. Wickremasinghe attended the 

NORTH AMERICA 

event. Participants of the event included a cross section 

of the cricket loving fanfare of PEI and the surrounding 

regions. The occasion was graced by a Federal Member 

of Parliament and Provincial Member of Parliament. 

SriLankan Airlines donated a London/Colombo return air 

ticket which was offered as a grand prize. 

1 

2 3 

1. (L to R) PEI Cricket Association`s Gayani Sudasinghe (Secretary) 

Dr. Sarath Chandrasekere (President) and SriLankan Airlines` 

Lalith Wickremasinghe and Mrs. Wickremasinghe 

2. (L to R) Federal Member of Parliament for Charlottetown Shawn 

Murphy, Gayani Sudasinghe, Dr. Sarath Chandrasekera and Lalith 

Wickremasinghe 

3. Winner Udyoga Amarasinghe receiving the ticket from Lalith 

Wickremasinghe while Francis (Buck) Watts 

4. Guests enjoying the evening. 

4 

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The day we moved to our state of the art 

office in Colombo - 30th November 2009 

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FlySmiLes Training for Colombo Staff 

The Ticketing & Reservations staff of Sri Lankan Travel, 

Inc. based in Colombo underwent a comprehensive 

training on FlySmiLes, the “Frequent Flyer Program of 

SriLankan Airlines” on 4 December 2009. This was 

conducted at the Colombo office by Mr. Shaminda 


Perera, Training Executive FlySmiles, SriLankan Airlines. 

NORTH AMERICA 

The training was undertaken to enhance the knowledge 

and build the capacity of the staff to better serve their 

passengers. 

Standing (L to R) Manura Fernando (Sales Support & Ticketing Agent), Shaminda Perera (SriLankan Airlines, FlySmiLes Training Executive), Sereshe 

Kariyawasam (Sales Support & Ticketing Agent) & Dilshan Pitawalage (Sales Support & Ticketing Agent). 

Seated (L to R) Peumali Kulatunga (Supervisor Sales Support & Ticketing) & Ishani Silva (Snr. Sales Support & Ticketing Agent). 

FlySmiLes - a frequent flyer programme 

that rewards and delights 

FlySmiLes, the frequent flyer programme from SriLankan 

Airlines is designated to make every journey a happy 

one. 

If you are still not a FlySmiLes member enroll yourself now! 

Becoming a member of FlySmiLes is simple. Fill out an 

enrollment form which is available at the Bandaranaike 

International Airport, FlySmiLes Service Center, SriLankan 

offices in Sri Lanka/overseas, on board SriLankan flights 

and at www.flysmiles.com. 

To ensure you receive all your miles on FlySmiLes, please 

remember to quote your membership number when 

making your reservation and each time you check in with 




Annual Sri Lankan Travel, Inc. Staff Workshop 

The Annual Sri Lankan Travel, Inc. Staff Workshop of 

SriLankan Airlines GSA for North America was held 

from 27-28th March 2010 at the Cinnamon Lakeside 

Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Staff based in Canada, 

Colombo and US attended the workshop which was a 

great success. 

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The workshop began with a welcome speech/introduction 

by Dillan Ariyawansa, Chief Executive Officer for SriLankan 

Airlines GSA followed by a brief outline on the programme 

by Manager Finance, Paduma Samarakone who later 

spoke on “Accounting Procedures” of the company. 

Ajith De Alwis, Manager Sales & Operations conducted 

a presentation on “Performance of Sri Lankan Travel & 

Passenger Handling” whilst Manager Canada, Lalith 

Wickremasinghe did a presentation on “How to identify 

the Canada market/new development potentials”. 

Manager West Coast, Nalin Amarasinghe spoke on “How 

to reduce unproductive time/good reservation ethics” 

while Thushara Ratnayake spoke on “IT Procedures/ 

security”. 

External facilitators, Munshif Hussain Certified Trainer 

on Soft Skills and Service Excellence conducted a 

presentation on Motivation, while Daniel Thambyrajah, 

Training Consultant spoke on Customer Service Skills. 

Shazmine Fazil, Management Trainee from Jetwing 

Travels (Pvt) Ltd spoke on Travel & Tours available at 

Jetwing Travels. 

SriLankan Airlines; Regional Manager for Europe, 

US, Middle East & Africa, Kaushal Seneviratne 

and SriLankan`s Country Manager for UK, Ireland, 

Scandinavia & Americas, Chanaka Olagama were present 

at the workshop. Also present was Executive Director of 

Jetwing Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Raju Arasaratnam. 

Custom-made t-shirts with the SLT logo were worn by staff 

on the second day of the workshop to celebrate the 10th 

anniversary of SLT. 


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SriLankan• e-news - NORTH AMERICA 

Cont ...


Annual Travel, Inc. Staff Workshop 


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Cont ... 

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Annual Sri Lankan Travel, Inc. Staff Workshop 


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Travel, Inc. celebrates 

its 10th Anniversary 


NORTH AMERICA 

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Sri Lankan Travel, Inc as the General Sales Agent for SriLankan Airlines in USA, 

Canada & the Caribbean, SLT hosted a dinner for Senior Staff of SriLankan Airlines, Colombo and SLT staff at the 

Presidential Suite of the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, Colombo on 27th March 2010. The occasion was graced by Chief 

Executive Officer, SriLankan Airlines, Mr. Manoj Gunawardena and Mrs. Gunawardena. 

Cont ... 



Sri Lankan Travel, Inc. celebrates its 10th Anniversary 


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The Griffin Girls Rugby team tours Sri Lanka 

On July 6, 2010 Southern California’s Select Side All 

Star Girls Rugby Team, the Griffin Girls, arrived in Sri 

Lanka on a historical women’s rugby tour. 

The group consisted of 20 players, 5 coaches, and 2 

chaperones. The Griffin Girls from Southern California 

are one of 7 Select Side teams in the USA. 

This was the very first time that a rugby team from the 

United States visited Sri Lanka and the SriLankan Airlines 

office in USA secured the teams travel on “SriLankan 

Airlines. 

This was also the very first time the Sri Lanka 

Women`s Rugby team played a 15-a-side rugby match. 

The team played the first leg in Kandy against the Sri 

Lanka Women`s Rugby team on July 10, 2010 and 


NORTH AMERICA 

the second leg was played at the Royal College Sports 

Complex on July 18, 2010. 

The team also played at the Beach Rugby Sevens in 

Heritance Ahungalla on July 15, 2010 where the Sri Lanka 

Air Force, Sri Lanka Navy and Slimline also participated. 

Chief Guest, one of Sri Lanka`s top Actresses Anarkali 

Arkarsha graced the occasion. The Sri Lanka Team won 

the tournament and USA were the runners up. 

In addition to the matches, the coaches and players 

conducted coaching camps for Sri Lankan school children 

in Kandy, Galle, and Colombo. All the coaches are IRB 

certified and have several years of coaching experience. 

SriLankan Airlines was the official airline and a sponsor of 

the Griffin Girls Rugby Tour. 

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East Coast 

379, Thornall Street, 6th Fl, 

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, Suite 301, 

North York Ontario. M2N3A4 

Tel: 416 227 9000 

Fax: 416 227 0843 

E-mail: sales@srilankanusa.com 

www.srilankanusa.com

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