ACU_November 2016 Final Draft

AIRLINES
SriLankanAirlinesstopsflightstoParisandFrankfurt
COLOMBO: The national carrier of Sri
Lanka is indefinitely suspending its
operations to Paris and Frankfurt
amid low profitability on the routes
and the depreciation of Euro against
the dollar.
SriLankan Airlines had its last flight on
Frankfurt, Germany on October 30
and in Paris, France on November 6.
“The government of Sri Lanka has
made it clear that it will no longer fund
continuing losses,” the airline said in a
statement, noting that it continues to
m o n i t o r m a r ke t d y n a m i c s t o
maximize sustainable routes.
The airline said while the drop in fuel
prices has contributed to the airline's
improved performance, this benefit
has been significantly eroded with the
airline's revenues declining for the FY
ending 2015-16 compared to the
previous year.
The drop in airfares in European
markets has further weakened
profitability on the route compared to
other destinations.
For now, SriLankan Airlines will
operate daily flights to Doha and Abu
Dhabi, to which it has strong code
share relationship with Etihad and
Qatar, t o continue p roviding
connecting flights to European
nations out of Sri Lanka.
China Southern Airlines helps rove Chinese relics from Guangzhou
GUANGZHOU: China Southern Airlines
successfully shipped out of China to Los Angeles
and back ancient Chinese relics in 128 suits with
total value of $27 million.
The cultural relics, including the Bronze Masks
Suit, one of the Six National Treasures in
Sanxingdui Ruin Site, were showcased in Bower
Museum and Houston Museum of Natural
Science's exhibit entitled “The Mystery of
Ancient China.”
China's Bronze Age Culture was first discovered
in 1929 and was rediscovered in 1986 in a walled
city belonging to the Sanxingdui Culture
founded between 11 and 12 centuries ago during
the time of the Shu Kingdom.
The valuable relics weighing more than 2 tons
were loaded in 13 wooden cases and were flown
out of Guangzhou on September 19.
A special casing was used for the shipment and
the airline's operation department decided to
take the forklift in transportation instead of
manually handling them.
Plastic flat racks were also placed under the wooden cases to reduce their wiggle which moving through the X-ray
machines. From the airport, the relics were placed under a 24-hour video surveillance until they were transported to the
museum where security is very tight.