Category Archives: Travel

New service from Switzerland to Sri Lanka

New service from Switzerland to Sri Lanka

Edelweiss, Switzerland’s leading leisure airline and sister company of Swiss International Air Lines, is further expanding its route network to Asia.

From 3rd November 2018 the airline will offer direct seasonal flights between Zurich and Colombo.

An Edelweiss Airbus A340-300 will fly twice weekly. Every Thursday and Saturday between Zurich and Colombo connecting the two cities directly. Flight time will be 10 hours.

Day Zurich Colombo
Saturdays 21:05 11:30 (the next day)
Thursdays 17:55
 08:20 (the next day)

The new connection allows Swiss and other European tourists to reach Sri Lanka with ease and in comfort.

“Sri Lanka and its countless leisure activities are very popular among Swiss tourists” says Bernd Bauer, CEO of Edelweiss. “Swiss vacationers tend to spend more time and money than visitors from other countries. Our flights will bring approximately 11,000 visitors to Colombo each year, generating an annual economic impact of more than $ 32million.”

As well as opening Sri Lanka to Swiss and other European visitors, the new route offers a convenient direct flight for travellers from around Colombo to the heart of Europe, with many onward flight options from Zurich to other European cities and world-wide destinations with Swiss International Air Lines.

The route will be operated with an Airbus A340-300 seating 314 passengers. Edelweiss Business Class is equipped with 27 fully lie-flat seats and a state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system with HD touchscreens. Economy Max encompasses 76 comfortable seats with six inches more legroom, more recline and many other amenities.

The 211 seats in Economy Class provide for a relaxing flight and offer an inflight entertainment system that also features HD touchscreens. For more information regarding the Edelweiss product visit

To book your flights with Edelweiss or any other airline to / from Asia please click HERE

4 Great Minds come together in Negombo

When four great minds come together they create something that is simply authentic, different and a total success.

That is what happened with a new bar and restaurant named Toro (which is Spanish for bull) ideally located opposite the Jetwing Sea hotel in Palagathura which is Negombo Beach North.

The four great minds are:

  • Krishan (the owner) who has many years experience as a local caterer and a chef. He worked at Rodeo for many years.
  • Chanaka (Head Chef) who was the Head Chef at Rodeo for over 20 years.
  • Madusanka (Head Barman) who has gained experience by working at the Cricket Club in Colombo.
  • Geeth (Head Waiter) who is very well known to many Negombo residents as he previously worked at Serendib for many years.

Toro Bar & Restaurant has only been opened for about 4 months but is already established itself as one of the top venues in Negombo due to its great food, unique and imaginative menu, good value, great bar service and cocktails and friendly welcoming service.

The bar is frequented by many local families as its a safe and friendly place for women to come, many aircrew (especially the Emirates team as they stopover at the Jetwing Sea which is opposite) and foreign visitors to the area.

The atmosphere is friendly, mixed and there’s always great music and every Friday you can expect live music and feel free to dance if you want, there is plenty of room.

The décor of the place is modern with wooden pallets making up the walls and the ceiling. Modern lighting and wooden tables, some low down and some high up, spotlessly clean toilets and attractive bar area.

Feel relaxed with lots of large wall fans to cool you down. There is a vast array of drinks to choose from. From Lion beer, Apple cider, cocktails, milkshakes, Calsberg, Corona to Chilean wine by the glass.

Madusanka can serve up both the quickest and the meanest mojito in Negombo. Its great value with Lion beer just 420 rupees or Gin and tonic (with ice and lime, which is a rare thing in Sri Lanka) for just 500 rupees.

The menu is a mixed of Sri Lankan and Western and can be suitable for everyine including vegetarians and vegans. Steak Panini sandwich, (700 LKR) Prawn & Avacado wrap,(600LKR) Beer batter fish with home made chips and salad, (950 LKR), Freshly made pizzas, Seafood. Chop Suey and even delicious Traditional Sri Lankan rice and curry. The menu has been devised by Krishan and Chanaka and their joint vast experience is shown in their dishes and presentation.
If you have any questions then Geeth will be pleased to answer them.

The owner Krishan is very proud of his new venue. If you ask to see the kitchen he will be delighted to show it to you. Here you will find one of the largest and cleanest kitchens in the country. Very impressive and offers peace of mind about the food.

 

 

So if you are visiting Negombo then head North along the beach road, with the sea on your left hand side and get youself down to Toro Bar & Restaurant.

Why not stay at one of our many highly recommended guest houses in Negombo Beach North such as Anne Residence (from $18 a night) or Shannon Rest (from $20 a night), these two properties are only a short 5 minute walk to Toros.

Emirates Airbus A380 lands at Colombo Airport

Emirates Airbus A380 lands at Colombo

Emirates’ double decked Airbus A380 aircraft will make a one-off landing at the Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, in Sri Lanka on the 14th August 2017, the first airline to land this wide-body aircraft at the airport’s new resurfaced runway.

The special flight will be the first A380 aircraft to disembark passengers in Sri Lanka after completing a commercial service. The one-off A380 aircraft will arrive at 16:10 hours and be on ground for more than six hours. Before it returns to Dubai as flight EK655 departing at 22:10 hours, enabling airport executives, VIPs, trade partners and media to enjoy a guided static tour of the double-decker aircraft. The airline said in a media release.

This is not exactly the first time an Emirates Airbus A380 plane has landed here in Sri Lanka. In June 2015 the mentioned aircraft with more than 500 people on board had to make an emergency landing in Sri Lanka due to a technical fault.

The aircraft was en route to Dubai from Sydney when it was diverted to Colombo, where it landed safely.

“Colombo has welcomed us from the day Emirates commenced daily flights from Dubai in 1986, just a year after the airline launched its operations. We are honoured to work alongside the city, airport, and the Sri Lankan Civil Aviation authorities, to bring our flagship A380 to this vibrant destination.

For Colombo and for aviation enthusiasts in Sri Lanka, this will certainly be a special day and we look forward to showcasing our unique on board products in this market,” said Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, West Asia and Indian Ocean.

An A380 aircraft can carry 853 passengers (538 on the main deck and 315 on the upper),

Customers in Sri Lanka can experience Emirates’ double-decker aircraft by connecting through the airline’s Dubai hub to more than 45 A380 destinations. As the first and only airline in the world to operate a fleet of all Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft for its passenger flights, Emirates’ operating fleet remains modern and efficient while offering customers a high level of comfort. Since 2008, Emirates has flown over 80 million passengers on its A380 fleet, the release said.

The story is a follow up from our story titled Airport closure a complete waste of time and money which we published on the 26th April 2017

This is a big embarrassment to the airport, the government and officials. Surely the contractors knew how to read a tape measure!!!

The extra wide runway would also allow for larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 super jumbo to be able to use the airport.

The problem is that the contractors measured the extra 30 metres incorrectly and actually only widened the runway to 60 metres making it short by 15 metres when measured by the IATA officials.

We are pleased to advise that this problem has since been rectifield and the addtional 15 metres has been added to the runway width without any further closures taking place.

This is good news to Sri Lankan tourism, in addition to the extra flights from Moscow and Melbourne.

To search for any flights to Colombo and beyond with Emirates or any other long haul airline, click HERE

Capacity increase from Russia with Emirates

Emirates announced that both its daily flights between Dubai and Moscow will now be operated by the airline’s iconic airbus A380.

Commencing 1st October 2017, the double daily Airbus A380 service will significantly boost seat capacity to and from Russia in order to meet customer demand. It will also allow multiple A380 to A380 connections to a wide range of destinations such as:

Mauritius, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Auckland, Christchurch, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei and Sao Paolo.

Currently the airbus A380 cannot fly into Colombo due to runway restrictions. so the new Moscow flights will connect to one of the three Boeing 777 aircrafts operating between Dubai and Sri Lanka.

Since Emirates started flying from its Dubai hub to Moscow in 2003. The airline has carried over 4 million passengers on the route. This aircraft upgrade sees an increase of over 1,000 seats per week and clearly demonstrates Emirates’ commitment to the Russian market. and further supporting tourism and trade links between the Middle East and countries connected by the vast Emirates worldwide route network including Sri Lanka and Russia.

Flights EK131/132 and EK133/134 will be operated by an Airbus A380 aircraft in a three-class configuration with 14 Private Suites in First Class, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 427 seats in Economy Class.

Emirates has also made amendments to its winter schedule to and from St Petersburg, giving passengers even easier connections to many Emirates destinations including Maldives, Thailand and Sri Lanka with just a short stop in Dubai.

From 29th October 2017 until March 24, 2018 EK176 will depart from Pulkovo International Airport at 23:55hrs and land at Dubai International Airport the next day at 07:05hrs.

The new times will enable clients travelling to Dubai an additional day in the city, arriving from Saint Petersburg early in the morning instead of late evening. Given that Russian customers can now receive a FREE UAE visa on arrival, the new schedule opens up even more opportunities to explore the city and take advantage of the following early morning’s departure from Dubai to Colombo Sri Lanka.

To Search for Any flight with Emirates click HERE

New Direct flight service from Melbourne to Colombo

New Direct flight service from Melbourne to Colombo

Sri Lankan Airlines has announced it will operate a daily non-stop service from Melbourne Airport, Australia to Colombo Sri Lanka from 29th October 2017.

Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Simon Gandy said in a statement the new service on the Airbus A330-330 aircraft would take Aussies directly to Sri Lanka’s capital city in just over 10 hours.

He said the new route would also allow more Sri Lankans to visit family and friends in Victoria, which according to 2011 census data is home to around 50 per cent of Australia’s Sri Lankan population.

Sri Lankan Airlines all new A330-300s come with a range of novelties where the ease of modern air travel harmoniously blends in with the uniqueness of Sri Lanka. With cabins illustrated by motifs featuring the diversity and beauty of the island’s flora and fauna, they feature the latest amenities.

Their comfortable Economy Class sector provides a pleasant flying experience, and lets you relax to the latest movies on-demand, while lavishing in the true SriLankan Airlines hospitality that they are renowned for. With mood-lighting and in-seat power for portable electronic devices across all classes – you can also stay connected and be productive throughout the flight with Wi-Fi and mobile phone connectivity. Surf the internet, send an email, and make a call or text your friends – all while you fly.

Enjoy your flight and relax in greater comfort on-board their enhanced Business Class cabin, designed to pamper. With seats that transform into full flat beds, extra space, on-demand entertainment and direct aisle access.

To check availability and prices from Sri Lankan Airlines and any other major scheduled airline, click HERE