SriLankan Cargo revolutionizes air freight from the Middle East
18 Nov 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
From left: Ranjith Heentilake – General Manager Midco, M.M.S.K. Ranaweera – Managing Director Midco, Ali Kamil - Snr Manager Cargo Revenue Management and Wasantha Ratnayake – Customer Service Manager (Cargo)
From left: Haizam Munas - Accountant Laksiri, M.H.M Farhan - Director Laksiri, M.S.M Ruwaisdeen - Chairman Laksiri, Ali Kamil - Snr Manager Cargo Revenue Management and . Wasantha Ratnayake – Customer Service Manager (Cargo)
SriLankan Cargo will revolutionize air freight to Colombo from seven cities in the Middle East with the launch of its ‘A Dollar A Kilo!’ service this month.
The new service has been especially designed to cater to the needs of Sri Lanka’s migrant workforce in the Middle East, who often send gifts, baggage and other items back home through sea freight. The service has no restrictions on size and weight, and can be used by anyone to send anything from the Middle East to Colombo.
Apart from its remarkably low cost, with a fee of US$ 1 per kilogramme with no hidden charges, this service will also provide the greatest level of convenience, with packages being picked up from the very doorsteps of customers in the Middle East. Customers simply need to call up the SriLankan Airlines office in their respective city, and the package will be picked up within hours.
The service is being made available to customers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait, Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah. SriLankan currently operates 42 flights a week between these cities and Colombo.
“SriLankan Cargo, together with our parent company SriLankan Airlines, salutes the efforts of hundreds of thousands of our countrymen and women living and working throughout the Middle East. Their vital remittances form one of the largest segments of our nation’s economy. This is our way of saying ‘Thank you’ to all of them,” said Chamara Ranasinghe, Head of Cargo at SriLankan.
“We are constantly searching for new and innovative methods by which to serve our customers. We identified this important market segment, and are offering them a value for money service that is both cost-effective and fast from their point of view. Speed is an especially relevant factor, and SriLankan Cargo will deliver within two days. In comparison, sea freight may take up to a month,” said Ranasinghe.
Two shipping agents have been appointed by SriLankan Cargo as its partners in this venture. Laksiri Seva (Pvt) Ltd will handle freight coming from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Dammam and Riyadh, while Middle East Cargo International (Pvt) Ltd (Midco) will do the same for packages from Doha and Jeddah. Both companies have their warehouses in Sri Lanka at Peliyagoda, on the outskirts of Colombo, from which the packages can be picked up.
SriLankan Cargo operates to all of SriLankan Airlines’ 94 destinations in 44 countries on its sophisticated all-Airbus fleet of A320, A321 and A330 aircraft. SriLankan is a member of oneworld, one of the world’s most prestigious airline alliances.
SriLankan Cargo also operates the only dedicated freighter service in South Asia, which provides scheduled flights to cities in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and charter operations to many other cities throughout the region.
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