Lufthansa Group completes its GSA representation in Sri Lanka

 −  Representation of all Lufthansa Group Airlines in the country:Lufthansa German Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS and Edelweiss

−  United Ventures (Private) Limited to complete Lufthansa Group Airlines representation effective June 2019

−  Two weekly flights of SWISS sister company Edelweisson Colombo-Zurich route confirmed for winter schedule 2019/20

The Lufthansa Group has today announced the appointment of United Ventures (Private) Limited as its new General Sales Agency (GSA) for Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines in Sri Lanka. In its new role as GSA United Ventures will manage on-ground sales and marketing resources and infrastructure end-to-end support for all the three airlines in the country. The account will be led by Mr. ThisumJayasuriya (Director & Group CEO – United Ventures) and Ms. ParveenDassenaike (Chairperson – United Ventures).

Ms. Dassenaike will be responsible for ensuring overall leadership and enhancing relationships with key industry and government stakeholders. She will also be responsible for identifying and leveraging growth opportunities for the three Airlines in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Jayasuriya will spearhead the nationwide sales andmarketing functions and be responsible for ensuring that the Airlines’ business targets are met, as well as identifying, establishingand developing relationships within B2B/B2C segments. Mr. Jayasuriya will also be in charge of buildingbrand awareness amongst the agency community, the corporate sector, and the general public.

Speaking on the association, George Ettiyil, Senior Director Sales South Asia for Lufthansa Group Airlines, said: “The demand for international corporate and leisure travel in Sri Lanka has increased over the past years. In order to cater to this growing passenger demand, itwas imperative to bring in a professional partner with a deep sales and marketing expertise. We are confident that our association with United Ventures will help us ensure that travelers across the country will get better access to our three Airlines with the superlative level of service and support that the Lufthansa Group is renowned for.“

MsParveenDassenaike, United Ventures added: “This opportunity to represent such a prestigious group of airlines is very exciting and supports our vision of expanding our portfolio of airline representations. The Lufthansa Groupbeing Europe’s largest Airline Group, our association is indicative of Sri Lanka’sincreasing global relevance.”

This new partnership completes the Lufthansa Group Airline Portfolio in Sri Lanka with BaursAirservices Ltd. representing Swiss International Air Lines and Edelweiss as the Airline’s GSA since 2003.

Having successfully introduced the seasonal Edelweiss flights in the Colombo-Zurich sector in November 2018, the Lufthansa Group continuously evaluatesexpanding the scope of its operations in Sri Lanka. The two strong partners BaursAirservicesand United Ventures will help the Grouptap into Sri Lanka’s potential as an emergingtravel market in South Asia.

About the Lufthansa Group

The Lufthansa Group is the world’s largest aviation group in terms of turnover as well as the market leader in Europe’s airline sector. The Group strives to be the “First Choice in Aviation” for its customers, employees, shareholders and partners. Safety, quality, reliability and innovation are the prime credentials and priorities of all its business activities.

The Lufthansa Group is divided into the three strategic areas of Hub Airlines, Point-to-Point Business and Service Companies. The Group’s network carriers, with their premium brands of Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines, serve its home market from their Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Vienna hubs. With its Eurowings brand, the Group also offers short- and long-haul point-to-point services in the growing private travel market. Brussels Airline is also part of the point-to-point services. And with its service companies, which are all global market leaders in their individual industries, the Lufthansa Group has found success in further areas of the aviation business.

Edelweiss is the leading Swiss holiday airline and sister company of Swiss International Air Lines. With a fleet of 16 aircraft it serves 70 destinations in 32 countries worldwide and transports almost 2.5 million guests a year.

Lufthansa Group airlines serve 343 destinations in 103 countries, offering 13,267 weekly frequencies during summer 2019. The current fleet is comprised of 763 aircraft (as of February 2019) and the Group will continue to take delivery of new aircraft until 2025. In 2018, the Lufthansa Group employed around 135,000 personnel, welcomed 142 million passengers aboard its flights and generated sales of around EUR 35.8 billion.