Dogs will soon be able to experience their own “furst” class flight with the launch of the world’s first jet charter company specifically designed for man’s best friend on 23rd  May.

BARK, the dog toy company that coordinates the popular treat subscription BarkBox, is partnering with a jet charter service to take away the challenges of long-distance traveling with dogs, according to a press release. BARK Air, as the company calls it, offers the “white glove experience typical of a human’s first-class experience and redirected all that pampering to pooches.”

Taking dogs on airplanes is, typically, a stressful endeavor with different airlines having different policies for pet travel. For example, American Airlines allows small dogs in a carrier to be placed under the seat in front, but larger dogs are put in the cargo space, which has been found to be stressful for the pet. For United Airlines, pets can fly in the cabin if there’s enough space, but they must fit in a carrier under the seat in front.

“Dogs Fly First”(pic BARK Air)

“We are excited to take the insights we’ve learned over years to create an experience that is truly dog-first, which is drastically different from just accepting dogs – from the ground to the skies,” said Matt Meeker, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at BARK, in a statement.

However, you’ll need to pay a hefty fee for the dog-friendly flight. For now, a ticket for just one dog and one human will run you at least $6,000 one way.

The first BARK Air flights will take off on May 23, and so far, there are only two flight routes available, both from New York’s Westchester County Airport. From New York to London’s Stansted Airport, it’ll cost $8,000 one-way and to Los Angeles’s Van Nuys Airport will cost $6,000 one-way.

‘Commencement of loan repayments won’t make a dent in reserves’

By Sanath Nanayakkare

The amount of foreign reserves possessed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka is now poised to exceed U5D 5 billion, and the commencement of foreign loan repayments in the coming months won’t make a dent in current reserves, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told the media yesterday.

Responding to a query from the media whether the commencement of foreign debt repayments could see an immediate dip in the reserve levels, the state minister said that the whole objective of debt restructuring is to avert a significant depletion of foreign reserves.

“The debt restructuring process agreed with bilateral creditors and commercial creditors is being designed to ensure effective management of our foreign reserves. It is all about adjusting our loan repayments in line with the Central Bank’s foreign reserves. The Balance of Payment (BOP) transactions which consist of imports and exports of goods, services, remittances as well as transfer payments will be executed in a way that won’t put pressure on foreign reserves,” he said.

However, he mentioned that the government would not completely remove its ban on importing vehicles any time soon as it is a key measure of keeping tabs on foreign exchange outflows.

“The Central Bank acquired this desired level of foreign reserves by purchasing US dollars from the market. This is a favourable development. All import bans and restrictions have now been lifted except for vehicle imports. That too, we are opening according to emerging requirements. For example, we have allowed the importation of 750 vans and 250 buses to be deployed for tourist transportation as the requirement for it was justified. In a similar manner, vehicle imports will be allowed in accordance with the requirements. So, in future, vehicle imports will be allowed only if the government sees the genuine need for that,” he said.

When the Island Financial Review contacted Ranjith Sudasinghe, vice president of Sri Lanka Chauffeur Tourist Guide Lecturers Association, he said that members of their Association would be at risk when they don’t get new vehicles for tourist transportation while only select big companies in the industry would get them.

“We have made repeated appeals to Sri Lanka Tourism authorities pointing out that our vehicles are old and tourists won’t find them appropriate for a round-tour of Sri Lanka. Even Destination Management Companies (DMCs) would reject our vehicles when they get new vehicles. So, the authorities should create a level playing field for all tourist transportation stakeholders. The government should consider allowing us to import vehicles at a concessional duty rate after an assessment of the conditions of our vehicles. Farmers get fertilize subsidies, fisher folks get facilities from the government. But the chauffeur guides are receiving a step-motherly treatment from the authorities which is not fair. We are only asking to replace our old tourist vehicles with news ones at a concessional duty rate. At present we are charging less than what a three-wheeler charges per kilometer because we are told to be competitive with fares in the regional countries. Now with the new tourist vehicles coming in and we have been left out of the process, we are going to be squeezed out of our livelihoods,” he said.

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

Sri Lanka is already facing an absolute disruption of households with over seven million people out of the total twenty one million population living in abject poverty. Out of the seven million more than 75 percent have only two meals per day, marketing specialist Dr. Rohantha Athukorale said.

“Although things are going to be difficult for Sri Lanka, the country is now on a recovery path with the country’s GDP growth registered at 1.6 percent in the third quarter of 2023 and three percent in the fourth quarter. But people are still going through major hardships amid such progress, Athukorala said recently at a Rotary Club leadership training conference for members for the year 2024/25.

The programme was held over three days at the Thinnai Hotel, Jaffna recently with the participation of more than 70 Rotary Club members from all walks of life in the country who are prospective presidents of their respective clubs for the year 2024/25. The inauguration ceremony was held under the patronage of the Governor of the Northern Province, P.S.M Charles, who attended as Chief Guest.

Athukorala added: ‘Our progress is quite satisfactory and above the curve level in all statistics when compared with other countries of the region, such as, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.

‘Sri Lanka could get out of this rut, if the government manages the economy in a prudent manner. Therefore, with the current Free Trade Agreement with Thailand and deeper penetration of trade with India, Sri Lanka can target 4-5 percent GDP growth in the next few years.

‘Sri Lanka’s recovery has yet to hit the consumer’s end because the latest research revealed that 89 percent of people’s expenditure is more than their income.

‘Further, 45 percent of children in the country find it difficult to purchase stationery for school. Therefore, Rotary as a club has taken the initiative to help such children.’

Rotary sources said that so far the Rotary Club has spent more than US$ 600 million on various projects, including Polio eradication, providing water and sanitation facilities for needy people, tree- planting campaigns and many more human welfare projects.

The Rotary District Governor Elect for the year 2024/25 Sushena Ranatunga spearheaded a project and raised over US $ 400,000 to set up the first Human Heart Valve Bank at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) along with the Rotary Foundation and Rotary Sri Lanka. This is considered the flagship project of Sri Lanka Rotary.

At the event District Governor Jerome Rajendram and District Governor Elect Sushena Ranatunga, Former Rotary Global President K.R Ravindran, former District Governors Dushan Soza, Aruni Malalasekera and Pubudu Soyza among others participated.