Nepal Airways Airlines

  About Nepal Airlines

Nepal Airlines Corporation or formerly called Royal Nepal Airlines. It is the national flag carrier of Nepal. The airline was founded in 1958 and is known to be the oldest airline in the country. The airline's main base is at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. All domestic operations within Nepal take place from the airport. Nepal Airlines also has designated medium-haul services across Asia. Following its genesis, the airline roped in Douglas DC-3 for its domestic route operations. The airline also started serving a few Indian cities. Nepal Airlines brought in its first jet aircraft, a Boeing 727s, in 1972. As of 2019, the airline hosts a fleet of thirteen aircraft that includes an Airbus as well. In 2013, Nepal Airlines found itself on the list of European Union's banned air carriers. Due to the failure in meeting with the regulatory standards of the European Union, the airline has been banned from entering the EU airspace.

In the 1980s, Royal Nepal Airlines faced tremendous competition with Indian Airlines as the newest entrant in the aviation business. The two airlines also faced severe competition from other major airlines in the industry for market shares. These players included Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa, who provided a direct flight service from Kathmandu to Frankfurt in 1987. This special international route service was started in cooperation with Royal Nepal Airlines. Following this, various other airlines also opted to make such flight accommodations. The airlines connected to about 38 domestic route destinations and ten international cities as well. A direct flight flying to and from Nepal to Hong Kong were also chartered in 1988 where they used the Boeing 757. In the same year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China accommodated to provide a dedicated service between Kathmandu and Lhasa that is present in the autonomous province of Tibet. Between the year 1988-89, the airline reported revenue of USD54.3 million, producing a profit of USD17 million.

With the liberalisation of the country's domestic air market in 1992, new competitors such as Necon Air, Buddha Air, Sita Air, Everest Air, Yeti Airlines and Cosmic Air emerged. Nepal Airlines did undergo some losses due to which, the government of Nepal had to sell off about 49 per cent of its stakes in Nepal Airlines to a private sector and also give up on management control. The idea was to get the airline out of significant debt. In 2005, the airline's former chairman, Ramagya Chaturvedi was jailed over corruption charges. The airline witnessed quite a few accidents too. To ensure that there are no further casualties faced, the airline actually conducted a sacrificial ceremony to appease a Hindu god.

Interestingly, for an entire decade, Nepal Airlines didn't have any accidents or other technical concerns. In 2014, the airline also revealed a new livery consisting of the flag of Nepal on the tail. With this, they replaced the original red and blue stripes livery that was predominantly present on all aircraft.

Fleet size of Nepal Airlines

Established as Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation, the airline started with one Douglas DC-3. The airline's services catered to domestic routes of Nepal with cities such as Simara, Pokhara. Simultaneously, Nepal Airlines also operated international routes of India with destinations such as Kolkata, Patna and Delhi. In 1961, the airline added Pilatus Porter STOL aircraft to its fleet followed by a Chinese Feng Shou-2 Harvesters in 1963. Although the airline started with a mixed fleet, in 1970, it acquired its first Hawker Siddeley HS-748 along with Twin Otters that joined in 1971. In 1972, the airline further added a Boeing 727 to its fleet. In 1987, the airline replaced its Boeing 757s with Boeing 727s. At the Dubai Airshow in 2009, Nepal Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding and acquired two Airbus A320-200 aircraft. The aircraft were acquired to operate flights to cities in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In 2015, Nepal Airlines acquired its first Airbus A320 aircraft called Sagarmatha. The same year, the airline acquired its second Airbus A320 called Lumbini, which landed in the capital city.

Following 2015, the passenger traffic witnessed a spike as the airline flew about 253,658 travellers. In comparison with the previous year, the passenger traffic witnessed a 22.87 per cent growth. Domestic passenger numbers also saw a growth as the airline catered to 42,535 travellers in 2015, a 21.06 growth compared to the previous year. After providing services for three whole decades, Nepal Airlines' Boeing 757-200 retired over non-profitable operations and an exorbitantly high maintenance costs. The aircraft was sold to BB Airways. Currently, Nepal Airlines has only two Airbus A320-200s and two A330-200s in its fleet. Plans to expand the airline's international presence and to connect to cities such as Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo with operations of wide-body jets, Nepal Airlines has been working on acquiring the same.

Baggage Allowance

Baggage allowance of Nepal Airlines is quite decent. The airline has laid out a few rules and regulations that the passengers need to adhere to for a smooth transit. The hand baggage protocols include the weight of the baggage not to exceed 7 kg. The baggage dimensions that the passenger needs to follow should be no more than 22"x 18" x10". Additionally, the passenger can also carry a handbag or a laptop bag, etc., as part of the hand baggage. Senior citizens and physically disabled passengers can carry crutches. A special reservation is made for travellers with infants. The airline allows passengers with infants to carry a piece of extra baggage with baby products.

The checked baggage allowance varies according to the cabin class of the passengers. Travellers of business class are allowed a baggage allowance of 40 kg in Nepal Airlines. However, if the baggage exceeds the set range, the airline charges a certain tariff per kg. Similarly, the passengers travelling from the economy class are allowed a piece of free baggage of 30 kg. Interestingly, the baggage allowance by Nepal Airlines for flights to specific cities in India have different policies. While the flights to Mumbai and Bangalore have more baggage allowance, the same is restricted to cities such as Delhi and more. The range changes yet again for cities such as Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and more. It is advised to carefully peruse through the airline's official website to get an idea of the final baggage allowance that can be carried by passengers. Flights to Osaka have a completely different baggage allowance as they allow about 50 kg for business class. As for the economy class, the airline offers 46 kg weight that cannot be exceeded. In-flight baggage weight should not be more than 10 kg, according to the airline's website.

In-flight services

Nepal Airlines offers phenomenal in-flight services. The airline offers exquisite and comfortable seating in both business class and economy class cabins. The services are also exemplary as there are dedicated stewards and stewardesses who help out passengers. The in-flight meal services witnessed in Nepal Airlines is also quite decent. You can pre-book your meal, or the airline would serve it as complimentary, depending on your ticket-type and the journey's duration. Each seat is equipped with a personal HD screen from which you can browse through entertainment content while you prepare for the journey. The airline also has dedicated lounge services for its business class passengers that are available at Tribhuvan International Airport, the hub of Nepal Airlines. Further, you can also request for specific meals onboard and receive assistance with respect to baggage and other such facilities.

Popular routes and top cities for Nepal Airlines

Nepal Airlines has excellent flight connectivity with international routes surrounding its neighbouring country, India. Some of the international destinations that Nepal Airlines caters to include Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Bangkok and Dubai. As for domestic routes, Nepal Airlines has a slew of destinations that it connects to within the country. These cities include Baglung, Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Bhojpur, Dhangadhi, Dolpa, Jomsom, Jumla, Khotang Bazar, Lukla, Phaplu, Pokhara, Rara, Ramjatar, Simara, Simikot, Tulsipur, Tumlingtar and Nepalgunj, to name a few. Earlier, the airlines did cater to European cities such as Paris and Frankfurt along with London and Amsterdam, these services were terminated as the EU banned the airlines over failure to follow the EU protocols.

Why travel by Nepal Airlines?

Nepal Airlines has witnessed tremendous growth after several controversial incidents. Over the years, it has managed to grow as an airline that can match with competitions and surpass its contemporaries. With time, Nepal Airlines enhanced its domestic routes and international routes by adding more cities and connectivity. Simultaneously, they have also expanded their venture to cater to a more passenger-friendly service. The airline recently introduced a mobile app for passengers to use when travelling to Nepal. The airline's app has updated flight schedules of Nepal Airlines as well as the flight status. Not to mention, travellers can do web check-ins on the app and even book a Nepal Airlines flight. The flight tickets are also quite cheap and affordable.