Himalaya Airlines begins Kathmandu-Colombo flights

Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture airline, announced its second destination –Colombo, as the airline commenced its passenger services on the Kathmandu-Colombo route with effect from October 1, 2016.

The airline will fly its A320-214 (configured with eight Business Class and 150 Economy Class seats) on the new route.

Two flights a week, operating as H9 673, Himalaya will fly every Tuesday and Saturday departing from Tribhuwan International Airport, Kathmandu at 1130 hours and will arrive in Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo at 1515 hours. The return H9 674 departs from Colombo at 1615, arriving in Kathmandu at 2015 hours on the same day.

Himalaya Airlines Vice President Administration Vijay Shrestha said, “After an overwhelming response received from the previous two non-scheduled flights to Colombo, we found this route to hold great potential. We have observed passenger traffic data between the two countries over several years before arriving at this route decision. We are very pleased to be able to resume services to and from Colombo as it is an important market for tourism promotion of both countries. Flying to this destination will definitely promote tourism between two nations along with generating new business opportunities.”
The airline has appointed Classic Travel as its general sales agents (GSA). In representing the airline, Classic Travel will be responsible for the airline’s sales and marketing, market development, reservations and ticketing services.
The airfare offered by the airline starts from approximately Rs.40,000 for one way and Rs.68,570 for a round trip, inclusive of governmental taxes.

Himalaya Airlines, a full-service carrier, established in August 2014, began its scheduled flight operation flying directly to Doha, Qatar from May 31, 2016. In addition to the opening of the Kathmandu-Colombo, the airline has planned regular flights to Delhi, Yangon, Dammam, Beijing, Lhasa, Chengdu, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Dubai.

The airline welcomed its first new aircraft MSN 6626, Airbus 320-214, Nepal registration number 9N-ALM, on March 9, 2016 at 14:25 NST. This aircraft carried Prime Minister K.P. Oli, Madam Radhika Shakya and her delegation on an official visit to Beijing, the capital city of the People’s Republic of China at 11:00 NST on March 20, 2016. The aircraft also flew to Colombo, Sri Lanka offering a promotional package of round trip on April 12, 2016 and May 3, 2016.
Over the next five years, the airline aims at acquiring 15 Airbus 320 family aircraft and will operate from Kathmandu to various cities in Asia and beyond. The company will introduce the long-haul widebody aircraft of the A330 family in due course for the operation of direct flights to Japan, Korea, Europe, Australia and America.