Himalaya Airlines announces the arrival of the second brand new aircraft Airbus 320- 214 by the end of January 2017 on a long term dry lease. With the addition of new aircraft in its fleet, Himalaya Airlines also announces an addition of scheduled flights to two new destinations – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Yangon, Myanmar.

The new Airbus 320- 214, with Nepal Registration no. 9N-ALV, is configured with 158 seats, including 8 business class and 150 economy class. The airline adds its second aircraft in its second year of its operations and plans to add 2 more aircrafts by the end of the year 2017. To ensure passengers enjoy their journey during flight, the Airbus 320- 214 aircraft is equipped with its refreshed comfortable seats, in-flight entertainment with latest videos and audios.

According to the plan, the airlines will launch scheduled flights on the Kathmandu/Kuala Lumpur/Kathmandu route with a weekly frequency of five flights on February 10, 2017; whereas twice weekly flights to Yangon, Myanmar will commence on February 24, 2017. The airline has appointed Carnival Travel SDN BHD and My Golden Lion Aviation Pvt. Ltd as its General Sales Agents (GSA) for Malaysia and Myanmar respectively. The GSAs will responsible for the airline’s sales and marketing, market development, reservations and ticketing services representing the airline.

According to a press release issued by the Airlines, the launching airfare for Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur-Kathmandu flight starts from NPR 25,375.oo (round trip) and for Kuala Lumpur- Kathmandu- Kuala Lumpur flight starts from MYR 928.00 (round trip). Similarly the launching airfare for Kathmandu – Yangon- Kathmandu starts from NPR 29,600.00 (round trip) and for Yangon- Kathmandu- Yangon flight starts from USD 320.00 (round trip). Governmental taxes will be extra. With the addition of Kuala Lumpur and Yangon to its currently operated Doha and Colombo sectors, the airlines has strengthen Nepal’s connectivity in Asiatic region. 

 “We are thrilled to welcome our second aircraft A320-214, which will help strengthen the air connectivity of Nepal to international network. We are also very pleased to further expand our network by launching two new destinations which will help to meet the rising demand for not just leisure and religious travel but also VFR (visiting friends and relatives) between Nepal and Kuala Lumpur and Yangon. These latest destinations’ launch also emphasizes Himalaya Airlines ongoing commitment to connect Nepal directly with Asia Pacific countries and boost tourism as well as trade opportunities, “said Vijay Shrestha, vice president administration.

Himalaya Airlines, Nepal- China joint venture, is established in August 2014. Himalaya Airlines, a full service carrier, started its scheduled flights operations from May 31, 2016 flying directly to Doha, Qatar and Colombo, Sri Lanka on October 1 2016.

The airline had welcomed its first new aircraft MSN 6626, Airbus 320-214, Nepal registration number 9N-ALM, on March 9, 2016 at 14:25 NST. The aircraft flew as promotional flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka on April 12, 2016 and May 3, 2016, offering special round trip packages.

The airline has been able to well establish itself by grabbing 20% market share for Doha sector with average 80% seat occupancy and in also experiencing a gradual pick up of passenger figures for Colombo sector.

In the upcoming months of 2017, Himalaya Airlines plans to connect to Dammam, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chennai in the first phase and later to Dubai, Hongkong, Bangkok, Beijing, Lhasa and Chengdu as well.

Over the coming five years, the airline aims at acquiring 15 Airbus 320 family aircraft and plans to connect Kathmandu to various new destinations in Asia and beyond. The company will introduce long haul wide body aircraft of A330 family in due course of time for the operation of direct flights to Japan, Korea, Europe, Australia, and America.