NAC restarts Delhi service
KATHMANDU, FEB 28
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) began putting its new Airbus A320 to work on Friday by resuming commercial flights on the Delhi sector. The shiny jet took from Kathma-ndu at 8:25 am and streaked towards the Indian capital with 101 passengers on board.
The flight marked the recommencement of a service that NAC had been forced to cancel a year ago for lack of aircraft as each of its fleet expansion plans were swallowed up by controversy through the decades.
With the resumption of the Delhi service, the number of NAC’s international destinations has increased to five including Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Over the last decade, the number of its international destinations has been slashed from 21 to four in a reflection of the rot spreading within the corporation.
NAC Spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma said that 100 passengers had confirmed bookings for Sunday’s flight so far and added that they expected a full occupancy. The cost of a one-way ticket on the Delhi flight has been fixed at Rs 7,084, while a return ticket costs Rs 15,177 including taxes. The fares are promotional. NAC will be initially operating four flights weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It plans to increase the frequency to a daily soon.
The national flag carrier was forced to postpone its inaugural flight to Delhi with the Airbus A320 which had been scheduled for Wednesday after the Indian authorities asked for paperwork to get the flight permission. NAC received the flight permit confirmation from India on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, the corporation has planned to fly the A320 on the Kathmandu-Hong Kong and Kathmandu-Bangkok sectors from next week.
Sharma said three weekly flights will be conducted on the Hong Kong and two on Bangkok sectors. The corporation said it had accorded high priority to the Delhi sector as travel demand has increased tremendously. NAC will also be resuming flights on the Kathmandu-Bangalore sector after a long break.
Currently, four Indian carriers, Jet Airways, Air India and IndiGo, operate 60 flights weekly on the Kathmandu-Delhi route. These four airlines flew 1.722 million passengers representing 26.67 percent of the total traffic in the first six months of 2014, according to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) statistics.
NAC’s 757 returns due to technical hitch
A Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) Boeing 757 aircraft was forced to return to Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday shortly after take-off following
a technical problem, an airline official said. The aircraft which was carrying 183 passengers had taken off for Bangkok at 2:00 pm. “Due to a technical problem, the aircraft was forced to return shortly after take-off,” said NAC Spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma. “The flight has been rescheduled for 7:00 pm.”
Source: The Kathmandu Post
