Kathmandu, May 23

Himalaya Airlines — a Nepal-China joint venture airline — has announced its direct scheduled flight to Doha, Qatar from May 31. The airline will fly its new Airbus 320-214 from Kathmandu to Doha on a regular basis thereafter.

The flight will depart from Kathmandu at 11:00pm and land in Doha at 1:30am (local time). Similarly, the return flight will depart at 2:30am from Doha and land in Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:15am starting June 1.

The airline will operate three flights from Kathmandu to Doha in a week for the first 15 days — on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Then after, the airline will operate regular flight in Kathmandu to Doha sector.

The flight route has scheduled for the convenience of the passengers, said Vijay Shrestha, vice president, administration of Himalaya Airlines, during the press briefing here today. “It gives us immense pleasure that Himalaya Airlines is going to start first direct scheduled flight to Doha from end of May, to advance tourism and business between Nepal and Qatar and strengthen the bi-lateral relationship.”

The airline has informed that the aircraft passenger cabin is configured with 150 economy and eight business class seats and aims to ensure greater degree of reliability and punctuality for its passengers.

“We will compete with other airlines operating in this sector, both in terms of fare and services,” said Raju KC, general manager of Himalaya Airlines. “Passengers will enjoy very competitive pricing of tickets and delightful services.”

The airline has said that it has appointed Cleopatra Travels as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for passenger and cargo for the state of Qatar. The GSA will be responsible for the sales and marketing, market development, reservations and ticketing services representing the Himalaya Airline in Qatar.

Established in August 2014, the airline started its international flights operation from April 12 this year, flying directly to Colombo of Sri Lanka. The airline has planned services to more destinations, namely, Delhi, India; Lhasa, Chengdu and Beijing in China a few months later, as per the airline.

Tibet Airlines holds 48.99 per cent of the equity capital of the company, whereas the Nepali side holds 51.01 per cent share.