On June twenty fourth, Himalaya Airlines resumed its Kathmandu (KTM) – Beijing (PKX) service after a period of three years. The route was initially axed on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nonetheless, this route is now available for passengers to book again.
Flight details
Nepalese carrier Himalaya Airlines will serve this path to Beijing, China, using its sole Airbus A319-100 aircraft and it should be operated once per week on Saturdays.
The outbound flight, H9665, has a scheduled departure time of 07:15 from KTM and a scheduled arrival time of 14:15 in PKX, with an overall flight time of 4:45 hours. The return service, H9666, will operate on the identical day with a scheduled departure of 15:25 from PKX and, as per schedule, will arrive back in KTM at 18:30, with a flight time of 5 hours and 20 minutes.
The carrier’s A319 has an all-economy class layout in a typical three-three configuration and might carry a complete of 144 passengers. Nonetheless, the forward a part of the cabin is configured with additional legroom seats.
Photo: Himalaya Airlines
It’s value noting that if the demand exists, the carrier could switch the A319 with one in all its three larger Airbus A320-200 aircraft. By doing so, the airline can boost its capability by 25% but upping its seats from 144 to 180. Nonetheless, with the airline only operating 4 aircraft in the meanwhile, this may only be possible if a further A320 is on the market on the time.
Importance of the route
The resumption of this route will enable easy and efficient travel for passengers between the 2 cities of Kathmandu and Beijing. Moreover, the carrier believes that this service’s resumption can significantly improve Nepal’s tourism and trade sector of Nepal.
Moreover, before the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the second-largest source of tourists for Nepal, only following India. This, paired with the undeniable fact that Himalaya Airlines is a three way partnership airline between China and Nepal, the resumption of the route indicates the importance of the partnership between the 2 countries.
Photo: Himalaya Airlines
Moreover, the carrier’s return to Beijing increases the airline’s international presence throughout the region. Since no other airline serves this route, Himalaya Airlines has the added advantage of providing probably the most convenient and direct route between the 2 cities with none competition.
About Himalaya Airlines
Founded in 2014, the Nepal-based carrier launched operations in May 2016 with an A320 aircraft. Since then, the airline has added two more A320 aircraft to its fleet, together with a smaller A319 aircraft. The airline hub is the Kathmandu Airport (KTM).
Over time, the airline has been increasing its international presence at a gentle rate and today serves 10 destinations from its hub at KTM. Amongst its destinations, the carrier has a major presence in China and the Middle East.
Inside China, Himalaya Airlines flies to a few destinations which include:
- Beijing
- Chongqing
- Kunming
And throughout the Middle East region, the carrier flies to 5 destinations representing 50% of the airline’s route network. These destinations are:
- Dammam, Saudi Arabia
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Doha, Qatar
- Kuwait
The last two destinations are the capital cities of Bangladesh and Malaysia, Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur.