Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture airline operating internationally, gears up to meet the demand for inbound and outbound travelers from China this winter, by introducing their newest thrice-weekly scheduled service from Kathmandu to Beijing, the capital city of People’s Republic of China.
The airline launched its maiden flight on October 27, 2019, establishing the historical direct connectivity between the capital cities of the two countries.
The new flight is the latest move in Himalaya Airlines’ business strategy of network expansion to boost Nepal’s connection to China, which is an important trade partner for Nepal besides being the second largest market for tourist arrivals to Nepal. In recent years, the demand for seats has grown exponentially amongst both business and leisure passengers, not only increasing tourism traffic and revenue but also promoting vital trade agreements between the two countries.
This growth in Airlines’ network follows the revised Air Services Agreement between the Government of Nepal and China in July 2019, which opened up five new points in China for the Nepali airline companies for 2019 and three more for the year 2020. This recent revision in ASA, as well as the newly opened Daxing International Airport in Beijing, has essentially given a way forward for Himalaya Airlines.
Mr. Zhou Enyong, President of Himalaya Airlines, said:
“I feel overwhelmingly excited and proud that we are embracing Himalaya Airlines’ maiden flight to Beijing on this auspicious occasion of Tihar festival, witnessing together this historical moment of first direct air service between the two capitals of Nepal and China. This flight will certainly attract more Chinese tourists, especially from North China to visit Nepal. This route is expected to ship over 40,000 Chinese passengers a year to Nepal to spend money on travel and, to make investment or have business cooperation here, which will create a new engine for the development of the tourism industry chain and for all kinds of economic activities in Nepal.”
The Nepalese airline has a full-fledged office in Beijing to look after sales and marketing, market development, reservations and ticketing services.
The airline operates a fleet of three A320 with its scheduled service to Doha Abu Dhabi, Dammam, and Dhaka. In addition, Himalaya Airlines has already announced its plan to increase its fleet with the induction of two A319 aircraft by the end of 2019/beginning of 2020.
With this service, Himalaya Airlines will be the only Nepali airline to operate direct flights between both the countries.