54 extra flights operated during Dashain

REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU Oct 25: Domestic airlines operated 54 additional flights on different routes between October 8 and 22 to cater to the increasing demand for air seats during the Dashain festival.

Officials of different airlines said they managed to plan additional flights as they had opened bookings a couple of weeks before the festival.

Yeti Airlines - one of the leading domestic airlines -- alone operated 41 flights between October 8 and 22. Ankur Rana, reservation manager of the airline, told Republica that they operated 18 extra flights to Bhadrapur alone. “We operated 17 extra flights to Biratnagar, four to Bhairahawa and one additional flight each to Nepalgunj and Bharatpur,” Rana added.

The airline has been operating flights to most of the major destinations, including Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Janakpur, Bharatpur, Pokhara and Dhangadhi.

Buddha Air also operated additional flights period to better serve passengers during the Dashain festival. Rupesh Joshi, executive manager of Buddha Air, that the airline operated two additional flights with a 72-seater aircraft in the Biratnagar sector. “We also operated two extra flights to Bhadrapur using a 47-seater aircraft,” Joshi said, adding, “I think people did not face any difficulty in getting tickets this Dashain because of the arrangement for additional flights.”

Buddha Air operates flights to nine destinations, including Simara, Biratnagar, Bhadrapur, Janakpur, Nepalgunj and Pokhara.

Agni Air also joined the fray and operated an additional flight every day to Biratnagar from October 10 to 16. Sailesh Shrestha, sales and marketing manager of the airline, however, said the number of flights that they operated this year was lower than what they had operated last year. “We have operated three flights a day to Biratnagar last year,” Shrestha added.

The airline operates with a fleet of six aircraft, including three 18-seater Dornier 228s and three 42-seater BAe Jetstream 41s.

Most of the passengers, who had made booking in advance, got the tickets easily, while those making last-minute booking were disappointed, according to the airlines. However, passengers to destinations like Pokhara, Janakpur and Nepalgunj among others faced difficulty in getting tickets as the airlines had operated additional flights only on selected routes.

Though most of the passengers managed to get tickets easily, they couldn´t enjoy discounts on airfare that they used to get on normal days. Prajwal Thapa, marketing manager of Guna Airlines, argued that it was natural for the airlines to charge normal fare when demand is high.

The airline had added one flight each to Biratnagar and Pokhara during the festival.

“We couldn´t add more flights as we generally don´t get sufficient passengers for our return flights during festive season,” Thapa said.