Officials of leading domestic airlines say they may not announce additional flights as booking pressure is not that high this year compared to last year.
Buddha Air, a leading domestic carrier, has received 80 percent bookings so far. “We have not decided whether or not we will be adding flights during Dashain as we still have some seats left,” Rupesh Joshi, executive manager of Buddha Air, said. “We might add flights only for Biratnagar and Bhadrapur that too only if demand is for roundtrip.” [break]
Joshi, who is also the treasurer of Airlines Operator Association of Nepal (AAON), said Buddha Air has announced special fares to attract passengers from Biratnagar and Bhadrapur. The airline is offering a special fare of Rs 2,500 for Biratnagar-Kathmandu and Rs 3,000 for Bhadrapur- Kathmandu flights.
Normal fares to Biratnagar and Bhadrapur from Kathmandu is Rs 6,355 and Rs 7,210, respectively.
Domestic airlines used to add flights for Dashain travelers in the previous years. Mostly, they used to add flights on seventh, eighth and night day of the Dashain festival when demand hits peak.
Another leading carrier Yeti Airlines, however, said it has received full booking for almost all the sectors. “Rather than adding flights, our main focus will be on making sure that flights take place on time,” Roshan Regmi marketing manager of Yeti Airlines, told Republica. “We won´t promise our customers about additional flights. We will act according to the situation,” he said, hinting that that the airline might add flights if demand is high.
Like Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines has also announced special fares for passengers traveling to Kathmandu from Biratnagar, Bhadrapur and Janakpur during Dashain. As per the offer, which is valid from October 3 to 14, passengers can travel to Kathmandu by paying just Rs 2,500 from Biratnagar and Rs 3,000 from Bhadrapur. The airline has also announced special fare to and from Janakpur. As per the offer, passengers can travel to and from Janakpur at just Rs 2,500. The offer is valid from October 6 to 14 for Janakpur-Kathmandu and October 16 to 21 from Kathmandu-Janakpur flights.
Officials of AOAN said flow of air travelers have decreased compared to past year due to increase in flight fares. Airfares on long routes have increased by around Rs 2,500 and short routes by around Rs 1,2000 over the past one and half years
Other domestic carriers like Sita Air, Tara Air and Goma Air have also been taking booking for several remote destinations.
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