Airlines said that there was no change in passenger flow compared to last Dashain. They said that good access to roads and increased airfare were major barriers to growth.[break]
The rise in Air Turbine Fuel has led airfares to rise by nearly 50 percent in a year. Also, airlines sticking to normal fare during the festival made fights back home an expensive proposition for many.
Buddha Air´s Executive Manager Rupesh Joshi said that the overall turnover was satisfactory but there was no remarkable change compared to festive season last year.
More than 2,500 passengers took Buddha Air flights during Dashain whereas it would see around 1,900 passengers flying Buddha Air during the same period in normal times.
Similarly, Yeti Airlines, which would have around 1,200 to 1,300 passengers in normal times, had 1,600 to 1,700 passengers flying during Dashain, excluding remote sectors. Guna Airlines flew around 400 passengers during Dashain as against 320-350 in normal times.
Joshi of Buddha Air said that the airline added a 70-seater flight for Bhadrapur and Biratnagar sectors, starting from the sixth day of Dashain till Purnima. According to Ankur Rana, reservation manager of Yeti Airlines, during Dashain they added one or two 29-seater aircraft.
Rana said a large number of people traveled via road as there was no blockade or strike. Prajwal Thapa, sales and marketing manager of Guna Airlines, echoed Rana adding that the increased fare was also a deterrent.
However, the promotional fare offered by the airlines while returning from Bhadrapur and Biratnagar to Kathmandu saw 95-100 percent occupancy.
Rana of Yeti Airlines said that there was a growth of 25 percent in passengers in other sectors (excluding Bhadrapur and Biratnagar). Joshi of Buddha Air said, "It may be because of the increased number of aircraft and frequency, there was no big rush for Dashain tickets."
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