BUSINESS BRIEFS: Buddha Air conducts test flight to Paro

KATHMANDU, May 25: Buddha Air on Tuesday went a step closer toward becoming an international airline by successfully conducting a test flight to Paro International Airport of Bhutan.



A Beechcraft of Buddha Air took off from Tribhuvan International Airport at 9 a.m. and landed in Paro airport at 10:15 a.m., the airline said in a press statement. [break]



The airline plans to launch commercial flight on the sector from July 17. It will initially operate four flights a week - on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The airline has already requested Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation for permission to launch daily flights to Paro.



At present, only Druk Air, the national flag carrier of Bhutan, flies in the sector. Apart from daily flights, the airline also plans to operate chartered flights to Bhutan from October, which is considered the peak tourism season in the Druk kingdom.



“We will also operate additional chartered flights if there is demand,” Buddha Air said in a statement.







ADBL allots shares



KATHMANDU, May 25: Ace Development Bank - the issue manager for Agricultural Development Bank Ltd´s (ADBL) Initial Public Offering (IPO) - on Tuesday allotted 9.6 million units of share at the face value of Rs 100 per share to 138,363 people.



A total of 138,436 people, including 3,341 ADBL employees, had applied for over 28.5 million units of share, the bank said in a statement. The bank had allotted 480,000 units of shares to ADBL staffers.



“A minimum of 30 units to a maximum of 2,960 units of shares have been allocated to qualified applicants,” the statement added.



In the largest IPO ever, ADBL had floated Rs 960 million to the public from April 4 to 7.





Dragonair bags Skytrax honor



KATHMANDU, May 25: Dragonair has been voted ´World´s Best Regional Airline´ in the annual World Airline Survey run by Skytrax, a London-based research organization.



Award winners were determined by measuring over 35 different aspects of passenger satisfaction for product and service standards, covering the experience across airport and onboard environments, the airline said in a statement.



Dragonair Chief Executive Officer James Tong received the award on behalf of the carrier at the presentation ceremony held at Hamburg, Germany on 20 May.



"It is a great honor for Dragonair to receive the World´s Best Regional Airline Award as it represents direct recognition from millions of customers and travellers from around the globe,” the statement added.



Dragonair has been voted Best Airline - China for six consecutive years as well as Best Regional Airline - Southeast Asia in the past.

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