Buddha will fly to the north Indian city three times a week. It has fixed the fare for the one-hour flight at Rs 5,600 in ´C´ class, Rs 7,200 in ´B´ class and Rs 8,800 in ´A´ class. Similarly, the dollar fare, which has been categorized as ´Y´ class, costs $137. All the fares are exclusive of applicable taxes. [break]
Buddha Air is using 42-seater ATR-42 aircraft on the sector. It is planning to acquire 72-seater ATR-72 aircraft to operate on the sector.
Inaugurating the maiden flight, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari said the beginning Lucknow flights had added new dimension to the country´s aviation history. “We need to appreciate the initiative of the private sector as our national flag carrier does not have sufficient aircraft for operation," he added. He also expressed hopes that the private sector will expand market share on international routes dominated by international airlines.
“India holds big prospect for Nepal´s tourism industry. We can bring in more Indian tourists by operating flights to different Indian cities,” Bhandari said, expressing hopes that other private carriers will also begin international flights in the future.
Birendra Bahadur Basnet, managing director of Buddha Air, termed the operation of flights to Lucknow as a decade-long dream come true. “It is a revolutionary step in Nepal´s tourism and aviation sector. We can expect the number of Indian tourists to go up with the operation of Lucknow flights,” he said, adding that Nepali passengers will also benefit from the low-cost flight.
“There is passenger traffic of over 100 million as Lucknow has cheaper railway access to other cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi, among others.”
Buddha Air´s flight will depart from Tribhuvan International Airport at 7 pm. About a dozen international airlines have scheduled flights to Lucknow. The airline had initially planned to fly to Lucknow from Pokhara Airport. But it had not materialized due to route problems.
The airline is planning to operate flights to other Indian cities Patna and Kokata in the near future. “We are planning to start flights to Varanasi by July,” Basnet said, adding that the fare on Kathmandu-Lucknow-Kathmandu route would come down after bigger aircraft is used on the route.
Buddha Air has the permission to operate flights on international destinations with flight time of less than two and a half hours.
As per the Air Service Agreement (ASA) with India, Nepali carriers can operate up to 30,000 seats per week in six metro cities and unlimited seats in other cities.
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