Myrepublica.com recently talked with Birendra Bahadur Basnet, managing director of Buddha Air, on the airline´s expansion plans.
Excerpts:
Myrepublica.com: How do you feel after getting license to launch international flights?
Birendra Bahadur Basnet: We had long been demanding that existing airlines should be encouraged to spread their wings to international market. The present team, comprising Tourism Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari and Tourism Secretary Nagendra Prasad Ghimire, has been encouraging domestic carriers to launch international flights.
The team has also token other important decisions like renewing bilateral air service agreement with India, which helped opened up many Indian cities to us. Had the decision been taken a decade ago, the aviation sector would have scaled new heights by now.
Myrepublica.com: When are you launching flights to India and Bhutan?
Basnet: Though we have received go-ahead to launch international flights, we must fulfill other necessary criteria. We have received international license but we still need to increase our paid-up capital, revise the prospectus of the company and make technical audit from Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). We also need to have Nepal Rastra Bank´s permission for foreign transaction. After completing necessary formalities in Nepal, we need to get permission from India, which is expected to take around two months. We expect to start flights to Paro from May 1.
It may take some time to launch flights to Lucknow and Patna as we need some time to upgrade existing infrastructures at Pokhara and Janakpur airports. We also need to shorten existing routes. As per existing rules, Lucknow-Pokhara and Patna-Janakpur flights flight return via Simara, which increases flight duration by 20 to 30 minutes.
The flight to Paro will depart at 4 p.m, while the flights to Patna and Lucknow will depart only after 7 p.m.
Myrepublica.com: How do you see the market potential of Paro sector?
Basnet: We are seeing high occupancy in Druk Air´s flight from Kathmandu to Paro. The Government of Bhutan has put high emphasis on the promotion of Paro. While returning from Paro, we are planning to return via Bagdogra of West Bengal, India.
We expect to tap Bhutanese people who plan to visit Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha. But since we have small aircraft, we can only sell 16 seats per flight. Foreign tourists with Nepal-India-Bhutan tour package can benefit a lot from this flight.
Myrepublica.com: After India and Bhutan, are you looking at other destinations?
Basnet: First, we want to complete our first phase of expansion plan. After launching flights to Lucknow and Patna, we will focus on other northern Indian cities. India has opened 7 airports in northern Indian cities -- Guwahati, Bagdogra, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna, Gorakhpur and Dehradun.
These cities hold great potential for Nepal´s tourism industry and I believe the launching of direct flights will greatly help our tourism industry. We plan to fly to these destinations by 2012 as a part of our second phase of expansion. We are currently studying the technicalities of turboprop aircraft manufactured by Canadian company Bombardier.
In the third phase, we plan to fly to other South Asian, South East Asian and Middle East destinations by 2014. We are studying the prospect of acquiring jet aircraft manufactured by Bombardier and Embrier for long-haul destinations.
Myrepublica.com: Do you think the target of welcoming one million international tourists during Nepal Tourism Year 2011 can be achieved?
Basnet: Tourism and agriculture are the most important industrial sectors of Nepal. Tourism can generate a huge employment opportunities. For the development of tourism, the government should open new international airport.
After we launch flights to Lucknow from Pokhara, the government will be in pressure to upgrade Pokhara into a regional airport. This will make significant contribution to our tourism industry.
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