Himalaya Airlines

Himalaya Airlines (Nepali: हिमालय एअरलाइन्स्, Himālaya earalāins) is a Nepalese airline operating from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Himalaya Airlines was founded in 2014 as a joint venture between Yeti World Investment Group and Tibet Airlines. It launched operations in May 2016 with a single Airbus A320. The airline flies to ten destinations as of 24 January 2020.

A Himalaya Airlines Airbus A320 taxiing at Finkenwerder Airport in Germany
A Himalaya Airlines Airbus A320 wearing the new livery on a final approach to Beijing-Daxing.
Himalaya Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
H9[1] HIM[1] HIMALAYA[2]
Founded19 August 2014; 6 years ago
Commenced operations31 May 2016
AOC #084/2015[3]
HubsTribhuvan International Airport (Kathmandu)
Fleet size4
Destinations10
HeadquartersGairidhara, Kathmandu, Nepal[4]
Key people
  • Zhou Enyong
    President
  • Vijay Shrestha
    Vice President
Websitewww.himalaya-airlines.com

History

Himalaya Airlines is the second attempt of Yeti Airlines Group to launch an international airline based in Nepal, following the collapse of Fly Yeti in 2008.[5] It is also the second Sino-Nepali airline company after Flying Dragon Airlines.

Initially, Tibet Airlines and the Himalaya Infrastructure Fund had stakes in the airline alongside Yeti World Investment, an affiliate of Yeti Airlines Group.[6]

In order to obtain its air operator's certificate, Himalaya Airlines leased aircraft from Yeti Airlines and conducted its first proving flights in February 2015.[6] Launch plans were delayed by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.[7] The airline inducted its first aircraft, an Airbus A320, on March 9 2016.[8] Himalaya Airlines launched operations on May 31 2016 with flights between Kathmandu and Doha.[9] Flights from Kathmandu to Colombo started in October, marking the resumption of scheduled flights between Nepal and Sri Lanka after 28 years but the flights were soon suspended.[10]

In 2016, Himalaya Airlines served as the governmental aircraft of Nepal, when Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli used Himalaya's services on his inaugural visit to China. This was the first time that the head of the Nepalese Government did not use state owned airline; resulting public outcry.[11]

The airline initially focused on unconventional routes; such as Yangon, Myanmar and Colombo, Sri Lanka as opposed to highly demanded middle-eastern destinations but they were quickly terminated. After all, Himalaya ended up operating to Dammam, Saudi Arabia as well as Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. In the months leading to Visit Nepal 2020, Himalaya focused on the market in China, as Chinese are ranked second among the most number of travellers that visit to Nepal. In October 2019, Himalaya Airlines launched direct service to Beijing's newly constructed Daxing International Airport making it the only airline in Nepal to connect the capitals of Nepal and China.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, Himalaya Airlines carried out rescue and evacuation charter flights[12] while all of its scheduled flights were grounded from March 2020.[13]

Corporate affairs

At the time of its establishment, Tibet Airlines held a 49% stake in Himalaya Airlines, while Yeti World Investment (an affiliate of Yeti Airlines Group) owned the remaining 51%.[14] Zhao Guo Qiang was the airline's first president while Ang Tshering Sherpa served as chairman of the board until his death in 2019.[15]

In September 2019, Himalaya Airlines underwent ownership restructuring, for which the shares of Tibet Airlines were transferred to Tibet Civil Aviation Development and Investment. Subsequently, the logo and livery were changed. The blue, dark blue as well as white blend of livery and logo was changed with orange and blue combination. Though, the fuselage retained its white color.[16] Currently, Zhou Enyong serves as the president of Himalaya Airlines.[17]

The airline is headquartered in Gairidhara, Kathmandu.[18]

Destinations

As a result of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, Nepal Government has suspended all domestic and international flights until 15 May 2020..

Prior to this, Himalaya Airlines served the following destinations:[19]

Country City IATA ICAO Airport Notes Refs
BangladeshDhakaDACVGHSShahjalal International Airport[20]
ChinaBeijingPKXZBADBeijing Daxing International Airport[21]
ChangshaCHXZGHAChangsha Huanghua International Airport[22]
ChongqingCKGZUCKChongqing Jiangbei International Airport[23][24]
GuiyangKWEZUGYGuiyang Longdongbao International Airport[22]
ShenzhenSZXZGSZShenzhen Bao'an International Airport[25]
MalaysiaKuala LumpurKULWMKKKuala Lumpur International Airport
MyanmarYangonRGNVYYYYangon International AirportTerminated[26]
NepalKathmanduKTMVNKTTribhuvan International AirportHub
QatarDohaDOHOTHHHamad International Airport
Saudi ArabiaDammamDMMOEDFKing Fahd International Airport[27]
Sri LankaColomboCMBVCBIBandaranaike International AirportTerminated[28]
United Arab EmiratesAbu DhabiAUHOMAAAbu Dhabi International Airport[29]
DubaiDWCOMDWAl Maktoum International AirportTerminated[30]
DXBOMDBDubai International AirportTerminated[22]

Fleet
A Himalaya Airlines Airbus A320 at Tribhuvan International Airport

Himalaya Airlines operates the following aircraft as of 02 March 2020:[31][32]

Himalaya Airlines fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Note
P Y Total
Airbus A319-100 1 — 8 120 128 [33]
Airbus A320-200 3 — 8 150 158
Total 4 —

Services

Business Class

Himalaya Airlines was the first airline in Nepal to introduce a Premium Economy class. It consists of 8 seats on the Airbus A320 with a four-abreast configuration. The seats are 26.9 inches (680 mm) wide with 43 inches (1,100 mm) seat pitch.[34] As of 2020, this section of the aircraft was rebranded as the airlines' Business Class.

Economy Class

In Himalaya Airlines' Economy class, the seats are 17.5 inches (440 mm) wide with 30 inches (760 mm) seat pitch.[34]

References
  1. "Himalaya Airlines". ch-aviation. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  2. "7340.2F with Change 1 and Change 2 and Change 3" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. 15 September 2016. p. 3–1–51. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  3. "Civil aviation Report 2017" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  4. "About Us". Himalaya Airlines. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  5. "Air Arabia begins Nepal hub operations and launches flyyeti.com". Fly Yeti. Archived from the original on 6 February 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. "Himalaya conducts 'proving' flight". The Kathmandu Post. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  7. "Himalaya Airlines plans to start ops by March-end". The Kathmandu Post. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  8. "Himalaya Airlines takes delivery of first aircraft". The Kathmandu Post. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  9. "China-Nepal JV airline to start daily Kathmandu-Doha flight". Xinhua News Agency. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  10. "Himalaya Airlines begins Kathmandu-Colombo flight". The Himalayan Times. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  11. "PM to fly to China with Himalaya". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  12. "Himalaya Airlines Chartered flight returns back from Guangzhou; Mission Accomplished". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  13. "NAC and Himalaya Airlines suspend flights to Doha". The Himalayan Times. 2020-03-11. Archived from the original on 31 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  14. Rai, Om (2016). "A Himalayan mess". Nepali Times. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  15. "About us". Himalaya Airlines. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017.
  16. "Himalaya Airlines announces new partnership with Tibet Civil Aviation". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  17. "Management Team". Himalaya Airlines. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  18. "Corporate office address". Himalaya Airlines. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  19. "Flight Schedule". Himalayan Airlines. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  20. "Himalaya Airlines direct flight to dhaka". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  21. "Himalaya Airlines plans Beijing Daxing launch in late October 2019". Routes Online. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  22. "Himalaya Airlines Winter 2019 network adjustment". Routes Online. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  23. "Himalaya begins direct flights to Chongqing". The Kathmandu Post. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  24. "Himalaya Airlines resumes Chongqing service in late-jan 2020". Routes Online. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  25. Prasain, Sangam. "As other airports institute stringent screening, TIA installs thermal scanners and a health desk". The Kathmandu Post. Kantipur Media Group. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  26. "Airline stops Yangon to Kathmandu flights". Myanmar Times. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  27. "Himalaya Airlines' Festival Bonanza: Daily direct flight from Kathmandu to Dammam". Himalaya Airlines. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  28. "Himalaya Airlines launches inaugural flight to Colombo". The Himalayan Times. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  29. "Direct flights to Abu Dhabi: Next destination of Himalaya Airlines". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  30. "Himalaya Airlines to shift its base station in Dubai from DWC to DXB Dubai International Airport". Aviation Nepal. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  31. "Himalaya Airlines fleet information". Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  32. "Himalaya Airlines fleet details and history". PlaneSpotters. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  33. "Himalaya Airlines inducts brand new A319 into the fleet". Spotlight Nepal. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  34. "Travel Classes". Himalaya Airlines. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

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