Bhutan Airlines

Tashi Air Pvt. Ltd, trading as Bhutan Airlines, is Bhutan's first private airline.[2] Its head office is in Thimpu.[3]

Bhutan Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
B3 BTN BHUTAN AIR
Founded2011
Commenced operations7 December 2011
Operating basesParo Airport
Fleet size2[1]
Destinations5
Parent companyTashi Group
HeadquartersThimphu, Bhutan
Key peoplePhala Dorji (CEO)
Ugyen Tenzin (GM, Commercial/Ground Ops)
Websitewww.bhutanairlines.bt

The airline resumed services on 10 October 2013, beginning its first international flights to India and Thailand.[4][5] The airline served the cities of Jakar and Trashigang in Bhutan from their commencement until June 2012, suspending them due to increasing financial losses; however, following an agreement with the Bhutan government, the airline has resumed a full schedule of flights including Kolkata to Paro, Bhutan.[6]

History

The airline, then known as Tashi Air, was launched on 4 December 2011.[7] The airline is a subsidiary of the Tashi Group. The airline began regular scheduled flights to Bathpalathang and Yonphula on 18 December 2011.[8] After only six months of operation, however, the airline asked the Bhutanese Government for permission to suspend domestic flights.[9]

The airline resumed services on 10 October 2013 as Bhutan Airlines, having secured the wet lease of a single Airbus A320 aircraft from a Lithuanian-based company. Flights to Kolkata and continuing on to Bangkok were offered initially.[5] The airline was required to resume domestic flights by October 2014, per an agreement with the Government of Bhutan.[10] Following the completion of its wet lease contract, Tashi Air acquired an Airbus A319 aircraft with a seating capacity of 122 passengers on 1 May 2014.[11] It received a second Airbus A319 on 30 July 2014.

Offices

Bhutan Airlines head office is located in Tashi Mall, opposite Taj Tashi Hotel in Thimpu. The airline also has another office in Paro along with the airport office. The major offices of Bhutan Airlines is located in Kolkata, India and in Bangkok, Thailand - where they are represented by OMG Experience Co., Ltd. as GSA (General Sales Agent in Thailand).[12] Other offices are located in Kathmandu, Nepal and in Malaysia.[13]

Destinations
Bhutan Airlines Airbus A319 (A5-BAC) landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

As of January 2021, Bhutan Airlines serves the following destinations:

Country City Airport Notes Refs
BhutanParoParo AirportHub
IndiaDelhiIndira Gandhi International Airport[14]
KolkataNetaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport
Seasonal:MumbaiChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
NepalKathmanduTribhuvan International Airport
ThailandBangkokSuvarnabhumi Airport

The airline was awaiting clearance during 2015 to operate flights to Bagdogra, India. It was also hoping to start operations from Durgapur Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, once MoU was signed between Tashi Air and BAPL Durgapur in January 2016. Other planned destinations include Dhaka, Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong.[15]

Fleet
Bhutan Airlines Airbus A319-100

The Bhutan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of September 2019):[16][17]

Bhutan Airlines Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-100 2 122/125

See also

References
  1. "Our story".
  2. "Tashi Air- Bhutan Airlines | Department of Civil Aviation - Bhutan". Department of Civil Aviation (Bhutan). Archived from the original on 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  3. "Our Office Address". Bhutan Airlines. Retrieved 2019-12-04. Head Office - Bhutan Bhutan Airlines Tashi Mall, Opposite Taj Tashi Hotel, P.O Box No. 1517, Thimphu
  4. JL (August 17, 2013). "Bhutan Airways to Start Kolkata / Bangkok Service from October 2013; Airline Route – Worldwide Airline Route Updates". Airlineroute.net. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  5. "Tashi Air of Bhutan starts flights to Bangkok from Paro". Anna.aero. October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  6. "Bhutan Airlines - Our Destinations". Bhutan Airlines. Bhutan Airlines. 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. "Tashi Group - TASHI AIR LAUNCHED ON 4TH DEC. 2011". tashigroup.bt. Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  8. "TASHI AIR LAUNCHED ON 4TH DEC. 2011". Tashi Group. 2011-12-04. Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  9. "Bhutan Airlines wants to bow out for a while". Bhutan Travel Designers. 2012-05-27. Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  10. Dorji, Gyalsten (October 3, 2013). "Tashi's Airbus A320 lands". Kuensel Online. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  11. "Bhutan Airlines - Fly with us to the Land of Happiness". bhutanairlines.bt. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  12. "OMG Experience (Bhutan Airlines GSA)". OMG Experience. 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  13. "Bhutan Airlines - Our Offices". Tashi Group. 2011-12-04. Archived from the original on 2014-03-24. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  14. "Bhutan Airlines Adds Delhi Service from mid-September 2015". airline route.net. 25 February 2015.
  15. Dorji, Gyalsten (August 12, 2013). "Tashi Air inaugural int'l flight on Oct. 10". Kuensel Online. Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  16. "Bhutan Airlines fleet details". Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  17. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World: 5. October 2019.
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