Nepal Airlines

Royal Nepal Airlines HS 748 at Calcutta Dum Dum Airport in 1974

The airline was established in July 1958 as Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation with one Douglas DC-3. At the beginning, its services were limited to Simara, Pokhara and destinations to India such as Patna, Calcutta and Delhi. In 1961, Pilatus Porter STOL aircraft joined the fleet, and in 1963 12-seater Chinese Feng Shou-2 Harvesters were brought into service, opening up the kingdom's more remote routes.[4]

Nepal's geopolitical situation produced a strange, politically mixed fleet, which was typically financed through aid programs from the country of manufacture. Seven more Douglas DC-3s were added to the fleet between 1959 and 1964. Furthermore, China supplied a couple of Feng Shou-2 aircraft which did not enter scheduled service. Bell Helicopters leased from Singapore were also used for charters. Two Russian Mi-4 helicopters also flew on scheduled routes to remote points. The route network was expanded internally and externally, soon reaching Dhaka in what was then East Pakistan.[5]

In 1966, a turboprop Fokker F27 was added to the airline's fleet.

In 1970, RNAC acquired its first Hawker Siddeley HS-748 followed by Twin Otters in 1971 and Boeing 727s in 1972. Two Boeing 757s gradually replaced the airline's Boeing 727s in 1987.[4]

Royal Nepal Airlines Boeing 727-100 at Don Muang Airport in 1986

Nepal had 181,000 tourist visitors in 1985, of which 80 percent arrived by air. Royal Nepal Airlines carried 38 percent of these tourist passengers, but that number was down from the company's peak market share of 50 percent in 1979. Indian Airlines Corporation was RNAC's main competitor, but newer entrants in the business were also competing with RNAC for market share. These companies included Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa, which started direct Kathmandu-Frankfurt service in cooperation with RNAC in October 1987 and now, other airlines are also wanting to do so.

At the time, Royal Nepal Airlines' network-connected 38 domestic and 10 international destinations. RNAC was flying directly from Nepal to Hong Kong (home to many Gurkhas employed by the British Army) by 1988 using a Boeing 757. In April 1988, NAC and the Civil Aviation Administration of China cooperated to provide scheduled service between Kathmandu and Lhasa in the autonomous province of Tibet.[5]

RNAC reported revenues of $54.3 million in 1988–89, producing an operating profit of $17 million. With a workforce of 2,200, NAC had become the country's largest employer and largest earner of foreign currency, bringing in roughly $15 million a year from abroad. Seventy-five percent of the company's passengers were foreign tourists. London, Dubai, Dhaka, Karachi, and Bombay were added to the route network during the 1980s.[5]

The domestic air market of the country was liberalized in 1992, and new competitors emerged: Necon Air, Cosmic Air, Everest Air, Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, and Sita Air. Nepal Airlines had its last Boeing 727 flight in 1992. By 1997, these four competitors accounted for 70 percent of Nepal's domestic air traffic.[6]

Adding to the airline's struggles as the millennium approached, were allegations of corruption which periodically surfaced. One case involved Dinesh Dhamija, who later founded the Ebookers Internet travel site. Dhamija had been accused of receiving his post as director of RNAC's European operations in the early 1990s on account of cronyism with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. Dhamija won a substantial settlement with the airline after a bitter court battle over these charges.[5]

In December 2000, a large scandal revolved around the lease of a Boeing 767 aircraft from Austria's Lauda Air, which entered service in over protests from employees and government officials. The latter claimed the deal was unnecessary since NAC was not getting enough usage from its two existing Boeing 757s; further, the actual cost per flight hour of the Lauda jet ended up being $5,000 ($1,150 above the cost specified in the contract). RNAC chairman Haribhakta Shrestha was suspended during an investigation, along with other NAC executives; Nepal's tourism and civil aviation minister Tarani Dutt Chataut resigned soon after.[5]

In 2004, it was reported that the Government of Nepal had decided to sell off 49% of its stake in Nepal Airlines, to the private sector, and hand over management control, whilst retaining a 51% share. This would provide the investment to get the airline out of significant debt.[7]

The former chairman of Nepal Airlines, Ramagya Chaturvedi, was jailed for corruption in February 2005.[8]

In September 2007, the airline confirmed that it had sacrificed two goats to appease a Hindu god following technical problems with one of its aircraft. Nepal Airlines said the animals were slaughtered in front of the plane, a Boeing 757, at Tribhuvan International Airport. The offering was made to Akash Bhairab, the Hindu god of sky protection, whose symbol is seen on the company's aircraft. The airline said that after Sunday's ceremony, the plane successfully completed a flight to Hong Kong. Raju KC, an airline official, was quoted as saying: “The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights.” The company did not say what the problem was, but reports in local media had blamed an electrical fault.[9]

From 2000 until 2010, there were no accidents with Nepal Airlines' aircraft involved. This is the longest period without such an incident in the history of the company.

Nepal Airlines Boeing 757-200 wearing old livery.

In 2009, at the Dubai Airshow, Nepal Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire two Airbus A320-200 aircraft with the plans to operate flights to the Middle East and Southeast Asia.[10]

In April 2014, Nepal Airlines unveiled new livery after taking delivery of Xian MA-60 aircraft as a gift from AVIC company of China. The "Red and Blue strips" livery were replaced by the new livery which resembles the flag of Nepal.

On 8 February 2015, Nepal Airlines received its first Airbus A320 aircraft, "Sagarmatha". On 30 April 2015, its second Airbus A320, "Lumbini" landed in Kathmandu. The aircraft was filled with 5 tonnes of aid material flown from the Airbus factory in Hamburg, to Nepal on delivery of the aircraft. The aid material was used in the relief effort for the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Both the aircraft were painted in the company's new livery.

In 2015, Nepal Airlines flew 253,658 travellers, up 22.87 percent compared to the previous year of 206,430 passengers.[11] Similarly, it flew 42,535 domestic air passengers in 2015, increase of 21.60% compared to previous year.[12]

In 2016, one of the airline's aging Boeing 757-200 (Registration 9N-ACA) was retired after three decades of service because of the non-profitable operation with high maintenance costs and sold it to BB Airways. The airline currently operates international flights with its two Airbus A320-200s and two A330-200s.

On 16 July 2017, Nepal Airlines launched an online ticket booking service for international flights.

In 2018, Nepal Airlines acquired two Airbus A330-200s via Hi Fly and AAR Corporation. The first of the two jets arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on 28 June[13] and the second one on 26 July[14] the same year. The airline plans to expand its international destinations by operating the newly added wide-body jets to cities like Seoul Incheon, Tokyo, and Sydney. In November 2018, it was reported that Nepal Airlines was considering Ethiopian Airlines as a strategic partner ahead of a planned reorganization.[15]

In mid-March, NAC retired its remaining Boeing 757-200M after three decades of service in order to focus on an Airbus-only fleet. The company is likely to sell the aircraft soon.[16]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, Nepal Airlines carried out rescue and evacuation charter flights while all of its scheduled flights were grounded from March 2020.[17]

In July 2020, Nepal Airlines retired its fleet of Chinese-made Xian MA60 and Harbin Y-12 aircraft, as they were found unsuited for operations in Nepal.[18]

• Druk Air[19]

The Nepal Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft as of July 2020.[20][21][22]

Shangri-La Class is Nepal Airlines' business class on all international flights. Shangri-La Class consists of 18 seats on Airbus A330 aircraft with a six-abreast configuration and 8 seats on the Airbus A320 aircraft with a four-abreast configuration. Nepal Airlines serves Shangri-La Class passengers a gourmet meal. Passengers are also provided with an array of drinks to choose, including complementary wine, cocktail, vodka, and a range of soft drinks.[28]

Nepal Airlines serves economy class passengers a meal, with options of either fish, chicken or mutton for their economy class passengers. Passengers can also request the vegetarian meal at the time of reservation.[29] The economy seats in Airbus A330 aircraft are equipped with IFE system with options including 40 Asian movies, 30 TV programs and 20 music albums.

All of the Nepal Airlines domestic fleets are configured with Coach seats only. Since most of the domestic flights are less than an hour-long, passengers are provided with candies and juices only.