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| Kathmandu Saturday March 30, 2002 Chaitra 17, 2058. |
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RNAC to withdraw from Bangalore
Aims to add flights in Dubai sector
By Satyendra Timilsina
KATHMANDU, March 29:Royal Nepal Airlines
Corporation (RNAC), the national flag carrier, is preparing to withdraw its
Kathmandu-Bangalore (Ktm-Ban) air flight from coming June and is planning to divert it to
the Dubai sector from August.
A highly placed RNAC official informed The
Kathmandu Post today that the management is preparing to scrap its Kathmandu-Bangalore
flights because of huge loss incurred by the RNAC in the operation of flights in the
sector.
"The RNAC will not continue to fly in
loss-incurring sectors, and therefore seeing at the RNAC performance in the Ktm-Ban
sector, we have prepared to withdraw it," said the source. He informed that the total
loss to RNAC from the sector alone amounts to around Rs 6 million each month.
The source further said that the RNAC’s
plan to add a flight to Dubai is based on the performance of other international airlines
on their flights to the Gulf countries.
There has been a significant growth in the
passengers from Nepal to Gulf countries because of the increasing foreign employment
provided to Nepali workers since the last couple of years. "Around 300 people fly to
these countries for employment each day," manpower agencies claim.
It is not just the national flag carrier that is
looking to grasp the profitable business of flying in the Gulf sectors, but even the Qatar
Airways, which is currently operating a daily flight, is seeking the government’s
permission to increase its flight frequency to two.
"We have asked the government to increase
the flights and if we get the approval, we will fly the additional flights from coming
June," Joy Dewan, General Sales Agent of Qatar Airways, said.
In the meantime, the RNAC management has
prepared to increase the frequency of Kathmandu-Bangkok flights from two times a week to
three flights a week. RNAC currently uses two of its allocated seven flights per week to
Bangkok.
"The seat occupancy in the Bangkok flight
has been encouraging, and this has built pressure for us to start an additional flight,
which would begin from coming August," said the RNAC source.
Thai airways, the Thailand based international
airlines company, had also sought permission from the Nepal government to increase its
frequency of air flights to Kathmandu a couple of months ago.
The government then had allowed Thai Airways to
operate five additional flights in co-ordination with the RNAC. However, the company is
yet to begin the additional flights.
"We are looking forward to materialise the
decision soon, but we cannot say from when we would be able to add the flights," says
Viroj Sirihorachai, General Manager of the Nepal office of Thai Airways.
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