By CK Khanal
Kathmandu, Dec. 7: Following the increasing movement of domestic tourists in tourism-related activities, the domestic airline companies (operators of fixed-wing aircraft) have resumed mountain-view flights after eight months of closure with attractive schemes to domestic tourists.
Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines have resumed their mountain-view flights from Saturday targeting mostly domestic passengers offering special fares. However, airline companies operating rotary-wing aircraft (helicopter) have been offering the mountain flight service since September when the government allowed resuming domestic flights.
Not only airline operators but operators of different tourism-related activities have also started announcing special package to domestic tourists for the sustainability and revival of their business in lack of foreign tourists. In this regard, paragliding in Pokhara has been an example to move in the path of revival with the strategy of operators to attract domestic tourists by offering a special discount package.
“We have started the sightseeing flights to mountains from Yesterday (Dec. 5) targeting domestic passengers considering the increased participation of domestic tourists in tourism-related activities even during the time of pandemic,” said Rupesh Joshi, marketing director of Buddha Air.
“Currently, we are operating flights once a week on Saturday, the weekly holiday in the country. On the first day’s flight, we were able to sell three flights. Many passengers have reserved their seats for the flights of coming Saturday,” Joshi said.
According to Joshi, Buddha Air is offering two tickets to Nepali citizens at Rs. 8,900 for a flight of around 50 minutes from Kathmandu as per the scheme of ‘buy one, get one free’. However, two passengers participating under the scheme will have to share the single window of the plane for the sightseeing.
Earlier, the cost of a single domestic passenger in the mountain flight was more than Rs. 10,000, he said.
Similarly, Yeti Airlines has also brought the ‘buy one, get one free ticket’ offer to domestic passengers at a cost of Rs. 8,848 for the mountain flight.
“We are operating mountain flights once a week on Saturday targeting Nepali citizens and resident foreigners including Indians with the special offer of ‘buy one, get one ticket free’,” said Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines.
Yeti Airlines is offering two tickets for residential foreigners including Indians at the rate of Rs. 13,499. Bartaula said that other tourists would not get this schemed price.
Mountain flight is popular among foreign tourists visiting this country of the Himalayas. Airlines companies used to operate mountain flights daily during the peak tourism seasons.
Airlines operators have said that domestic flights had taken the revival at present after the resumption of flights from the third week of September.
According to Joshi, Buddha Air is currently conducting around 50 flights a day with occupancy of up to 95 per cent. The company used to conduct around 55 flights in the normal time before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yograj Kandel, executive director of Simrik Air and spokesperson of the Airlines Operators Association Nepal (AOAN), said that helicopter operators are also providing mountain flights, especially from Lukla.
As per the understanding, fixed-wing operators are bringing tourists up to Lukla and helicopter operators are serving those tourists from there, he said.