KATHMANDU, April 20: Buddha Air is set to resume Kathmandu-Kolkata flights after six years, following Air India's withdrawal from the route.
Rupesh Shrestha, Director of Sales and Marketing at Buddha Air, said the airline plans to start commercial flights to Kolkata by mid-July and is actively working towards that goal. "We competed with Air India when we flew to this destination six years ago. Now that Air India has pulled out, we see a commercial opportunity and have decided to resume the flights," he said.
After losing Rs 100m in 7 months, Buddha Air stops Kolkata flig...
In 2019, Buddha Air operated three weekly flights on the route for nine months but discontinued the service after incurring a loss of over Rs 100 million. This time, the company plans to operate four weekly flights-the same frequency previously maintained by Air India.
Air India exited the route to focus on Delhi operations, despite achieving a minimum one-way load of 120 passengers on its 158-seater aircraft. The Kathmandu-Kolkata flight takes 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Buddha Air plans to set a minimum one-way fare of Rs 14,000. It currently operates regular commercial flights to Varanasi and also aims to expand to Guwahati, Lucknow, and other Indian destinations. "We see strong potential for two-way trade and tourism in these destinations," Shrestha said.
Buddha Holidays, a subsidiary of Buddha Air, will design travel packages for the Kolkata route.
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