Himalaya Airlines starts China flights

Himalaya Airlines, an international air carrier, entered into to the China market with the maiden flight to its latest destination, Chongqing, a major tourist city of the People’s Republic of China. The new service is an every-Thursday charter service from Chongqing to Kathmandu;Himalaya is the only airline operating direct flights between the two cities.
The inaugural flightdeparted from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 1655 hours (local time) and touched down at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport (CKG) at 2305hours (local time). The return flight from Chongqing departed at 0005 + 1 on October 19, 2018 and landed at TIA at 0155 hrs.
“China is one of our target markets. We are excited to expand our footprintsthere, allowing us to provide greater options for business and leisure travellers. We are proud to be the first and only airline to offer direct service from Chongqing, China to Kathmandu. We are confident that this route will boost passenger traffic as we expect a good demand from Chongqing, which has a sizeablepopulation of affluent out-bound travelers. H9 will be instrumental in bringing more Chinese tourists to Nepal and helping the tourism economyofbothcountries.,”said Mr. Vijay Shrestha, Vice President – Administration.
Chongqing, one of the five centrally administered municipalities in China along with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin offers remarkable attractions to visitors. Chongqing known for its rich history and cultural heritage, serves as an economic andmanufacturing center apart from being the transportation hub for Southwest China.
Chinahas placed Nepal as a new leisure destination, which is one of the driving reasons for increased Chinese visitors into Nepal over the past two years.The number of Chinese travelling to Nepal has grown tremendouslyafter the country suffered a severe earthquake in 2015 followed by theborder blockade that kept the tourists away.China is presently thesecond largest tourist arrival market for Nepal with109,497 visitors for 2018 (Jan to Sept) showing the growth of 48.8% over the same period of 2017. This is an exponential growth, as China now holds 2nd ranking after India with its share of 14.17 % in the total tourist arrivals till September. With this CKG-KTM connectivity, H9 thus expects to contribute its own share to tourism economy of Nepal in a big way.
Additionally the airline plans to extend its focus on China connectivity by adding up other cities like Beijing, Haikou, Nanchang, etcin the next phase.
About Himalaya Airlines Pvt, Ltd.
Established in August 2014, Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal China joint venture, is a private airline of Nepal providing international air services. With the aim to excel in safety, on time performance (OTP) and most primarily, in service to its customers, H9 has already established itself in Nepal with high recognition.
H9 is currently flying to four destinations – Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Dammam; using 3 Airbus A320-214 series of narrow-body aircraft with 8 Business class & 150 Economy class seats.
H9 received its first ever international award for “Leading New International Airlines in South Asia” at South Asian Travel Awards (SATA) 2017 event held at Equator Village, Addu City, Maldives on October 28, 2017. This award honors the efforts undertaken towards developing high standard of services and expanding network and has given a tremendous boost to H9 family to excel further and rise higher in the aviation sector.
Following the genuine Nepalese tradition of “Atithi Devo Bhava” – Guest is God, H9 strives to provide true Nepali Hospitality to its esteemed passengers.