ENTHUSIAST ’ S CORNER
Nepal-based Buddha Air started its operations in 1997 with two new Beechcraft 1900Ds . Since then , the private company has carried 14 million passengers . With around 100 daily flights , it counts around 2.5 million customers annually and serves a dozen airports . This makes the airline the absolute market leader in Nepal ’ s domestic air traffic . Competitors such as Yeti Airlines ( YT ) or Shree Airlines ( N9 ) operate significantly fewer aircraft and achieve much lower transport figures . Buddha Air ’ s fleet currently consists of three ATR 42-300s and 15 ATR 72-500s .
My destination airport was Bharatpur ( BHR ), a half-hour drive from Chitwan National Park . As the single runway there is a mere 1,158m ( 3,800ft ) long , the ATR 42-300 is the only Buddha Air aircraft that can reach this location . To cater for the many tourists traveling to Bharatpur , Buddha Air operates three daily flights from Kathmandu . Foreigners pay around US $ 100 per trip , three times the price paid by Nepalis .
Nepal is considered to be one of the most unsafe countries of the world in terms of aviation . To date , 748 people have died in 39 crashes . The notorious high mountain village of Lukla has contributed to this fact . Some experts classify its airport ( LUA ) as the world ’ s most dangerous , with its sloping 527m ( 1,729ft ) runway resembling a ski jump . But , as a starting point to the summit of Mount Everest , there is no way to avoid this risky airfield .
At 8,848m ( 29,028ft ), Mount Everest , the highest mountain on earth , also plays an important role for Buddha Air . Back on October 11 , 1997 , a sightseeing flight conducted over that giant in a new Beechcraft 1900D marked the beginning of Buddha Air ’ s success story . This sightseeing trip is still on offer today , but more for advertising reasons than economic ones .
In regard to aviation , Nepal cannot shake off its bad reputation as a crisis region . This certainly has something to do with the inadequate infrastructure — which , of course , is not the fault of local airlines . The European Union reacted to this state of affairs with its most drastic measure : it put all Nepali airlines on its so-called blacklist . This involves a strict ban on them flying into its member states . This is understandable when you look at the current state of the once glorious Royal Nepal Air . With the 2008 abolition of the monarchy , the stateowned company was renamed Nepal Airlines ( RA ). Its fleet having shrunk to just four jets — two Airbus A320s and two A330s , it cannot compete with the rapidly expanding mega carriers from abroad . To date , RA does not even have a closed hangar for its wide-bodies at its base in Kathmandu .
The investments made in Buddha Air , on the other hand , are quite a different story . In 2012 , the country ’ s first hangar ever was opened for a modest US $ 3 million . While a few Harbin Y-12s and Xian MA-60s are rotting away on a neighboring site , the airline ’ s mechanics exhibit the highest levels of competency regarding their commuter fleet . When , in 2022 , Pilots from Alpha 2 Bravo , a firm specializing in aircraft deliveries , came to pick up two B 1900Ds from Buddha Air , they couldn ’ t believe their eyes . The planes , one of which had performed the airline ’ s maiden flight in 1997 , were ready to be ferried around the world as if they were new . And that was after 25 years of service under the toughest conditions beneath the imposing mountain ranges of the mighty Himalaya . Since 2023 , those two aircraft have been flying as parcel freighters for Canadian airline Sky Link Express .
Unexpected miracles still sometimes happen in the skies of one of the poorest nations on earth !
18 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2024 www . airwaysmag . com