Kathmandu to Biratnagar. I have travelled regularly with this company, particularly too and from Biratnagar and Nepalganj. Onboard and ground service is fine. Delays are frequent in Nepal, and this is not always the fault of the airline. Buddha uses relatively new planes, which are comfortable inside, although given the short length of most routes, this is not really an issue. Checking in and baggage collection can be chaotic sometimes, primarily due to the poor infrastructure at domestic airports. The ATR flights usually have allocated seats, so when heading west ask for a right side window for mountain views, or left side if heading east. The smaller beachcraft used to fly to some smaller towns usually have no allocated seating. If you want to be first on the plane, make sure you are last on the transfer bus. The primary problem is the outrageous fixed 'foreigner fares', which can be up to 4 times more than for local people. There are no discounts or promotional fares available, even if you book months in advance. As a result, few foreign passengers travel by air in Nepal unless they are on work related travel, although some high end tourists, usually on packages, use the route to Pokhara. You can travel to Malaysia or Dubai in economy for the same price as a return ticket to Nepalganj (35 min flight), or fly business class to India. . Sadly, all the airlines in Nepal fix these high fares, operating as a cartel - and I cant begin to imagine the damage this causes to the tourism sector, particularly in getting people to visit new parts of Nepal. This appears unlikely to change in the near future, so passengers be aware before planning your travels.
ATR |
Solo Leisure |
Economy Class |
KTM to BIR |
November 2015 |
12345 |
12345 |
12345 |
12345 |
no |