Nepal's Shree Airlines launches Q400 ops

Nepal's Shree Airlines ventures into international market

Shree Airlines (N9, Kathmandu) is set to venture into the international market with its first flights abroad due to start later this month.

In a statement to local media, the privately-owned carrier said it had been granted government permission to run one-off charters from Kathmandu to each of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Thailand, on September 19 and 24, respectively. Nepal Airlines (RA, Kathmandu) and Himalaya Airlines (H9, Kathmandu) have also been granted similar route authorities.

The repatriation flights are Shree's first commercial services abroad as its fixed-wing operations have focussed on the Nepalese domestic market.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, its fleet entails two inactive CRJ200ERs, one CRJ700 Srs 701, one CRJ700 Srs 701ER, and two DHC-8-Q400s.

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Nepal's Shree Airlines to expand Dash 8-400 fleet

Shree Airlines (N9, Kathmandu) will more than double its Dash 8-400 fleet, spokesman Anil Manandhar said during the type's inaugural commercial service last week. The Nepali carrier currently has two of the type and, Manandhar told the Setopati newspaper, is now planning to add three more.

He did not disclose delivery dates or where the aircraft would come from. However, he did confirm they would be used to increase Shree's domestic Nepali network, the Kathmandu-Pokhara route in particular.

“We are preparing to add three more Dash-8 series aircraft. Thereafter we will operate five flights a day on the Kathmandu-Pokhara route,” he said. “We will submit the proposal to both the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation for permission to bring new aircraft after completing our preparations.”

Until now, Shree Airlines had operated a fleet of two CRJ200s and two CRJ700s (of which one is inactive) on flights connecting Bhadrapur, Siddharthanagar, Biratnagar, Dhangarhi, Janakpur, Nepalgunj,...

Dhangarhi, Nepal returns to full operations

Dhangarhi, the biggest airport in western Nepal, is now fully operational again after having been partially closed over different times during the year to allow for the maintenance of its runway. Construction work at the airport is part of a process which could see Dhangarhi become Nepal's fourth international gateway.

According to the ch-aviation schedules module, the airport is currently served by Shree Airlines (N9, Kathmandu) 2x daily from Kathmandu with its CRJ200s, while Buddha Air (U4, Kathmandu) offers a similar daily frequency with its ATR 72-500s.

After the main international airport in Kathmandu, Dhangarhi has the second-longest runway in the country. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airport's runway 09/27 is 1,800 metres in length.

There are 15 active commercial airports in Nepal with regular scheduled flights, with the capital city commanding the majority of weekly capacity at 73%. Dhanghari is the 10th largest airport in the country in terms of weekly seats.