BUDDHA AIR

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Buddha Air Pvt. Ltd (Nepali: बुद्ध एयर - Buddha Eyr) is an airline based in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur District, Nepal, near Patan. It operates domestic as well as international services within Nepal and India, serving mainly large towns and cities in Nepal, linking Kathmandu with ten destinations and Varanasi of India. It is the largest domestic air operator in Nepal with modern fleet like ATR 42-320s and ATR 72-500s, which are still in production. Its main base is Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu.

 

It also operates mountain flights from Kathmandu to the Everest range. Buddha Air is rated safest among its competitors with highest Safety overall score as analyzed by International Safety database in January 2014. It is the first airline in Nepalese aviation history to introduce online Flight Bookings with PayPal and credit cards.

 

 Tribhuvan International Airport, with some Buddha Air aeroplanes in the background. Kathmandu, Nepal.

History

 

The airline started operations in October 1997 with a brand new Beech 1900D. The name of the airline is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Buddha' meaning enlightened preferably a title used for the much revered Siddharta Gautama. The average age of the aircraft are 4 years.

Destinations

Buddha Air offers flights to the following domestic and international destinations (as of July 2011):

• Nepal
  • Bhadrapur - Bhadrapur Airport Two Flights Daily
  • Bhairahawa - Gautam Buddha Airport Three Flights Daily
  • Bharatpur - Bharatpur Airport Two Flights Daily
  • Biratnagar - Biratnagar Airport Five Flights Daily
  • Dhangadhi - Dhangadhi Airport One Flight Daily
  • Janakpur - Janakpur Airport Two Flights Daily
  • Kathmandu - Tribhuvan International Airport^[Base]
  • Nepalgunj - Nepalgunj Airport Two Flights Daily
  • Pokhara - Pokhara Airport Six Flights Daily
  • Simara - Simara Airport Five Flights Daily
  • Tumlingtar - Tumlingtar Airport One Flight Daily
• India
  • Varanasi - Varanasi Airport Seasonal Flights
• Bhutan
  • Paro - Paro Airport Chartered Flights

The airline also offers chartered flights and daily mountain flights. Buddha Air became the first foreign airline to start flights to Paro, Bhutan, in summer 2010 which was the airline's first international destination.

Fleet

Buddha Air's ATR 72-500 at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal

 

As of February 2014 the Buddha Air fleet includes:

• 3 ATR 42-320 47 passenger seats
• 3 ATR 72-500 70 passenger seats
• 2 Beechcraft 1900D 18 passenger seats

Accidents

On 25 September 2011, Buddha Air Flight 103 crashed during a tourist flight of the Mount Everest region. The flight, operating with a Beech 1900 D and 19 passengers — mostly foreign tourists — crashed in Nepal according to reports. The aircraft apparently lost contact with the control tower near Kathmandu's airport. 16 tourists (10 Indians, two Americans, a Japanese citizen and three Nepalis) and three crew members were on the flight.

 

^{Fonte - Enciclopédia livre}