September 6: Yeti Airlines has added one more 70-seat capacity aircraft to its fleet. The private airline company is planning to add three aircraft this year. As per the plan, the first aircraft arrived in Kathmandu on Monday.
The company informed that it added ATR 72-500 aircraft to expand its services. This is Yeti's sixth aircraft. The plane landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport at 1:15 PM on Monday afternoon. Sudarshan Bartaula, Yeti’s spokesperson and head of air security, informed that Yeti brought the 70-seat aircraft from an Australian aviation company on lease.
The first flight of the MSN No. 986 series aircraft took place in 2011. He said that the plane has flown only 10,000 cycles. He informed that this aircraft arrived as per the plan to add three aircraft within the current fiscal year.
“We will bring the second aircraft soon. This plane will fly to the regular destinations and there are plans to conduct flights to a new destination after the addition of another aircraft,” said Bartaula.
According to him, Yeti, which currently providing air service with five aircraft, has already completed the necessary paperworks for the new aircraft. The airplane has been painted it and is ready to fly before the Dashain festival.
“This will help to avoid the shortage of air tickets during Dashain to some extent,” added Bartaula. After the new aircraft is ready, the company plans to fly five of them for regular flights and keep one as reserve and will be used during the maintenance of other aircraft or when the flights are delayed.
The company claims that the new aircraft is considered the best aircraft with a turboprop engine. The company also mentioned that the aircraft will emit approximately 50 percent less carbon per passenger kilometer than newer generation jets and three times less carbon emissions than older aircraft. Yeti Airlines is the first carbon neutral airline in South Asia, according to the company. Yeti is currently flying to the most accessible destinations in Nepal including Kathmandu, Chandragadhi, Biratnagar, Janakpur, Simara, Pokhara, Bhairahawa, and Nepalgunj.
