Himalaya Airlines Pvt Ltd, formerly known as Yeti Airlines International, is starting its international operation in Nepal from October 28. The airline is promoted by Yeti World Investment Pvt Ltd and HIF Aviation Investment Company Pvt Ltd from Nepal and Tibet Airlines from the People´s Republic of China. 

 

The Airline is set up with an investment of 2.4 billion rupees. Tibet Airlines holds 49 per cent stake of the Airline and 52 per cent stake is jointly owned by HIF Aviation Investment and Yeti World Investment. The Airline has claimed that this is the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the aviation sector of Nepal till date. 

 

Chairman of HIF Aviation Investment Company Prithivi Bahadur Pande, Chairman of Yeti World Investment Ang Tshiring Sherpa and Chairman of Tibet Airlines and Cheng Yiru signed the joint venture agreement on 19th August in Kathmandu.   

 

HIF Aviation Investment is a company promoted by local entrepreneurs involved in finance, tourism and hydropower sectors. Similarly, Yeti World Investment is an affiliate of Yeti Airlines Group of Companies and Tibet Airlines’ majority shares are jointly held by Air China and Tibet Provincial Government.

 

Himalayan Airlines plans to operate in Asian routes with a fleet of Airbus 320 series aircrafts. The Airline currently has permit to fly 14 international destinations and will provide services with at least three Airbus 320 series in the first year. In the second year, it plans to expand the fleet to a minimum of five aircrafts. The Airline aims to increase the fleet to a minimum of fifteen aircrafts within five years. Also, the company has plans to increase its total investment to more than 1 billion USD at the end of the fifth year.

 

China Southern Airlines has started direct service between Guangzhou and New York City from 6th August. The Airlines’ new direct service is the first flight from Southern China to America’s East Coast and operates each Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, arriving at JFK International Airport’s on the same day.

 

“On the occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and America, we take great pride in launching our direct service from Guangzhou to New York City, which is our second destination in the US and the third one in North America,” said Si Xianmin, Chairman, China Southern Airlines.

 

The route is being operated with a four-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offering a total of 309 seats-four in First Class, 34 in Business Class, 44 in Premium Economy Class and 227 in Economy Class.  The new service makes New York City China Southern’s third North American destination after Los Angles and Vancouver. 

 

Cathay Pacific Airways has announced a special fare promotion for the Hong Kong public as part of its celebration after being named ‘World’s Best Airline’ in the 2014 Skytrax World Airline Awards. To celebrate the 2014 award, Cathay Pacific is offering 2,014 return tickets to 11 destinations travelling in either Business Class or Premium Economy Class. 

 

The fare for each ticket is HKD100. The destinations on offer are Bangkok, Cebu, Kuala Lumpur, Nagoya, Osaka and Taipei on Business Class and Chicago, London, Maldives, New York and Sydney on Premium Economy class. Each customer can book a maximum of two return tickets per transaction. The offer has been available from 26 August.

 

Turkish Airlines has presented its consolidated financial statements of 2014 first half to Borsa Istanbul., The Airlines’ sales revenue increased by 37 per cent compared to the same period of 2013 reaching 11.3 billion TRY. The Airlines recorded an operating profit of 495 million TRY and net profit of 398 million TRY in the second quarter of 2014, completing the first half year with 312 million TRY operating profit and 172 million TRY net profit.  

 

During the first half of 2014, The Airline carried 26 million passengers in the first half of 2014 which is a 17 per cent increase in passenger traffic. Similarly, Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) and Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) of the Airline increased by 19 per cent in the second quarter.