Asian Airlines

Last updated
Asian Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
FoundedNovember 1993 [1]
AOC # 004/96 [2]
Hubs Tribhuvan International Airport
Headquarters Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal [3]

Asian Airlines (also known as Asian Airlines Helicopter [1] ) was a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal founded by Ang Tshering Sherpa in 1993. [4] It claims to be the first helicopter airline of Nepal. [5] It ceased to operate in 2006.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Asian Airlines was founded after the deregulation of the Nepalese Aviation sector. [6] According to Tashi Sherpa, Managing Director of Asian Airlines, the airline wanted to start fixed wing operations but the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation urged the airlines to operate helicopters. [6] The first flight of the airline was delayed, as the delivery of its first two helicopters was stuck at Jinnah International Airport for over a month, as Nepalese Authorities were hesitant on allowing Russian-built aircraft in Nepal. [4]

Fleet

The airline operated a fleet of MI-17 helicopters. [7]

Accidents and incidents

Related Research Articles

Yeti Airlines

Yeti Airlines Pvt. Ltd. is an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The airline was established in May 1998 and received its Air Operators Certificate on 17 August 1998. Since 2019, Yeti Airlines is the first carbon neutral airline in Nepal and South Asia. It is the parent company of Tara Air.

Buddha Air

Buddha Air Pvt. Ltd is an airline based in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal, near Patan. It operates domestic as well as international services within Nepal and India, serving mainly large towns and cities in Nepal. Currently, it operates 33 flight routes in around 15 destinations of Nepal and an international flight to Varanasi of India. Its main base is Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. It was the largest domestic carrier in terms of passengers carried in 2020.

Cosmic Air

Cosmic Air Pvt. Ltd. was an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It operated scheduled domestic and international services out of Tribhuvan International Airport. After already having been forced to temporarily suspended flights in 2005 and 2006 due to budgetary constraints, Cosmic Air ceased its operations in 2008.

Tribhuvan International Airport Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal

Tribhuvan International Airport is an international airport located in Kathmandu, Bagmati Pradesh, Nepal. It is operating with a tabletop runway, one domestic and an international terminal. As a sole international airport, it connects Nepal to over 40 destinations in 17 countries.

Tenzing–Hillary Airport Airport in Lukla, Nepal

Tenzing–Hillary Airport, also known as Lukla Airport, is a domestic airport and altiport in the town of Lukla, in Khumbu Pasanglhamu, Solukhumbu District, Province No. 1 of Nepal. It gained worldwide fame as it was rated the most dangerous airport in the world for more than 20 years by a program titled Most Extreme Airports, broadcast on The History Channel in 2010.

Impro Airways was a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, operating chartered helicopter services.

Shree Airlines Pvt. Ltd. is an airline based in Sinamangal, Kathmandu, Nepal, operating chartered helicopter and scheduled fixed wing services following the delivery of three Bombardier aircraft in 2017. Shree Airlines also has a helicopter operation sector branded as Shree Air, where its helicopters are certified to carry up to 26 passengers in a one class configuration. The airline also conducts charter and non-charter flights to remote parts of the country and offers cargo charter services. As of 2018, Shree Airlines was the third largest domestic carrier in Nepal, after Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines, with a market share of 15.7%.

Tara Air

Tara Air Pvt. Ltd. is an airline headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines. Tara Air was formed in 2009 using aircraft from the Yeti Airlines fleet and is based at Tribhuvan International Airport, with a secondary hub at Nepalgunj Airport. The airline operates scheduled flights and air charter services with a fleet of STOL aircraft, previously provided by Yeti Airlines. Its operations focus on serving remote and mountainous airports and airstrips. Tara's fleet is made up of Dornier 228, DHC-6 and PC-6. Forbes rated Tara Air as one of the "most unsafe airlines" in 2019 due to several significant incidents.

Simrik Airlines

Simrik Airlines Pvt. Ltd. was an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal operating domestic scheduled flights from its base at Tribhuvan International Airport. It was the partner company of Simrik Air, a Nepalese helicopter airline currently operating four helicopters. It ceased operations in 2021, when it was rebranded as Guna Airlines.

Summit Air, formerly known as Goma Air, is an airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The airline operates from short takeoff and landing airstrips in the Western parts of Nepal. The airline received the first of two Let 410 aircraft, financed by the Czech Republic Export Bank., in October 2014, and initially only used them on flights to Lukla and Jomsom.

Fishtail Air

Fishtail Air Pvt. Ltd., from 2018 to 2020 known as Summit Helicopters Pvt. Ltd., is a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, operating chartered helicopter services. The company was established in 1997 under the Air Operators Certificate issued by the Government of Nepal. The Company carries domestic chartered helicopter flights throughout Nepal out and Rescue Missions. It also carries out and also international chartered flights to Bhutan and India.

Manang Air Pvt. Ltd. is a helicopter airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal and was founded in 1997 and has been operating helicopters in commercial air transportation within the Nepalese territory under the Regulation of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. The Company provides chartered services and is focused on personalized services such as adventure flights helicopter excursions or expedition work. It is the only Approved Training Organization in Nepal.

Himalaya Airlines Airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal

Himalaya Airlines is a Nepalese airline operating from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Himalaya Airlines was founded in 2014 as a joint venture between Yeti World Investment Group and Tibet Airlines. It launched operations in May 2016 with a single Airbus A320. The airline flies to ten destinations as of 24 January 2020.

Nijgadh International Airport

Nijgadh International Airport is a proposed hub-airport, located in Kolhabi, directly 68 km (42 mi) to the south of Kathmandu, near the town of Nijgadh in Province No. 2, Nepal. It is targeted to be completed by 2025 with an estimated investment of USD 6.7 billion. If constructed, it would be the largest airport in South Asia and the fourth largest airport in the world in terms of land area. The airport is intended to relieve expected capacity restraints at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu.

Air Dynasty

Air Dynasty Heli Service Pvt. Ltd. is a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, operating chartered helicopter services. The company was established in 1993 and mainly carries out domestic chartered helicopter flights throughout Nepal from its three hubs in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Lukla.

Simrik Air Nepalese helicopter airline

Simrik Air Pvt. Ltd. is a helicopter airline based at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. It operates chartered helicopter services. The company was established in 2001. It was a partner of Simrik Airlines, which operates scheduled fixed-wing services, until latter airline was rebranded as Guna Airlines in 2021. Simrik Air also partners with Swiss helicopter operator Air Zermatt, which helps with pilot training.

2019 Air Dynasty helicopter crash

On February 27, 2019, Air Dynasty's Eurocopter AS350 B3e carrying six passengers and one pilot was scheduled to travel on a domestic flight from Pathibhara Devi Temple in Taplejung to Chuhandanda in Tehrathum, Nepal. The aircraft crashed at approximately 1.30 p.m. (NPT) due to bad weather in Taplejung. All seven people on board died in the crash, including Rabindra Prasad Adhikari, Nepal's Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation.

Ang Tshering Sherpa was a Nepali entrepreneur and founder of Yeti Airlines.

Ang Tshering Sherpa is a Nepalese mountaineer, who belongs to the Sherpa ethnic group and is President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association and Honorary Consul of Belgium.

1975 Royal Nepal Airlines Pilatus PC-6 Porter crash

On 31 March 1975, a Pilatus PC-6 Porter operated by Royal Nepal Airlines crashed in Nepal en route from Tribhuvan International Airport to Phaplu Airport on a domestic charter flight. The flight was chartered by Sir Edmund Hillary to bring his wife Louise and daughter Belinda to Phaplu, where he was building a hospital. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff.

References

  1. 1 2 "Asian Airlines Helicopter". Archived from the original on 2 August 2001. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  2. "Civil Aviation Report 2009-2010" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  3. "Contact". Asian Airlines. Archived from the original on 14 June 2001. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  4. 1 2 Rana, Ujeena. "On Top of The World – Ang Tshering Sherpa". Business 360. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  5. Rana, Ujeena. "On Top of The World – Ang Tshering Sherpa". Business 360. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Here come the Flying Trucks". Nepali Times. 12 January 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. Russian Climb retrieved 19 November 2006
  8. "Soviet Transport Database". Scramble.nl. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  9. "Terror insurance". Nepali Times. 29 March 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  10. "Where is Charlie Uniform?". Nepali Times. 11 April 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  11. "Satellites to the rescue". Nepali Times. 5 July 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2019.