Etihad to launch daily flights to Kathmandu from January

Dubai: Etihad Airways will increase its Abu Dhabi-Kathmandu services from four to seven flights per week from January.

Etihad's flights to Kathmandu, which were launched in December 2008, have proved extremely popular with travellers, providing high volumes of traffic into Abu Dhabi and the Middle East, as well as transit traffic to destinations including London, Frankfurt, New York and Chicago.

The success of the route is evident in average load factors of between 80 and 90 per cent on both inbound and outbound flights. This is attributable to growth in corporate travel and also a positive trend in inbound tourism to Nepal, and the additional flights were introduced to satisfy these customers' demands for daily frequencies specifically.

Joost den Hartog, Etihad Airways regional general manager for north Asia and the Indian subcontinent, said: "In addition to the strong demand for flights from Nepalese nationals who work in Abu Dhabi and further afield, we have seen a strengthening in corporate and leisure traffic, which is important to the economic development of Nepal. Etihad is pleased to support this growth with an increase in its services."

Etihad has also announced the appointment of Ken Marshall as its country manager in Nepal.

Based in Kathmandu, Marshall will take over from outgoing manager Kumar de Silva to oversee the airline's operations in Nepal.