AIRLINES & ROUTING

ADVANTAGE

DISADVANTAGE

Gulf Airways

Transit via London, Paris, and Frankfurt

US-LHR/FRA/PAR-BAH-KTM

• Usually the cheapest fares in most seasons
• Partnership with Virgin, Lufthansa, US Air, and AA provides good footprint

• Questionable service quality between KTM-BAH
• Long layover at BAH , LON in some flights
• Customer service and airport staff not very reliable
• Checked in baggage policy ambiguous (not sure if it is 1 or 2)
• Occasionally, airline counters in the US provide incorrect flight and baggage information
• Tickets non-refundable after departure

Qatar Airways

(IAD/IAH/JFK)-DOH-KTM

• One  stop flight from 3 cites (IAD,IAH,JFK) and only 2 stops from most US cities
• Preferred airline by most Nepalis
• Usually provides two baggage
• Bargain prices from some airports at low-season

• Fares are more expensive compared to other airlines except special promotional fare 
• Long layover at Doha Airport in some flights from IAD , JFK and IAH (might change)
• Heavy penalties (for a date change and refund)

Korean air

ATL,DFW, HNL,IAD,JFK,ORD,LAS,LAX,SEA,SFO – ICN - KTM

• One stop flight from 10 cities in the US
• 2 baggage allowed in all the flight
• Transit from some of the cities are excellent
• Complimentary hotel provided in one direction of the flight during the non-high seasons
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• Fares are usually high
• Korean has only 5 flights a week from Kathmandu
• On the high seasons, there is no guarantee a hotel is available even if one wants to pay for it
• By default, Korean provides beef on trays.  Failure to request a Hindu meal during means that a customer may not get a proper meal on tray

Cathay Pacific

[SFO/LAX/NYC]-HKG-KTM

• Nepali in one stop flight from LAX, SFO, & JFK
• Excellent airline reputation and service quality
• Easier to change dates

• Long layover at HKG from LAX/SFO
• Fares very expensive in the month of December
• Technical stopover at Dhaka on a  way to Kathmandu
• Smaller craft from Hong Kong to Kathmandu 

Singapore

Airlines

SFO/LAX/NYC/IAH-HKG-KTM

• Free on-arrival visa for Nepalese at the Singapore airport
• Good reputation and
• One stop flight to Kathmandu from  SFO, LAX, JFK, and IAH

• Fare are low but high taxes makes it expensive
• Some flights make a technical stop at Moscow
• Long flights in some occasions
• Overnight layover at Singapore on a way to LAX/SFO from KTM
• Tickets Non-refundable after departure

Air India

[JFK/ORD]-DEL-KTM

• Excellent prices available in many seasons
• Baggage check-in to and connection available for Kathmandu
• Daily 2 flight for Kathmandu from Delhi
• Hindi speaking attendants and similarity with Nepali meals make this flight more comfortable for elderly Nepalis

• Airline reputation is affected by country’s airline (specially Delhi)
• May have a long layover at Delhi
• The Kathmandu Delhi flights can be delayed in the morning

Jet Airways

(JFK/EWR)-BRU-DEL-KTM

• Excellent coverage in the US
• Through connection available US to all the way to Kathmandu
• Hindi speaking staff and meal similarities with Nepal – good for parents flying alone
• Sale fares in some months make this an excellent choice

• Overnight stay at Delhi  (while returning from Kathmandu)
• Date change charges are very expensive
• Hard to get seats in the peak months, and very expensive
• Reputation of Delhi gets tied to the airline

Etihad

Airways

[ORD/JFK]-AUH-KTM

• New fleet and excellent service quality
• One stop flight to Kathmandu from JFK and Chicago
• Excellent fares from JFK and Chicago during sales

• Long transit in Abu Dhabi and Etihad does not provide a hotel
• Prices are normally high

American Airlines

USA – DEL - KTM

• Extensive coverage from the US
• Frequent flyer miles easy to port over
• With Jet Airway’s evening flight in some seasons, the connecting times are excellent

• No direct flight into Kathmandu so uses Jet airways as a code share partner
• Only one checked baggage allowed
• Heavy penalties (date change and refunds)

Kuwait Airways

NYC-KWI-DEL-KTM

• Usually good price available
• Short layover at Kuwait airport
• Because flight reaches Delhi in the morning, connects well with the KTM flight
• Automatic bag-check in to Kathmandu
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• Passenger may face hassle about check-in check-out of baggage because of the stay at Delhi

Thai Airways

LAX-BKK-KTM

• Enjoys excellent reputation in Nepal
• Short route to Kathmandu from Bangkok (LAX-BKK-KTM)

• Prices are very high most times of the year
• Hard to find fares from cities other than LA
• On the return, there could be a long layover in LA as the flight comes

Emirates Airlines

JFK/IAH/DFW/SEA/SFO/LAX-DXB/DEL-KTM

• Usually good prices available
• Short Layovers at Dubai Airport
• Excellent connections from Dubai to Kathmandu on Fly Dubai
• 2 stop flights to Kathmandu from most major US cities

• Expensive penalties
• Tickets are non-refundable after departure