Etihad doubles flight frequency to Nepal

Etihad Airways -- the national airlines of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - is doubling its flight frequency to Nepal effective Sunday. Now onwards, the airline will operate 14 flights per week on Kathmandu-Abu Dhabi sector. Issuing a statement, the airline said the additional flights driven by the demand from business and leisure travelers will further strengthen the commercial and cultural ties between Nepal and the UAE. Etihad currently caters 50 percent leisure travelers and has less Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries traffic, according to the statement. “The double daily flights will help connect more destinations over the airline´s Abu Dhabi hub to key destinations in Europe, Middle East and GCC countries,” the statement quoted Pawana Shrestha, general manager of Etihad Airways-Nepal. Meanwhile, the airline has also announced promotional fares to some popular destinations in Europe and North America. According to the statement, the promotional fares are available to London, Manchester, Frankfurt, Milan, Munich, Brussels, Geneva, Paris, New York, Chicago and Washington. Shrestha said that the fares are for sale until October 31 and the travel period is from October 27 to May 31, 2014. Etihad, which started Kathmandu flights in 2007, has carried more than 620,000 passengers in the sector. The airline claimed that it enjoys 8 percent market share in the domestic aviation industry.