Nepal Airlines (RA, Kathmandu) has finally gained access to Tokyo Narita, which it will begin flying to in January, according to the carrier's official Twitter account. In February 2020, the airline will remove its flights to its existing Japanese destination - Osaka Kansai. It had previously suggested that its Tokyo route would not start until March 2020, along with other delayed route launches to Riyadh and Guangzhou.
The Kansai operation only began in August this year and is currently flown 2x weekly with the airline's fleet of two A330-200s, and remains on sale on the airline's website. By contrast, it's new Narita service is not currently available for purchase despite being launched next month.
The Japanese route announcement was made on December 3, and on the same day, again using its Twitter account, Nepal Airlines also declared that it had gained permission to fly to Guangzhou. This would be the airline's only destination in mainland China, complementing its 3x weekly service to Hong Kong International. No further launch details on either new route are available at this time.
Last month the state-owned airline revealed a cost-saving plan, aimed at turning around its troubled finances, with additional revenues from new city pairs a key element to the recovery strategy.
According to the ch-aviation capacities module, the airline currently offers 47 weekly flights from its base in Kathmandu, with Delhi International being the best-served point with a 14x weekly service.
