Shangri-La Air
Shangri-La Air was an airline based in Nepal. It partly merged with Necon Air in 2001 and eventually ceased to operate in 2008.
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| Commenced operations | 1999 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 2008 | ||||||
| AOC # | 029/99[1] | ||||||
| Operating bases | Tribhuvan International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 1 (at closure) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Kathmandu, Nepal | ||||||
| Employees | 250 (2001)[2] | ||||||
History
The airline was established in 1999 and started operations in October 1999 with oneDe Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft.[3] The airline's name is derived from the fictional place Shangri-La described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton..
In 2001 Shangri-La Air was, along with Karnali Air partly merged into Necon Air. At this point Shangri-La Air was operating a fleet of six aircraft; two Beechcraft 1900Ds and four De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters. This meant that Necon Air was taking over Shangri-La Air's Beechcraft 1900D, while Shangri-La Air still operated its fleet of Twin Otters.[2]
In 2002, Shangri-La Air still operated a fleet of three DHC-6-300 Twin Otters.[4] After the loss of one DHC-6 in August 2002, the airline operated only two aircraft.[5] From 2007, the airline's fleet consisted of only one DHC-6-300, which was operated until the airline's closure in 2008.[6]
Destinations
Shangri-La Air regularly served the following destinations, which were canceled either at the closure of operations or before:[3]
Shangri-La Air also operated scheduled mountain sightseeing flights from Kathmandu to Mount Everest range. The flights usually departed in the early morning hours and return to the airport one hour later.[7]
Fleet
At the time of closure, Shangri-La Air operated the following aircraft:[2]
| Aircraft | In fleet | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 1 | |
Former Fleet
| Aircraft | In fleet | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beechcraft 1900D | 2 | |
| De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 3 | |
Incidents and accidents
- 22 August 2002 - 2002 Shangri-La Air Twin Otter Crash: A Shangri-La Air De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300, on a flight from Jomsom to Pokhara, crashed into a hill which was under complete cloud cover following 3 days of continuous rain. All 3 crew and 15 passengers were killed.[8]
References
- "Civil Aviation Report 2010" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- "Operational Merge : Need of the Hour". nepalnews.com. Business Age. Archived from the original on 23 August 2002.
- "Domestic Flight Booking". Nepal Trailblazer. Archived from the original on 8 December 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- JP airlines-fleets international, Edition 2002/03
- JP airlines-fleets international, Editions 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06, and 2006/07
- JP airlines-fleets international, Editions 2007/08, 2008/09, and 2009/10
- "Operations". Shangri-La Air. Archived from the original on 2 September 2006.
- "Aviation Safety Net Accident Description". Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
External links
- "Shangri-La Air Pvt. Ltd. Your doorway to the sky!". Shangri-La Air. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2015.