domestic flights in Nepal

How reliable are the domestic flights within Nepal, in terms of sticking to their scheduled flights? Are their any domestic airlines you would recommend? Thanks.

They're all usually quite reliable, Jules. But you have to take into account that in Nepal there are rather huge mountains everywhere, which makes flying by smaller airplane or by chopper really dependent a lot on the weather situation. You can't blame them for that, if suspicious weather (i.e. dangerous weather conditions) leads to delays or cancellations for the day.

Last year a big helicopter, Russian brand, and carrying a lot of conservationist VIP's from Nepal and from the WWF had a fatal accident in extremely bad weather in the eastern part of the country. All on board died. It resulted in a lot of global media attention, among which a clear and very personal interview with a long-time Nepali chopper pilot who described in great detail what it was like to fly in his (Himalayan) country. You would NóT want the domestic airliners in Nepal to mess with your safety. Therefore: I personally believe that any (foreign) tourist should be the least concerned with possibly delayed flights inside Nepal.

As for recommendations, I'm not allowed to do that as I've never been there myself.
But Yeti Airlines and Buddha Air (Airlines) are among the domestic airliners often mentioned on Thorn Tree, and they seem to be reliable.

A quote from last year (the WWF chopper crash), for your information:<blockquote>Quote
<hr>In Nepal, clouds have rocks in them...<hr></blockquote>

And don't you ever forget it!

Have been flying to various corners of Nepal for 12 years in both fixed wing and helicopters and have always been impressed by the skill of Nepali pilots. As for punctuality of any form of transportation in Nepal - even when the weather is good - there could be improvements. It's best not to plan your travel on too tight a schedule - leave room for the unexpected.
Not all Domestic airlines service every destination - so there are times when you have no choice as to which company you will patronize.
One of the most impressive flight operations in Nepal is the morning service into and out of Lukla in the Everest area. Three different airlines service the route. Each has 3 or 4 flights each morning in the high season and there is a limited time to get them into and out of this small, isolated airport surrounded by huge mountain peaks. There is only one approach. Winds can be unpredictable. But despite these challenges, as conditions allow, planes land one after the other. They are on the ground, props still turning slowly....passengers and luggage off and outbound passengers and luggage loaded in a space of bout 10 minutes per flight befpre tju are pff dpwm the sloping runway and once again airborne on the way back to Kathmandu. It's amazing! Takes great organization - something Nepal is not always noted for! But in this situation they demonstrate some fantastic skills - both ground and air crew.
Have accompanied air crew on several rescue flights into some tight spots - and again have nothing but admiration for the technical skills of the pilots.

Another exciting flight is from Pokhara to Jomsom....

I agree with Stilltrekkin on this...great little airlines and very competent pilots...

Thank you for the information

Hi,
I finished an Annapurna Circuit trip at Jomsom last April. The airstrip is quite small, as you would expect, and the flight window quite short each day, due to valley winds that spring up from mid-morning. Due to this relatively small flight window, you may find it difficult to get on a flight if you have not pre-booked (and then, even so ...). The schedule is entirely weather-dependent, and as a previous poster says, this is all about safety. Alow sufficient time in your schedule for a delay, then chill out!

M