A look at commercial aviation in the kingdom of Bhutan
Picture: ATR
The latest press release from European turboprop manufacturer ATR included a name that caught my attention: Buthanese airline Drukair has received a brand new ATR-42-600 aircraft.
Granted, this may not be the largest or most spectacular aircraft order this year, but I think it is fair to say that any mention to the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan is likely to excite the imagination of any geography and travel enthusiast. Its remoteness and relative isolation means that it is a destination for the many, in fact, in order to keep visitor numbers low, tourists entering the country are subjected to an entry and sojourn fee on the order of $200 per day.
Nevertheless, this piece of news was enough to pique my curiosity, so I decided to have a look at the commercial aviation panorama in Bhutan.
As you may have guessed, the airline sector of Bhutan is tiny. There are two local scheduled airlines operating in the country, that face pretty much no competition from any foreign carriers.
The tiny market size is not the only limiting factor here. There is also a very large and tangible obstacle: the geography of the Himalayas.
Paro airport, the country’s largest and the only international gateway, is not only surrounded by peaks of over 5,000m, it is also considered as one of the most challenging airports in the World to land at as well as one of the most dramatic approaches. It requires pilots to get a special qualification to be able to land there (I guess the advanced avionics of the new ATR-42-600 aircraft played a role in its selection by Drukair, since some of its features such as enhanced airfield accessibility and situational awareness are some of the features singled out and highlighted in ATR’s press note).
Drukair - Royal Bhutan Airlines, to use its full name, is the flag carrier of Bhutan, the other Bhutanese airline is the privately-owned carrier Bhutan Airways.
Drukair is the largest of the two and, with the arrival of the ATR-42-600, Drukair is bringing the fleet up to 5 aircraft (it operates an ATR42-500 and 3 A319s) while it waits for the delivery of its first A320neo.
The A319 seems to be a favourite in Bhutan, with two of the type making up the entire Bhutan Airlines fleet.
And where can you fly to Bhutan from?
There are three destinations that stand out, as they are served by both Bhutanese carriers, the two Indian megalopolis of Delhi and Kolkata, nearby Kathmandu and Bangkok.
Both fly also to three domestic destinations, while Drukair is developing a more extensive international network, with routes also to some smaller Indian cities, to Dakha (Bangladesh) and Singapore.
Big neighbour China is, interestingly, absent from the route network (I ignore whether this is due to commercial or political reasons).
Come 2020, Drukair will start serving also Dubai and Tokyo.which I guess will increase the country’s accessibility quite significantly. Because, who wouldn’t try an airline whose Frequent Flyer Programme is called “My Happiness”?