I rarely get to fly on a new carrier, let alone two in one day. But after a smooth flight to Bangkok on Bangkok Airways, I connected to Kathmandu on Nepal Airlines onboard an A330-200 in business class.
Nepal Airlines A330-200 Business Class Review
I purchased the tickets directly on the airline website for $433.60 one-way, a fair price for a lie-flat seat on the 3.5 hour journey. Nepal Airlines does not (appear to) have its own loyalty program.
After checking, I visited the Oman Air and Turkish Airlines Lounge, both Priority Pass lounges rather than the lounge for premium cabin passengers on Nepal Airlines.
It was only when our flight was delayed that I visited the Mircale Lounge, the contracted lounge for business class guests located directly adjacent to the gate. The flight was delayed because the inbound flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok had departed late.
We finally boarded about 60 minutes behind schedule.
Nepal Airlines 402
Bangkok (BKK) – Kathmandu (KTM)
Monday, March 27
Depart: 6:25 PM
Arrive: 8:25 PM
Duration: 3hr, 30min
Distance: 1,383 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Seat: 1H (Business Class)
Onboard, I was greeted by two flight attendants and ushered into the business class cabin.
Seat
Business class includes 18 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration and will look familiar for those who fly on Turkish Airlines. It is the same seat, which always stirs emotions. Yes, there is little privacy and no direct aisle access for those with window seats.
But I do like these seats because your feet are not constrained in a small compartment. In the lie-flat mode, I find these seats quite comfortable for lounging and sleeping and when you are traveling with a companion and able to score two seats on the side, you have a lot of room to spread out and can easily converse.
Seats are controlled by a series of eight buttons and a preferred position can be locked into memory and then recalled on-demand.
On the side of the seat is a passenger service unit and a universal power outlet.
Each business class seat also had personal storage under the built-in ottoman which is large enough for a bag the size of your purse or for your shoes.
The cabin was very clean…just spotless.
Bedding included branded pillows and blankets that would not have been ideal for a longhaul flight, but were sufficient for the three-hour journey to Nepal.
IFE + Wi-Fi
There was no wi-fi onboard. Each seat had a seatback screen with a selection of Hollywood, Bollywood, and Nepalse movies plus music, TV shows, and games. The Hollywood movies appeared dated.
Noise-cancelling headphones were offered.
I had to chuckle at the safety video…the no smoking part was hilarious.
Food + Drink
After being seated, we were welcomed again and offered a pre-departure beverage.
Nepal Airlines is a dry airline…there was no bubbles pre-departure and no alcohol in the air. One of the flight attendants told us that this was to control passenger behavior, which makes some sense considering all the onboard alcohol-related incidents we report on Live And Let’s Fly, but also can be seen as simply a veiled cost-cutting measure.
After takeoff, tables were set for dinner and a packet of peanuts was offered with another beverage.
Dinner was served and it was quite delicious. The first course included a fennel salad with salmon and dill. On the side: crackers and cheese, a bread roll, and a tart topped with sliced fruit.
There were no menus, but the main course was Thai rice with white fish in green curry sauce and fried Thai zucchini with egg.
It was a delicious meal…very spicy, but a very Thai dish that filled me up.
My friend had a beef curry dish (and liked it).
To conclude the meal, I had a cup of coffee… which was powdered.
One odd aspect of the service was that the crew ran out of tea cups quickly…my friend’s coffee was served in a paper cup.
Lavatories
The cabin includes two lavatories in the very front of the aircraft near the flight deck door. The one I used was clean and included amenities like Listerine, aftershave lotion, skin moisturizer, and eua de toilette.
Service
Although perhaps initially fearful of my cabin photography (or at least confused), the flight crew was wonderful and aside from the questionable defense over the lack of alcohol, were charming and attentive. I loved the uniforms and it appeared the entire flight crew was Nepalese.
Safety
Nepal Airlines is banned from the European Union and USA over safety concerns. As we’ve seen, even recently, there is certainly the appearance that aviation safety standards in Nepal may not be as high. That said, I generally do not factor that in when making a decision on which airline to fly and found the spotless cabin a good sign that Nepal Airlines does take safety seriously (although not necessarily related, when cabins are dirty, you wonder what other corners are being cut…)
CONCLUSION
We deplaned via stairs at Tribhuvan International Airport…it is always exciting to step foot in a new country for the first time!
A greeter met us, obtained our visa on arrival, and we were soon on our way out.
I was thrilled to fly on a new carrier and enjoyed the flight on Nepal Airlines. Comparatively, this carrier has nothing on any of the Gulf carriers concerning onboard food and beverages as well as seats. Even so, it is always charming to fly on a flag carrier, and I would not hesitate to do so.
No alcohol but they serve beef? That doesn’t seem very Nepali to me.
@matthew, two things about airline catering that I have never understood (maybe you know).
1) why are so many bread rolls in premium cabins served in their plastic wrapper? Is it really cheaper to not have the rolls plated in the gallery?
2) why is the fruit on airlines always cut in that shape? I have never seen a land based restaurant serve fruit cut in that halfmoon shape.
Great questions, especially the fruit thing. No idea!
Interested traveller, Rolls are often wrapped to prevent loss of moisture at altitude. The fruit half moons lengthen the freshness ( opposed to smaller cuts ) and are also often used at buffets. ( I enrolled in a fruit cutting course at the M. Oriental in Bangkok where carving fruit is an impressive skill I will unfortunately never master ).
What are your thoughts on the “visa” process. Going to Kathmandu next summer. Any advice or tips I should be aware of as a US citizen when going through the tourist visa procedure? Did you do anything ahead of time or just did it all on arrival?
I just did it on arrival (though my friend hired a meet and greet and that helped).
Isn’t one supposed to be a homosexual first in order to become a flight/hotel reviewers.
No.
You’re quite the smart one. Grow up!
Looks like a good product for shorter flights.
Just a question – you mention that there were no menus but there were choices? Do you know if there were just those two or maybe there was a vegetarian option? Just wondering because I will be taking the same flight rather soon.
“Fish or beef” were the choices. No further explanation given.