24-30 May 2013 #657

Spreading wings

In a major boost to travel and tourism, Turkish Airlines announced this week that it will be linking Kathmandu directly to Istanbul and beyond from September.

This will be the only direct flight to Europe from Kathmandu and marks the return of major international carriers to Nepal after Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and Transavia discontinued services in the past 15 years.

“This is good for Nepal’s connectivity to the world because Turkish Airlines can now link Kathmandu with 250 destinations worldwide from our Istanbul hub,” said regional General Manager, Adnan Aykac. “We will be the brand ambassador for Nepal’s tourism.”

Turkish will start with four flights a week with departures from Kathmandu at 8:45 AM on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays with the widebody Airbus 330-300 aircraft. The flight will arrive in Istanbul at 1:40pm and passengers can connect to flights to North America, Europe, and Africa. “As the only European carrier operating to and from Kathmandu, we will have the advantage with the added benefits of our huge network,” said Adnan Aykac.

Vroom vroom

Ncell, one of the fastest growing mobile service providers of the country, provided security and logistics equipment to Nepal Police. Ncell CEO Osman Turan handed over 20 motorcycles and safety helmets to Nepal Police along with 11 computer sets and 11,000 traffic bands to Traffic Police. The support aims to strengthen Nepal Police’s capacity to deliver better services, says Ncell.

Sleek ride

Tata Motors has launched its new hatchback Tata Vista D90 in Nepal. Powered by Quadrajet diesel engine, with Variable Geometry Turbocharger (VGT) technology, touch screen multimedia system, and advanced safety features.

Hello Amsterdam

Etihad Airways, national airline of United Arab Emirates has started daily flights to Amsterdam from Abu Dhabi and has commenced partnership with the Dutch national carrier KLM.