On August 8, Tibet Airlines opened a direct flight from Chengdu to Kathmandu, becoming another Airline that opened direct flight from Chengdu to Kathmandu after Air China International Corp., which offers more travel options for tourists.
Although both Airlines' airplanes for this route are A319, Tibet airlines' direct flight to Kathmandu is more "time-saving" than that of Air China. The flight time of Chengdu-Kathmandu direct flight of Air China is 3 hours and 15 minutes, while that of Tibet Airlines is only 2 hours and 25 minutes, shortened by 50 minutes.
Why is there such a big difference in the flight time on the same route? In this regard, relevant person in charge of Tibet Airlines explains that the direct flight route of Tibet Airlines to Kathmandu is almost a straight line which starts from Chengdu, passes through Ganzi, north of Changdu and Lhasa, and then arrives at Kathmandu, while the direct flight route of Air China needs to fly around Kunming; the flight time of Tibet Airlines is less due to the shorter flight route.
Although both Air China and Tibet Airlines' flights to Kathmandu are direct flights, the prices of the two flights are quite different, nearly RMB500 in difference.
Though direct flights from Chengdu to Kathmandu will fly over Mount Everest, the top of the world and passengers can enjoy the magnificent scene of layer upon layer of peaks and knolls of the Himalayas in good weather, since the departure time of Tibet Airlines' direct flight is 6:15 p.m. in the evening and it takes about an hour and a half for the flight flying westward to reach the Mount Everest, when the flight reaches Mount Everest, the local time is about 7:30 p.m., and since the place where Mount Everest is located has late sunset, there's a chance for passengers to see golden mountains in sunshine and enjoy the snow mountain scenery of Mount Everest in sunset afterglow.
The Chengdu-Kathmandu direct flight of Air China is on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday every week, with the departure time being Beijing time 8:40 a.m., while that of Tibet Airlines is on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday every week, with the departure time being Beijing time 6:15 p.m. One bathes in sunrise glow, and the other in sunset afterglow.
Tips:
1. In order to have the best viewing position for Mount Everest, no matter taking direct flight of Air China or Tibet Airlines, it is recommended to choose right side seat when flying from Chengdu, preferably by the window, to have a panoramic view of the snow mountain. Similarly, when returning from Kathmandu, it is recommended to choose left side seat.
2. If you want to take photos of Mount Everest on the plane, you'd better prepare a professional camera, after all, there is a certain distance between the plane and Mount Everest. Whether you can take the golden sunshine and the snow-white spectacular of Mount Everest in one photo depends on your equipment and your photography technology.
3. For Taiwanese tourists travelling to Nepal, if they want to travel to Tibet, they need to go to other cities in mainland China before getting to Tibet. In such case, Chengdu is the best transit point for them, and this direct flight of Tibet Airlines provides more choices for them.
Published on August 16, 2017, last updated on December 30, 2019.
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