Thundering Dragons between Nepal and India.
Written: Aug 28 '05 (Updated Aug 28 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent service, good food, clean and new aircraft.
Cons: A bit hard to book.
The Bottom Line: Let's Druk the bottom line
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| vodkaboy's Full Review: Druk Air (Royal Bhutan Airlines) |
In general, there's not that many ways to get to Nepal. However, I was going to be in Delhi so I looked at the schedules from there and found that in fact there are a number of airlines, both Indian and Nepalese, flying between Delhi and Kathmandu.
As I would be there just for a few days I wanted to arrive either in the evening, or early morning. Typically, most flights seemed to be in the middle of the day. However, I saw that Royal Nepal Airlines had an evening flight, so I booked with them.
"I'll be arriving on this flight in the evening," I told some of the people I was going to visit.
"Oh," they said. "Why don't you come with Druk Air in the morning?"
"Who? I didn't see them in the schedules."
"Druk Air, they are very good," I was told. And this by someone who travels the route regularly.
Druk Air? Who the...?
About Druk Air
They are the national airline of The Kingdom of Bhutan, which nestles in the hills to the east of Nepal. Bhutan is known as the "Land of the Thunder Dragon" and the airline has been named Druk Air as "druk" is the Bhutan word for "Dragon". The airline operates from Paro, in Bhutan, via Kathmandu to Delhi. They also operate to Dhaka, Calcutta, Yangon and Bangok. Their fleet consists of two BAe 146 regional jets and two brand new Airbus A319s.
Booking - the first challenge!
My flight out was already booked but I decided to book my return with Druk Air. However, that was initially easier said than done, as their flights cannot be booked through travel agents' computers such as Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre or Worldspan. They can only be booked direct with the airline, or one of their representatives. This sounded suspiciously like a low-cost carrier, but I was assured that they are not.
I thought I might try booking online so had a look for their website but www.drukair.com looked like a low-cost booking engine - not very encouraging. Finally I found them at www.drukair.com.bt. They do offer online booking - send an email to their reservations department! It tells you that if you don't receive a reply within 2-3 days, send a reminder and if you still don't receive a reply, send an email direct to the Managing Director, and gives his email address!
Anyway, I managed to get a reservation through their office in Delhi. The cost of a one way ticket from Kathmandu to Delhi is US$150 in Economy or US$180 for Business.
Check In
The departure time from Kathmandu was 0905 am. I was advised to check in quite early. "No chance," says I, "I'll be there at 8am", which meant leaving the hotel at 0730. Early enough for me!
Check in was quick, once I had gone back out to buy the departure tax which I had been told about but forgotten. I noticed that there was no seat number on the boarding card. "Free Seating in Business," I was told. Mm. It's one of these things that can work well or not.I'm not sure if it is free seating on all flights, or just Kathmandu to Delhi as it is the second sector, and maybe the computer is not smart enough to not allocate seats that have been occupied by someone going from Paro through to Delhi.
I then discovered why they advised early check in: security is very tight and, after the security check and X-Ray, all hand baggage is manually searched. The search was very thorough, he even flicked through my business card holder, but they were also very polite with it and took care to put things back where they were from. From there it was off to board the plane, a sparkling new Airbus A319.
Boarding and Departure
When I got on board, about 1/3 of the Business Class seats were taken. A stewardess welcomed everyone at the door and she offered me a window seat in the front row on the right hand side, which I happily took.
The seating configuration was the same as most decent airlines on this type of aircraft, two seats either side of the aisle. The seats were comfortable enough for a 90 minute flight.
As soon as I had settled, I was offered a glass of juice or water. By thirty minutes before departure time, everyone was on board and we were off, nice and early.
In Flight
After take off, the service began quickly. The crew served a full, cooked breakfast which consisted of a choice of fresh yoghurt which was thick and creamy, and warm croissants and rolls with butter and a choice of jams. This was followed by a hot omlette with fresh carrots and fries, and finished off with slice of sponge cake. This was served with juice, tea or coffee and more tea and coffee was offered afterwards.
After the meal trays had been cleared away (and one or two dropped, judging by the sounds from the galley!), the crew handed out comment forms, inviting us to give comments on any aspect of the service, from check in to on board. I got chatting briefly with the steward, asked him a bit about Druk Air, and he gave me a nice new Druk Air pen to complete the form with, which he told me to keep.
I had a browse through the inflight magazine, "Tashi Delek", which had a number of interesting articles: a description of a flight through the Himalayas, an article about some of the wooden bridges in Bhutan, a feature on Rajasthan in India, a story about Bhutanese dzongs, fortresses built from wood without using any nails, and an article about Bhutanese butterflies - quite a wide variety, with everyone bound to find something of interest. There was also plenty of information about Bhutan, festivals and customs, and of course information about Druk Air. Overall, quite impressive for a small airline with just half a dozen routes.
As we started descending in towards Delhi, the Captain made an announcement with some information about the flight and about the weather in Delhi. The crew distributed refreshing hot towels and sweets. Then there we were.
Service
The stewardess was pleasant and seemed genuinely warm and welcoming, with a quiet, calm manner and a soft smile. The steward also was pleasant, friendly, and perhaps a little more outgoing. They both looked good and really seemed to make the effort to be welcoming and hospitable and they both spoke good English.
As we disembarked, both the steward and stewardess were by the door, saying goodbye, thanking everyone for flying with Druk Air and wishing everyone a good day. For the first time in many flights, I felt they meant it!
Summary
An excellent flight and, next time I go to Nepal, I will certainly try to fly with them. If you have to go via somewhere to get to Kathmandu, it's worth going via Delhi, or Bangkok, to fly with them.
Having read a little about Bhutan I am also going to try to visit there for a few days when I can. If the Druk Air crew are representative of the country, I am sure it will be a very pleasant experience.
Recommended:
Yes
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vodkaboy
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