All carriers currently operating scheduled domestic flights in Nepal under CAAN, ranked by market share/network size. Fleet and route counts shift often in this market — verify against each airline's live schedule before publishing fares.
1. Buddha Air — Market Leader
- Founded: 1997 | Base: Kathmandu (KTM)
- Market share: ~60% of domestic passengers — by far Nepal's largest carrier
- Fleet: ATR 72-500, ATR 42-320, Beechcraft 1900D (~16+ aircraft)
- Network: ~43 domestic routes to 14–15 destinations, plus a cross-border flight to Varanasi, India
- Key destinations: Pokhara, Bharatpur, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, Bhadrapur, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi, Janakpur, Simara, Surkhet, Tumlingtar
- Positioning: best on-time performance and safety record of any Nepali carrier; only domestic airline with its own Part 145–certified maintenance hangar; also runs Everest scenic mountain flights
- Site tag: default/recommended airline on most trunk routes
2. Yeti Airlines — #2 Trunk Carrier + Leading STOL Operator
- Base: Kathmandu (Tilganga)
- Market share: ~25%, ~70 daily flights
- Fleet: ATR 72-500s (trunk routes) plus DHC-6-300 Twin Otters (STOL routes)
- Network: connects Kathmandu with Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Pokhara, Simara, Janakpur, Biratnagar, Bhadrapur, and mountain flights
- Distinguishing strength: the leading operator into demanding STOL airstrips — Lukla, Phaplu, Simikot, Jomsom, Rumjatar
- Note: operates under the Yeti Airlines brand (formerly linked with Tara Air under the same group)
- Site tag: default airline for mountain/trekking-airport route pages alongside Tara Air and Summit Air
3. Shree Airlines
- Market share: ~15%
- Fleet: Bombardier regional jets — CRJ-200ER, CRJ-700, Dash 8 Q400 (~7 aircraft)
- Network: Kathmandu to Pokhara plus Terai (lowland) cities
- Positioning: jet/turboprop mix gives a smoother ride on trunk routes than smaller turboprop-only carriers; up to ~26 daily flights
4. Saurya Airlines
- Founded: 2014
- Fleet: CRJ-200 regional jets
- Network: ~5 domestic destinations, including Kathmandu–Biratnagar and Kathmandu–Nepalgunj
- Positioning: smaller jet operator, growing steadily on trunk Terai routes
5. Tara Air
- Sister brand of Yeti Airlines, focused on remote/STOL operations
- Fleet: Twin Otter and Dornier 228 aircraft suited to short, high-terrain runways
- Key routes: Pokhara–Jomsom, and other mountain airstrips where larger aircraft can't operate
- Site tag: essential airline to list on any Mustang/Annapurna-region route page
6. Summit Air
- Fleet: Twin Otter / Let L-410 turboprops
- Key routes: STOL specialist alongside Tara Air and Simrik Air — Jomsom, Simikot, and other mountain airstrips
- Positioning: private charter and scheduled remote-area service
7. Sita Air
- Fleet: Dornier Do228s (expansion toward ATR 72-500s has been discussed but not consistently realized)
- Focus: remote-area/STOL operator serving mountain districts
- Note: smaller, niche operator — schedule reliability should be flagged as variable
8. Guna Airlines (formerly Simrik Airlines)
- Founded: 2009; rebranded to Simrik Airlines 2013–2021, then reverted to Guna Airlines
- Base: Kathmandu (KTM)
- Fleet: Beechcraft 1900C and BAe Jetstream 41 (19-seat regional turboprops)
- Network: Simara, Bharatpur, Janakpur, Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Tumlingtar, Pokhara, Surkhet
- Also offers: scenic Everest mountain flights, charters, air-ambulance/medevac service
- Caution for the site: Guna Airlines has a history of CAAN groundings over unpaid crew salaries and outstanding airport fees (most recently flagged in 2024–2025). Flag schedule reliability rather than treating it as a guaranteed daily option.
9. Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) — State Carrier
- Status: Nepal's flag carrier, but its domestic operation has shrunk sharply since the 2010s
- Fleet: a small number of aging Twin Otters (35+ years old); most of its Chinese-built Y-12/MA60 aircraft have been grounded for years
- Network: a handful of STOL routes into remote airfields where private carriers have gaps
- Positioning: minor player domestically today — most searchers land on NAC only for specific remote routes, not as a primary booking choice
Quick-Reference Table
| Airline | Est. Market Share | Fleet Type | Specialty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buddha Air | ~60% | ATR 72/42, Beechcraft 1900D | Trunk routes, safety leader |
| Yeti Airlines | ~25% | ATR 72, Twin Otter | Trunk + STOL leader |
| Shree Airlines | ~15% | CRJ-200/700, Dash 8 Q400 | Jet comfort on trunk routes |
| Saurya Airlines | Small, growing | CRJ-200 | Terai routes |
| Tara Air | STOL specialist | Twin Otter, Dornier 228 | Mountain airstrips (Jomsom, etc.) |
| Summit Air | STOL specialist | Twin Otter, L-410 | Mountain airstrips + charter |
| Sita Air | Niche | Dornier 228 | Remote-area STOL |
| Guna Airlines | Niche | Beechcraft 1900C, Jetstream 41 | Terai routes, mountain flights — variable reliability |
| Nepal Airlines Corp. | Minimal | Aging Twin Otters | Legacy remote routes |
For the Website
- Trunk routes (Kathmandu ↔ Pokhara/Bharatpur/Biratnagar/Nepalgunj/Bhairahawa/etc.): lead with Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, and Shree Airlines as the primary comparison set
- STOL/mountain routes (Lukla, Jomsom, Simikot, Phaplu, Rara, Dolpa, Taplejung): lead with Tara Air, Summit Air, Yeti Airlines, and Sita Air
- Reliability disclaimer worth standardizing across route pages: smaller carriers (Guna, Sita) have had CAAN-flagged financial or safety issues in recent years — worth a light-touch "verify current operator" note rather than omitting them, since they still fly real capacity on routes bigger airlines don't cover
- Airline market share, fleet size, and even which carriers are actively flying can shift within a season — treat the ranking above as directional, and pull live schedules per route rather than hard-coding "X airline flies this route" site-wide