I’m looking for any info on flying from the California preferably LAX to Kathmandu. What airlines do you recommend and do you have a preferred route. She is concerned about where she has a layover or has to change planes. It would be a young adult woman traveling alone. Also is the airport reasonably safe if you arrive at 11 pm at night. This is someone who has travel a lot but is nervous about arriving in a strange city after what might be several days of travel with layovers. She will be meeting up with some others but not till the next day.
No personal experience traveling there but I do know Emirates flies there and it is a very good airline, although not usually the cheapest. Most of their flights connect through Dubai which is an efficient and safe airport.
You’ll need to weigh cost/layover times vs. other factors that are important to you and her.
As far as arriving late at night, I’d consider arranging for a reputable private car service to meet her at the airport.
The forums on Fodors can be helpful for getting location specific travel advice from those who are locals or who have plenty of first hand knowledge.
Avoid flying through Dehli, if you can. The airports in Bangkok or Beijing are nicer, there aren’t any of the visa issues you get in India.
Another idea: On the return trip, book a flight with a LONG layover (12+ hours) and go into the city. Both Bangkok and Beijing offer “layover” tours. That’s what I did returning from Kathmandu a year ago. I went into Bangkok for dinner, and spent a day on a private tour of Beijing. I may never again fly internationally without long layovers somewhere interesting!
Also: be sure to bring a couple of days’ worth of clothes in your carry-on luggage. For some reason suitcases go temporarily missing on many flights into Kathmandu. Don’t know why… but on my trip last year my traveling companion’s luggage arrived 3 days after she did; same thing happened to my husband on another trip and one of my kids when they traveled to Nepal. (Everyone got their suitcases back… it just took a bit. Frustrating & a hassle.)
My daughter went to Nepal a few years ago, through Turkey. They had a long layover on the way over and I think did go into the city. One the way back, they had too short a layover and missed the connection. It was Christmas Eve, so had to wait 24 hours and get the same flight the next day. I really don’t know if they went into the city again, just that it was a long trip home.
They are going again next Friday and I know they are going through Guangzhou (I requested they not go through Turkey this time). They can’t leave the airport in Guangzhou because they did not get Chinese visas.
Thanks for the tips. Turkish Air is the cheapest but I don’t want her having a long layover there. @twoinanddone I think the route through Guangzhou is on China Southern. She worked in China after college and prefers to skip the Chinese carriers if possible. She is strongly considering going on Cathay Pacific. She has flown them and they are a good airline and She knows Hong Kong airport. The drawback is that the flight gets her into Kathmandu at 10 pm. Other options are Qatar or Eritad or Emirates.
Is there any chance Cathay Pacific would give her a night in the HK airport, and then fly out in the am for Kathmandu? The adjacent hotel is fine and not overly expensive. I stayed there last summer to break up a return trip from Bangkok and get a little time in Hong Kong on the way home.
I’ve never flown into Kathmandu but I have flown out of it, through Bangkok to LAX. I’d recommend at least a couple days in Bangkok.
^^^ An American citizen can get a free 72 hour visa on arrival in Guangzhou
Bangkok requires an additional stop. Her options with one stop are Emirates, Qatar, China Southern or Cathay Pacific. Cathay Pacific is looking to be more expensive tithe others. All require a minimum of an 8 hour layover. Am I over thinking a single woman flying on Emirates or Qatar?
She is limited on her time so won’t have time to see anything on a stopover.
They are both widely used international airlines. A friend was an Emirates flight attendant based in Dubai. They are very highly rated. I would have no problem with me or my Ds on either. But how does she feel?
She stresses about making decisions but is fine once she makes them. She will be fine whatever way she ends up going but needs to go through the process. I mainly just listen.
“Am I over thinking a single woman flying on Emirates or Qatar?”
Yes.
My daughter has flown on Emirates a few times without issues. As the news headlines remind us, a woman faces risks of harassment here at home as well.
It is a great airline, highly rated. It is about the only airline that has food she’ll actually eat. 
8 hours in Hong Kong does give some time to take the train to the city, do some stuff there, and take the train back: https://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/transport/to-from-airport/airport-express.html
There is a baggage storage in HKG airport: https://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/passenger/departure/all/baggage/left-baggage.html
(Prices are in HK$, which are about 7.8 per US$.)
What time of day is the layover in Hong Kong? I fly in to HKG every other month or so, often as transit with an 8 hour or more layover. My preference is to not leave the airport, going through immigration, security, then repeating the process on the return. So, I stay in the airport. Sadly, the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge closes between 2 AM and 5 AM. So, I have joined a number of others sleeping in the gate area outside one of the Lounges. Never a concern with safety although I do keep my purse and carry-on straps wrapped around my wrists or legs. I understand your D knows the airport, I just wanted to confirm that there’s no safety issue hanging out. I have also found Cathay to be quite a fine carrier from the US and every where else I’ve taken it in Asia.
P.S. I love CC posters and this board! Where else can you get such helpful info on flying to, of all places, Kathmandu?? (Don’t tell me Flyer Talk - the info may be there but the posters are often too snarky for my taste.)
I have no experience or advice, but just reading the thread title has got that Bob Seger song stuck in my head :))
I’m not sure about what time of day the layover is in Hong Kong. I know some of the layovers are night till early am so most likely just trying to sleep in the airport.
I’m spending some time with her today and I’ll have a chance to help her process her options,
We flew from the east coast to Kathmandu via Doha (Qatar Airways). We were delayed by more than a day in both directions (weather on the outbound, delays/cancellations on the return) but despite re-routing and the delays, our luggage made it fine. Our flight from KTM to Doha was inexplicably cancelled, but they put us up in a nice hotel for the night in Kathmandu. The next day, we had, of course, missed our flight from Doha to Philadelphia. It took about six hours of arguing (the friendly but clueless service counter guy kept insisting that we were already on the plane that had departed, even though we were standing in front of him), but they finally put us up for the night in Doha, which gave us a chance to see the city – well worth it. Overall, Qatar Airways was great, as long as you can be flexible.
“the friendly but clueless service counter guy kept insisting that we were already on the plane that had departed, even though we were standing in front of him” – LOL. And yet, I totally believe it