Flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is unable to pay installment of airbus aircraft for month of Chaitra.
NAC bought two Airbus 330 wide-body aircraft and 2 A320 narrow-body aircraft taking loan from Citizen Investment Fund and Employees Provident Fund.
The corporation purchased 4 aircraft at 37.58 billion rupees and had agreed to pay principal and interest in every 3 months for 15 years. The corporation has to pay around 1.13 billion in every installment.
The corporation has also not fully paid installment of Poush as well. The corporation has only paid 440 million and is preparing to pay installment out of total earning only.
The corporation had previously asked around 20 billion from Government to repay the installment but government had denied. The corporation is again requested around 5 billion and is in meeting with corporation as well as other lender.
The corporation has been unable to pay the installment as it is unable to operate its aircraft according to pre-made plan. Most loss is being incurred from wide-body as the corporation is unable to operate the aircraft in long-haul route and is operating them in same old short destination.
The corporation has also been unable to expand its destination so as to operate in full capacity.
The corporation has been operating flights to Delhi, Bangalore, Bombay, Kuala lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Doha in international sector with its 4 Airbus aircraft and the corporation can add flights to those sector to increase flight. However, one official from the corporation stated that adding flight will decrease flights of international carrier making loss of those carrier. Thus, the corporation has not added flights in existing sector.
Now the corporation is looking to add new destination and the flight to Japan is almost certain. The flight to Japan is also set to enhance in financial part of the company and will add some more destination thereafter.
NAC currently operates international flights with two Airbus A320s and two Airbus A330s. The corporation has already retired its only left vintage Boeing 757. Boeing 757 ‘9N-ACB’ Gandaki, after 31 years of service was retired around last week by the airline so as to focus the airline only in Airbus fleet. The airline is expected to go in tender process to sell the aircraft.
The carrier’s international network includes routes from Kathmandu to Doha (Qatar), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand) and Dubai as well to Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai (India).
Wide-body A330s are intended to operate long haul flights so the corporation is eyeing destinations such as Japan.
