A brand new Airbus A330s aircraft is currently being manufactured for Nepal Airlines in Airbus manufacturing plant in Hamburg, Germany.
Mr. Saugat Ratna Kansakar, Managing Director of Nepal Airlines reported Aviationnepal that the first A330s aircraft which is scheduled to arrive Kathmandu in April 2018 is currently under production in Germany. The second aircraft is planned to land Nepal by May next year, he added.
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) had delivered an installment of USD 40 Million to AAR Crop on August to purchase two wide-body Airbus A330s aircraft.
The flag carrier of Nepal is purchasing the aircraft from HI Fly Company of Portugal the owner of the aircraft through ARR Crop of United States the supplying agent.
NAC has dispatched USD 40 Million for acquiring A330s with the approval of Ministry of tourism and finance along with the monetary support of Reserve Bank of Nepal, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT) Nepal.
In return to the investment received from EPF and CIT, NAC will pay an interest of 9% each to both the organization until the initiation of the commercial operation from acquired two A330s. Flag carrier also plans to pay back the credited loan amount within the span of 15 years duration where Ministry of Finance is acting guarantee body.
Each Airbus A330s for NAC will cost USD 104 Million but the amount may get escalated up to USD 110 Million.
Remaining amount will be paid one month prior from aircraft arrival by NAC. AAR Corp the wide-body aircraft supplier has already provided flag carrier with the aircraft’s slot number of brand new Airbus A330s aircraft.
The sales and purchase agreement for two wide-body Airbus A330-200s was signed by NAC and AAR Corp on April 7, 2017, becoming a historic event for NAC and Nepali aviation industry. HI Fly Company based in Lisbon, Portugal is the current owner of both the factory made wide-body jet aircraft and NAC will be acquiring both aircraft from the company through the agreement made with AAR Crop.
Similarly, officials from flag carrier have invited delegates from HI Fly Company to have a meeting about the technical discussion of the aircraft. Delegates from HI Fly will arrive Kathmandu by next week, Kansakar reported.
NAC has announced to increase flight frequencies to major destinations like Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Doha. Also, it has planned to launch flight operation to four new long-haul routes namely Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Dammam (Saudi Arabia) and Sydney (Australia) after the arrival of A330s aircraft.
