-TOULOUSE
The most awaited national flag carrier’s first ever Airbus A330-200 is anticipated to touch Nepal’ land on June 27 as per the reference received from NAC officials.
Airbus Media Relation stated Aviation Nepal that aircraft manufacturer will be leased by Nepal Airlines Corporation from Hi Fly by the summer and is scheduled to deliver the first of the two wide-body jets on order on June.
The Airbus has designated 1872 as the Manufacturer serial number for the first and MSN 1878 for the second jet bearing which is scheduled to arrive on July, 2018.
The two 274-seater Airbus A330-200s will be equipped with RAVE Centric, the latest in-seat AVOD in-flight entertainment system and is presently being assembled under the final assembly line in Toulouse, said Airbus.
Two weeks ago, a NAC team including representatives from the financiers Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT) visited the Airbus factory to inspect the aircraft.
One of the team members EPF Director Rajendra Kafle posted on his Facebook page that the Airbus would conduct test flights of the jet bearing MSN 1872 from May 16 and deliver it by June 26
The jetliner is in the final phase of production. Pictures obtained by the Post show that almost all the components including passenger seats, in-flight entertainment and engines have been installed. NAC’s livery has also been painted on the aircraft’s tail.
The two A330-200s, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, will feature a two-class cabin configuration that will seat a total of 274 passengers—18 in business class and 256 in economy class.
The corporation has signed a 12-year total-care-package contract for the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines, including spare engines, if needed. The carrier has borrowed Rs24 billion from the CIT and the EPF to buy the planes.
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.
