The official website of Airbus published, “Hi Fly, a Portuguese airlines specializing in worldwide aircraft wet leasing, has placed its first direct firm order with Airbus for two A330-200s.” The two A330s ordered by the Hi Fly have been expected to be ordered for NAC however; the management committee is yet to confirm it.
The order was made at the Paris Air Show 2017. CEO of Hi Fly said, “This acquisition is part of our strategy to renew our fleet and progressively own all the aircraft we operate. As a loyal Airbus operator we are very much looking forward to the arrival of these new Airbus A330-200s.”
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is expediting the purchase as the foreign company Hi Fly declared that the will deliver aircraft on time. NAC delivered an amount of Rs8 billion to the agent in Germany as a first installment to purchase two wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft on June 26, 2017. The remaining amount will be dispatched a month before taking the delivery.
The sales and purchase agreement for two wide-body Airbus A330-200 was signed by NAC and AAR Corp on April 7, 2017 which became the historic day in Nepali aviation industry. The two A330 jets, expected to arrive in Nepal by May and June 2018, have been offered price of $104.8 million each by AAR Corp.
NAC finalized the loan of Rs24 billion a week before; Rs12 billion each from Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT) to purchase two wide-body aircraft A330-200s. The corporation will pay an interest of 9% each to EPF and CIT until they initiate commercial operation after acquiring two A330s. The loan is expected to be cleared by NAC in a span of 15 years and Nepal Government will act as a guarantee.
Source: airbus.com, ch-aviation.com
