Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) who has already delivered an installment of USD 40 Million to AAR Crop US based aircraft leasing company to purchase two wide-body Airbus A330s aircraft is currently working in the process to land its first wide-body aircraft in Kathmandu.
Mr. Ravindra Prasad Shrestha, Spokesperson of Nepal Airlines reported that the airline has already 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 by the span of 15 years where Ministry of Finance is acting guarantee body.
Flag Carrier is more likely to bring its first A330s aircraft by April next year and is currently working in the process, added Shrestha. As been reported by him NAC has to pay USD 104 Million for each aircraft but the amount can escalate up to USD 110 Million per aircraft.
The remaining amount will be paid one month prior from receiving the aircraft 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.
The first aircraft out two is currently being manufactured at Airbus Aircraft Manufacturing Plant in Hamburg, Germany and is likely to land in Kathmandu by April 2018. The aircraft manufacturer has already listed Nepal Airlines order on their official website.
