-KATHMANDU
The Board of Directors of the state owned flag carrier, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has approved its principle strategic plan on Saturday for the procurement of two narrow body jet Airbus A320neo (new engine option) aircraft.
Managing Director for NAC, Mr. Sugat Ratna Kansakar stated, “The board has approved to procure two A320neo aircraft and we have already initiated our documentations work for the bidding.” The documentations work is anticipated to accomplish by a month, he added.
The carrier has planned to buy the two narrow body jets with the financing from Employees Provident Fund. As per the 2017 price list from the official website Airbus, the approximate cost for an A320neo aircraft is US$108.4 million.
The baseline A320neo jetliner has a choice of two new-generation engines (the PurePower PW1100G-JM from Pratt and Whitney and the LEAP-1A from CFM International) and features large, fuel-saving wingtip devices known as Sharklets.
NAC had signed the final purchase agreement for two Airbus A330-200 long-range jets from US-based AAR Corp on April, last year with the $209.6-million contract was the largest-ever jet purchase deal in Nepal’s aviation history by borrowing Rs24 billion from the Citizen Investment Trust and the EPF to buy the planes.
The first of the two brand new Airbus A330 is anticipated to join its base at Tribhuvan International Airport on June 28, according to NAC who will be receiving the second one on July.
