Thursday, September 28, 2017

Nepal Airlines to take delivery of last two expected Y12s

Nepal Airlines is shortly taking delivery of its two final Y12E aircraft after securing qualified flight crews. Nepal Airlines has secured three senior pilots, seven co-pilots and an instructor pilot for the Chinese aircraft. A technical team will shortly be dispatched to China to inspect the aircraft ahead of their arrival in Nepal, according ot the national flag carrier.
The NAC had signed an agreement with AVIC International Leasing in 2013 which saw the Chinese firm donate one MA-60 and one Y12E on condition that the carrier take three more Y12Es and one more MA-60 using a Rs 3.72 billion ($35.4 million) soft loan from China's Exim Bank. Nepal Airlines has slowly taken delivery of the promised aircraft, but has complained of their unsuitability for Himalayan terrain.
This June, Nepal delayed delivery of the two remaining Y12Es as it only had one qualified pilot for the type. Once the aircraft are received, they will be deployed along domestic routes which had previously been suspended due to a lack of aircraft.
"Demand for air seats in the domestic sector has grown several-fold due to the poor state of national highways," Nepal Airlines' managing director Sugat Ratna Kansakar said, adding that keeping the planes parked in China is a bad idea. 

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