Despite having a wider reach than NAC, the Department of Postal Services took this decision as Thai Airways no longer had a regular flight service to Kathmandu since 2020.

Due to the irregular flight service of Thai Airways, the department signed an agreement with NAC designating the carrier as the official transport for international communications.

The department’s Director-General Aabha Shreshta Karna and NAC General Manager Dim Paudel signed the agreement, which will take effect from July 1.

Both the officials concurred that the deal would save millions of rupees that the Department of Postal Services paid to the Thai airline.

While NAC has been assigned to transport messages and packages to the world, Air India will continue to be Nepal’s messenger to India alone.

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The national flag carrier has grounded the Y12e and MA60 aircraft since July last year as these were allegedly causing losses, reported Kathmandu Post.

In 2012, Nepal Airlines signed an agreement with Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) to acquire six aircraft – two MA60s and four Y12es.

Under this deal, China offered grant and concessional loan of $62.13m (CNY408m) for the six airplanes.

Out of $62.13m, a grant of $27.4m (CNY180m) was given by China for one 56-seater MA60 and one 17-seater Y12e aircraft, while the remaining amount was taken as loan by Nepal to procure one MA60 and three Y12e airplanes.

The carrier plans to initially invite offers from national and international bidders to dry lease the aircraft but will go ahead with the sale if there are no takers.

Kathmandu Post quoted Nepal Airlines managing director Dim Prasad Poudel as saying: “Out of the two options recommended by the Finance Ministry—dry lease or outright sale—Nepal Airlines will try the first one.

“We have constituted a committee to determine the lease rate. The panel will submit a report within a week, and we will show it to the board for its go-ahead.”

As of now, only five of the six aircraft are functional and one requires maintenance after crashed landing on the runway of Nepalgunj Airport on 28 March 2020.

The carrier stated that it incurred financial losses due to various reasons including load penalties, insurance, scarcity of spare parts, expensive parts, etc.

Source: Aerospace Technology

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The Ethiopian Ambassador to Nepal Asfaw Dingamo Kame has reportedly proposed a deal with Nepal Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari to sign a strategic alliance with NAC, in a meeting in Kathmandu last week.

This deal with NAC comes as part of the African airlines’ strategy to set up multiple hubs beyond its region. As an owner of a fleet that accommodates 108 aircraft, Ethiopian Airlines is currently serving 125 international and domestic destinations.

The latest news also gains significance in view of Adhikari’s recent update to Nepal Parliament about government’s plans for a strategic alliance with a foreign aviation partner.

However, details about the deal are yet to be officially announced.

“We need to sign an air service agreement first to form a partnership to invest in Nepal Airlines. We can also start with a code share agreement,” Ambassador Kame said in a statement.

A Strategic Move
The latest proposal is Nepal Government decade-long wish to bring in a foreign aviation partner for NAC and is coming at a time when the Nepal Government is also planning to revamp NAC into a company before signing a deal with foreign partner.

On the other hand, the Finance Ministry has already recommended induction of the foreign strategic partner with maximum benefits to NAC under the partnership.

Tourism entrepreneur and a former member of NAC Ashok Pokhrel feels that the foreign alliance will add to the brand value of NAC and also supports it financially.

“We have been hearing for a long time that the government is inducting a foreign strategic partner at NAC. The plan, however, has remained on paper only. But it’s not too late. The government should act promptly before the airline is put into financial stress,” Ashok Pokhrel said in a statement.

“At a time when NAC has been facing criticism for its failure to assure quality and efficiency, a strategic partner, if it is a globally reputed company, can help the carrier to win business globally,” he adds.

Nepal-Ethiopia Ties Growing!
Kame also held discussions with Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali regarding Nepal-Ethiopia partnership in forming a bilateral consultative mechanism and carrying out a parliamentary exchange program, among other areas.

Speaking to local media, the Ethiopian official explained that the two countries haven’t exchanged much in partnership since they established diplomatic ties in 1964.

However, the bilateral partnership gained momentum with the establishment of Ethiopia’s honorary consul in Nepal in 2015.

Ethiopia has also urged Nepal to establish its residential mission in the capital Addis Ababa, the area that also hosts the Secretariat of the African Union.

The Background
Nepal Government initiated this plan to bring in a foreign partner in 2007 with an aim to handover NAC’s management to that strategic partner.

Prior to that, the then Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) had invited experts from Air France in 1970 as part of a program to improve NAC management. And, the partnership gave RNAC its first jet, Boeing 727.

Later in 2015, nearly 21 foreign firms applied Letter of Intents (LoIs) to offer world-class management consultancy services to NAC, but the plan didn’t work out.

Later in 2016, the government invited request for proposals from renowned carriers from US, UK, France, Germany and Australia, and only one carrier turned out with Rs688.67 million worth proposal.

Then the Finance Ministry turned it down and then decided to a set up a fresh committee, which again failed with the government pitching for ‘multiple modality options’ before sealing the deal.

While officials are of the view that the deal should be held on a global competition, Ethiopia proposed it under government-to-government procedure.

Now, its government’s turn to react in an appropriate way!

The post Africa’s Largest Air Carrier Proposes Deal with Nepal Airlines appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

And what’s more? It will be offering a huge take-home in terms of remuneration, luring foreign pilots to its airbases!

The Risk of Running Out
Currently, the shortage of pilots can jeopardize NAC’s plans for flying its new planes.

This is especially an issue of concern as the corporation continues to experience pilots shortage despite the continuous addition of air transport to its airbase.

Kansakar seconds this when he says that even though NAC has 116 pilots, it still falls short of 28 pilots.

“The deficit may rise as we have planned to add at least 10 planes—two A320neo, six Twin Otter and two medium-sized aircraft to serve domestic trunk route sector,” he said during a press conference.

“It will be a temporary hiring until we produce our own captains,” says Sugat Ratna Kansakar, NAC Managing Director .

“We don’t have any option as pilots are not available in the domestic market,” he added speaking about the current situation.

An Attractive Package!
On July 11, 2018, Kansakar revealed that the organization may reward the foreign pilots with a pay package of USD 18,000 and co-pilots with USD 12,000 to ride its ‘wide-body’ addition Airbus A330 jet. This amount is three times more than what the airline corporation is paying its existing pilots.

At present, NAC is recruiting three foreign captains for its A320 jets following which, they will be paid USD 15,000 every month.

Procurement of Additional Flights and Recruitment of Crew
The corporation has already got its first Airbus A330 jet and is expecting the second one’s arrival anytime in the following three weeks. For this, it will start looking for 12 captains and 12 co-pilots.

“All these 24 pilots will be hired from foreign countries,” says Kansakar.

The corporation has expressed that it will need eight captains to fly four ‘Made in China’ Y12e aircraft.

Related Plans
The corporation has also revealed its plans for separating its domestic operations from international ones.

“We have been receiving complaints from all sides that the national flag carrier doesn’t seem interested to fly its domestic aircraft. Hence, we are splitting the operation into two entities that will be managed separately,” says Kansakar.

Among its old flights, the corporation has sold one of its two Boeing 757s and plans to sell its second flight by next year.

It also plans on selling its 40-year Twin Otter. “In the next two years, we will have all new planes in our fleet,” says Kansakar.

NAC Strategic Shift to Draw ‘Big’ From Tourism
With major shift driving profits from tourism, NAC plans to procure two new wide-body-aircrafts and move its focus to high-end tourists from migrant workers which is the current trend.

Managing Director Kansakar explains this when he says, “We are planning to expand our service to various developing and developed countries with an aim to service high-end tourists.”

Amidst the hullabaloo concerning Visit Nepal Year 2020, NAC is also preparing to back the government’s aim of bringing two million nations to the country by 2020.

Revealing this decision in his address to the media, Kansakar said that it is NAC’s duty to support the government’s aim of bringing in more high-end tourists from other countries.

“Currently we are only flying to India, some Middle-East destinations and other comparatively cheaper destinations,” Kansakar says.

Since the European Union has also lifted the ban on Nepal aircraft, Kanaskar told media that NAC will now religiously work on resuming flights to Europe.

“We believe that restarting direct flights to Europe will go a long way in bringing in high-value tourists to Nepal,” he says.

“Currently we are only flying to India, some Middle-East destinations and other comparatively cheaper destinations,” added Kansakar.

In June 2018, the Nepal government signed ‘air pacts’ with Japan to renew its air ties with the country and provide more window for flights operating between both the nations. Currently, it is in talks with Australia.

NAC also has eyes on religious tourism destinations including India, Myanmar, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

The post NAC Strategic Plans: Increasing Fleet Crew and Promoting Tourism appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In its updated air safety list released on December 01, 2017, the agency under the European Commission (EC) placed Nepal among 16 other nations that were prohibited from flying in the 28-nation bloc of the European Union (EU).

“All air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Nepal have been banned from operating within EU,” reads a statement by the European Agency.

A total of 178 airlines were banned from flying in EU bloc as per the new list. These include 18 Nepali air carriers.

The list was prepared based on the feedback of aviation safety experts of the EU member states under the EU Air Safety Committee (EASC) chaired by EC and supported by the European Aviation Safety Agency, at a meeting held during November 13-15, 2017.

EU’s recent announcement comes as a disappointment to Nepali Airlines Corporation (NAC) that has been keen on launching its services in EU.

EU’s ban continues despite the lift of a ban by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Nepali airlines owing to their non-compliance to ICAO’s eight critical protocols.

ICAO later excluded Nepal from its Significant Safety Concern (SSC) list in July 20, 2017 supporting Nepali Airlines Corporation’s move to launch flights in Europe.

Need for Improvement in Air Safety Concerns

Stakeholders of the Nepali aviation sector feel that EU’s move might be a consequence of the Nepali Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation’s (MoCA) decision to summon the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Director General.

However, EC clarified that the assessment was made considering the international and ICAO’s safety standards.

“Why did responsible senior officials fail to approach EC to defend Nepal during the safety committee deliberations?” questions a Nepal Airlines Corporation official in response to the decision.

The official further informed that Nepali airlines are capable of meeting the international standards and the issues arose because of the lack of improvement in the concerned regulatory body operating under MoCA.

The official was disappointed at the arrival of such decision at a time when the country is aiming at one million annual tourist target and NAC is keen on operating two wide-body aircraft to European countries.

EASC’s next meeting to announce the air safety update list will take place during May-June 2018.

The post Nepal Aviation: EU’s Ban on Nepali Airlines Concerns Stakeholders appeared first on Nepali Sansar.