The aircraft, which has been named 'Lumbini', flew to New Delhi at 8:25 am with 135 passengers on board.
The national flag carrier had started daily flights to New Delhi from May 1. It had resumed flights to the Indian capital after first of the two Airbus A320-200s, which has been named as 'Sagarmatha', joined its fleet on February 27. Before May 1, it was flying four times a week on Kathmandu-New Delhi route.Ram Hari Sharma, spokesperson of NAC, said the state-owned carrier will soon begin flights to Dubai and Mumbai. "We will start flying to Dubai and Mumbai within a month," he said, adding, "We are also planning to link Bangalore and Guangzhou with Kathmandu in the near future."
At present, NAC is flying to New Delhi, Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong.
NAC's second A320-200 aircraft landed in Kathmandu on May 1 with rescue team and relief materials on board. The Airbus Foundation, Humedica -- a German NGO, and NAC used the flight to transport relief materials and medical team to provide aid to earthquake victims in different parts of the country. The aircraft received Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on Wednesday. CAAN has given the new aircraft 9N-AKX call sign.
Both the Airbus aircraft has engines made by US-based International Aero Engines. Both the aircraft have Sharklet fuel-saving wing tip devices which, according to Airbus, will deliver unbeatable economics and up to 4 percent reduction in fuel burn. The aircraft has 158 seats including 8 in business class.
Officials of the national flag carrier hope that the addition of new destination with fleet expansion will help the national flag carrier to increase its market share and revive its lost glory.
NAC had initiated process to acquire aircraft for international operation six years ago. But national flag carrier could finally sign purchase agreement with Airbus for two aircraft on June 27, 2013 after the initial procurement process landed in controversy.
The catalogue price of two aircraft is around Rs 15 billion. As part of the purchase agreement, Airbus is providing free training to NAC's engineers and pilots.
To finance purchase of new aircraft, NAC has signed loan agreement worth Rs 10 billion with Employees' Provident Fund (EPF). EPF has fixed interest rate at 12 percent per annum. As per the agreement, NAC has to repay the loan within 15 years.
NAC is operating a fleet of two ageing Boeing 757s, two Airbus A320-200s, two Twin Otters, one MA 60 and one Harbin Y12E.
SPECIAL OFFER ON BANGKOK FLIGHT
NAC has announced a special offer to attract passengers for Kathmandu-Bangkok flights.
According Spokesperson Sharma, NAC is giving a ticket free of cost on purchase of two tickets to Bangkok.
"We will provide a ticket free on purchase of every two tickets made from June 15 to June 30," said Sharma.
The one-way fare to Bangkok is Rs 12,000 and return fare is Rs 19,000, exclusive of taxes.
For Mumbai and Bangalore, NAC has fixed one-way fare at Rs 8,818 and return fare at Rs 17,635 exclusive of taxes.
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