"Of this, two will be narrow-body and one wide-body aircraft," Limbu unveiled his ambitious plan to an audience of around 300, who had gathered to commemorate the 5th convention of NAC Employees´ Union on Friday in Kathmandu.
Each one of the aircraft will be added to NAC´s fleet in the interval of six months, beginning with two narrow-body aircraft, Limbu said. Narrow-body aircraft have a seating capacity of up to 160 persons while wide-body aircraft can accommodate up to 310 persons.
Limbu had been advocating for the purchase of new aircraft ever since he was appointed as the chief of NAC in January 2008. But before he could act on his plans, he was removed from the post around seven months ago. He instantly took the issue to the Supreme Court, and received verdit in his favor earlier this week, paving the way for his entry to the NAC once again.
But even in his absence, the state-owned airline company had started the process of purchasing new aircraft. In April, NAC had issued a 45-day tender notice inviting aircraft manufacturers to submit bid documents.
A total of five companies had submitted the documents till the last day of submitting the bids. However, three were later disqualified "due to the companies´ nature of not being plane manufacturers." NAC has recently appointed a consultant company, Center for Asia-Pacific Association of India, to evaluate the bid documents submitted by the other two companies, namely Boeing and Airbus.
"I will not alter any of the decisions taken by the former chief of NAC," Limbu said. "We need an aircraft and sabotaging his initiative will do more harm to the company."
NAC has felt the urgency to purchase new aircraft as the two Boeings that fly international sectors are aging. Due to this, it has to send the aircraft for routine check-ups more frequently, leaving NAC with one aircraft most of the times. Limbu informed, NAC is sending one of its aircraft for regular maintenance work in the next two weeks.
Speaking on the occasion, Y K Bhattarai of Nepal Airlines Pilots´ Association said NAC employees will closely monitor Limbu´s work and evaluate his performance on the basis of merit. He added: "If he fails to deliver on what he has pledged, we will not hesitate to create pressure (on the concerned authority) to oust him."
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