News
Nepal issues A330 RFP and IndiGo converts 20 A320neos to the A321neo
September 30th 2016
Nepal Airlines has approved the acquisition of two A330-200s to replace its ageing B757-200s and has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for aircraft that should be Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-powered and not be older than two years. Read More » Interested parties have until November 10 to submit their proposals. Nepal Airlines says it needs the aircraft from next September.
As previously reported, the Kathmandu carrier planned the A330 for new routes to Tokyo and Seoul. It also said Sydney, Shanghai and Beijing were under consideration. It flies to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur Bangkok, Doha, Dubai, Delhi and Mumbai. Once the B757s are phased out, Nepal Airlines will have an all-Airbus A320/A330 fleet.
In India, Gurgaon-headquartered IndiGo Airlines this week converted 20 of its 430 on-order A320neos to the larger A321neo to boost capacity and operate longer flights, the airline said. IndiGo became the Asia-Pacific operator of the A320neo in early March. It flies eight neos and 107 A320ceos. The Aditya Ghosh-led LCC is planning rapid network expansion that will see it add regional destinations, including to the Middle East and China.
In other updates from the region, Dhaka’s Biman Bangladesh Airlines has entered a short-term wet-lease agreement with MIAT - Mongolian Airlines for a B767-300ER, to service Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Kuala Lumpur while its own fleet is fully utilized for the hajj season.
In the Maldives, de facto flag carrier, Mega Maldives Air, has wet-leased a B737-800 from Czech Travel Service Airlines to boost services to India and Sri Lanka, the airline announced. The lease deal frees up its B767-300ER fleet, which will allow it to return to Kuala Lumpur and Jeddah.
Mega Maldives largely had focused on Chinese, but as Orient Aviation reported earlier this month, the airline registered an 11% drop in passengers from the Maldives to the Beijing, Chengdu, Pudong and Hong Kong during the first half of the year, which prompted a changes including network diversification.
