May 27, 2017- Kathmandu Post
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) did not receive a single bid for its 30-year-old Boeing 757 that was put up for auction on April 10. The deadline for submitting tender documents ended on Wednesday.
The minimum sale price for the 757 named Karnali and bearing registration number 9N-ACA was set at $1.71 million.
“No one seems to be interested in buying the jet,” said Sailesh Kansakar, assistant spokesperson for NAC. “The management is thinking about extending the deadline.”
He added that the sale price would not be revised as it is already the bare minimum. Some officials said that the corporation could be forced to lower the price if there were no takers by the extended deadline.
The aircraft has been sitting outside the NAC hangar at Tribhuvan International Airport since April 2016 following the corporation’s policy to phase out its Boeing fleet.
NAC decided to retire the aircraft after conducting a cost-benefit analysis. Based on the operational cost analysis, it does not make sense to fly the aircraft, it said. The Boeing 757 burns 4 tonnes of fuel per hour compared to 2.5 tonnes for new aircraft.
Each of NAC’s Boeings earns about Rs2 billion annually, and it costs the carrier almost the same in maintenance expenses, according to the carrier. The move is also part of the national flag carrier’s plan to have an all-Airbus fleet for its international operations. The corporation plans to retire its second Boeing 757 by 2019.
The 9N-ACA arrived in Nepal in 1987 and flew on long-haul routes, displaying the national flag at world airports. The 757 holds 190 passengers. The Boeing 757 is a mid-sized, narrow body twin engine jet built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It debuted in the late 1980s and was in production until 2004.
As per the auction notice, the successful bidder will have to bear insurance charges after 90 days from the signature date of the binding contract. All charges for deregistration and applicable taxes on the sale shall be borne by the buyer, and the sale of aircraft does not include any spare parts.
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