Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is scheduled to conduct a test flight of its Chinese-made Y12e to Lukla airport on November 23, two years after it was inducted into its fleet. 

The 17-seater Y12e arrived in Kathmandu in 2014 and was intended to serve remote mountain airfields like Lukla, Jomsom, Manang, Simikot, Rara, Jumla and Dolpa. But its regulatory limit meant that it could only fly to airports with a maximum grade of up to 2 percent or about 1.2 degrees of slope.

As a result, the Y12e was only operated on the Pokhara and Simara sectors, pending the issuance of a certificate by the manufacturer clearing it to serve airports with a slope of more than 2 degrees.

The runway at Lukla’s Tenzing-Hillary Airport has an 11-degree slope. Most of the short take-off and landing (STOL) airfields in Nepal including Lukla in Khumbu are above the regulatory limit.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan), the aircraft manufacturer has to issue a gradient certificate after the test flight. “The manufacturer will then develop a procedural design of the aircraft on the respective airfield. Caan will then accept the technical design permitting the aircraft of such type to fly,” said a Caan official.  Although the Harbin Yunshuji Y-12-II had made thousands of flights all over Nepal and has been described as the best aircraft to serve STOL airfields, strict enforcement of new regulations by Caan to ensure safety has prevented the Y12e from flying to mountain airstrips.

“After the test flight, we will decide whether to bring the three Y12e aircraft on order,” said NAC Managing Director Sugat Ratna Kansakar.  “As per the plan, we are weighing an option to bring two aircraft, one 56-seater MA60 and one Y12e by December. The other two Y12e will be inducted into the fleet after we are satisfied with its performance.” He added that except for a load restriction problem, there were no other issues with the MA60.

The delivery process of the four aircraft on order, one MA60 and three Y12e, had been put on hold for the last two years after NAC reported many problems, including load restrictions, in the two that have joined its fleet.

According to the performance analysis report of the Y12e aircraft submitted to the Tourism Ministry last year, it flies well in very cold weather, with performance falling with a rise in temperature and altitude.

From Lukla to Kathmandu, the Y12e can carry 16 passengers in all-weather conditions; but from Kathmandu to Lukla, the passenger load has to be reduced to 13, according to the report. The Y12e is totally unsuitable for the Pokhara-Manang sector, according to the report. The allowable cabin load is seven passengers at 0 degrees, two passengers at 10 degrees, one passenger at 12 degrees and zero passengers at 14 degrees Celsius respectively.

The aircraft can carry 12 passengers in all-weather conditions from Biratnagar to Taplejung. Likewise, on the Jomsom-Pokhara route, it can fly with 16 passengers in all-weather conditions; but on the return flight, the passenger load has to be reduced to 14, the report said. 

According to Tourism Ministry officials, NAC has been directed to bring the remaining aircraft and fly them on selected routes where they can perform well.

Last October, the Tourism Ministry had directed NAC to resume the process of taking delivery of the four planes considering pertinent issues that need to be addressed to reap the maximum benefit while flying these aircraft in Nepali skies.  The manufacturer completed assembling the three Y12e for Nepal in early 2015. The aircraft, bearing NAC livery and Nepali registration numbers, have been sitting in the factory hangar since then. China has provided one MA60 and one Y12e worth Rs2.94 billion as gifts. The other aircraft are being bought with a soft loan of Rs3.72 billion provided by China’s EXIM Bank.

NAC to send off its Boeing 757 Karnali

KATHMANDU: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has hired an appraiser from Switzerland to make a valuation of one of its two Boeing 757s it plans to phase out. According to NAC, the appraiser is scheduled to arrive in Nepal in two-three days.

After getting the appraiser’s report, NAC will call for bids to sell the jet. The Karnali, bearing registration number 9N-ACA, will be retired first. It completed 29 years of service in August.

The NAC board has already agreed in principle to allow the management to send off one of the two ageing 757s. The 9N-ACA arrived in Nepal in 1987 and made its first flight on August 20.

The jet 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 airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was in production from 1981 to 2004. (PR)