JetPeople to supply six pilots for NAC

KATHMANDU, June 23:

JetPeople has won a contract to supply six pilots to Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to fly its new Airbus A320-200 aircraft.

NAC selected the Hong Kong-based aviation group from four companies which had participated in the tender process. NAC had published the notice to supply pilots on a contract basis in the first week of June.

"We have selected one Type Rating Examiner (TRE) and 5 Type Rating Instructors (TRI) so that our pilots will be trained and examined," Ram Hari Sharma, spokesperson of NAC, said. "The pilots will be hired on contract basis. They will help build confidence of our pilots and make them capable of flying the aircraft independently."

According to Sharma, NAC will sign the agreement with JetPeople this week and that the pilots will arrive in Nepal next week.

The pilots will have to take a class from Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) for a week to be familiar with Nepali geography. They will also have to take permission from Department of Labor to work in Nepal.

"Pilots to be supplied by JetPeople will be able to fly our Airbus only after around a month as we need some time to complete all these formalities," said Sharma.

The foreign pilots will be hired for 6 months to one year depending on the need of the national flag carrier. Their contract can be extended on need basis, according to NAC officials. They will pocket salary of around Rs 1.2 to Rs 1.5 million.

Seven pilots and eight co-pilots have already completed commander training from Airbus. Similarly, four more are taking co-pilot training.

At present, German Instructor Pilot Christop has been flying the new Airbus since April. He has been hired for six months.

NAC welcomed the first of its two Airbus A320-200 aircraft in February and the second one in May. The national carrier, however, has not been able to operate the aircraft at full capacity due to lack of pilots.

Both the airbus has 158 seats including eight in the business class. They are fitted with Sharklet fuel-saving wing tip devices, which, according to Airbus, will deliver unbeatable economics and up to 4 percent reduction in fuel burn.

"Once the foreign pilots are eligible to fly in Nepal, we are planning to begin scheduled flights to Bangalore and Mumbai from the first week of September," said Sharma.

Source: Republica